From a Pile of Pieces to One Almost-There Coat

Posted in 2013 Sewing by

I’m back with another update on my modified McCall’s 5717 coat (I didn’t mention the pattern in my last post so I’ve cleared that up right outta the gate!). And thank you so much for your comments – it’s nice to hear from you!

Last weekend we had Monday off for Presidents’ Day, so I’d like to think I made our Founding Fathers proud by really hunkering down and getting some sewing done! I’m not sure what either has to do with the other, but, hey, it’s a free country. ;)

You can track my past progress here or continue full speed ahead to see this past week’s journey in photos…

backstay

The back stay in black cotton broadcloth.

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Bound Buttonholes and Padstitching, Gromit!

Posted in 2013 Sewing by

Well, I hope you had a nice week! I’m back with another coat update. Last week I wrote about padstitching the undercollar. This post highlights the progress I’ve made over the past week, which was all about the front pieces/lapels. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Last Friday a snowstorm hit the northeast. This gave me the perfect opportunity to settle in and practice creating bound buttonholes, which I haven’t done in 3 years (and that was just to create a sample in a class). It was surprisingly fun! I must say, I was worried about this step after seeing Gertie’s tutorial just because there were so many steps. I ended up following the method used in Tailoring instead; I found it much easier to follow and I highly recommend it.

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Here is one of them! I put the button there to help guide you to the buttonhole just above it since it’s hard to see in this fabric. You can just see the bias placement of the “lips” (with the basting stitches in it kind of reminds me of Billy the zombie from the movie Hocus Pocus – haha random). I had white basting stitches in to mark the center and width of the buttonhole openings, but obviously I removed them before taking this shot.

I’m excited about the anchor buttons. I ordered them off Etsy (there are tons of these out there) after seeing them on my grandfather’s World War II U.S. Navy pea coat, which was my initial inspiration for this project. Not only that, but when I look at these buttons they will also remind me of my truly wonderful grandpa, and that sure is something! I’d like to get around to showing you his coat one day. Apparently I’ve been promising this for 2 years. Whoops. Continue reading →

The Amazing Technicolor Under Collar

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I’ve made progress with my tailored wool coat! It’s very exciting. Even though I haven’t been good about updating the blog, I have been reading up on tailoring techniques in the Tailoring book my sister gave me one Christmas AND making some progress on the coat itself. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

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The under collar, stitched down the middle and ready for some hair canvas! Sorry for the slightly blurred shot; I was so excited that I finally started that I had to share with a friend who has been on the receiving end of all my coat updates lately.

The fabric – a lovely, lovely Italian herringbone wool I picked up during a Gorgeous Fabrics sale in winter 2011 – is impossible to mark so I’ve gone the “speed tailor’s tacks” route, as suggested in Tailoring. This basically means using multi-strand embroidery floss, which has the benefits of grabbing the fabric in a single stitch without falling out easily. You can also use different colors to represent different markings. I like that idea!  Continue reading →

My Pattern Stash!

Posted in Musings & Everything Else, Sewing Ideas by

Hey! So I’ve been a little “organizing happy” lately. One of the things I decided to do was pin all my patterns on Pinterest…

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What “pattern goodness” looks like on my phone

I guess comparatively I don’t have a HUGE pattern stash – last I checked Mena of The Sew Weekly has over 800 patterns, yowsa – but the great thing about Pinterest is that it’s easy to gather all my patterns in fun-to-see boards. Also, indie patterns and newer patterns are linked to their company’s websites so additional photos/size charts are just a click away!

It’s nice to have all my patterns available to me like this. I can see them all at once (more or less). Do you sometimes forget which patterns you have? Or which ones you’ve been wanting to sew?

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Pinning all my patterns also made me realize where my pattern love is directed. Well, not “realize” – it’s obvious that I love dresses! I bookmarked this page on my phone and the colors and styles are nice to look at every so often. I also noticed that there are some patterns on here that I might not have bought if I had to do it again (I was a little pattern happy at one point, but have gained some control lately).

I’d like to keep my pattern stash manageable because it’d be nice to sew these babies up! And, so…that’s my story. Do you have a certain way of storing your patterns that you find helpful?!

photo 4You can find my pattern stash on:

  • The “Pattern Stash” tab I’ve created at the top of my blog
  • Pinterest, quite clearly!

Also, I just wanted to share this cute book I saw at the Strand today (a great bookstore here in the city if you get a chance to stop by!). I really love the old Winnie-the-Pooh illustrations and was so tempted to pick this up. There were a couple of other Pooh books on this table. Anyway, CUTE!

Simplicity 5454: The London Fog Skirt

Posted in 2013 Sewing, Finished Projects by

Happy New Year from the land of few and far between! Let’s get this new year started with a project post, shall we?

So, there I was, all set for my weekend of dog sitting at my cousins’ place in the East Village. I packed my bag, hopped on the subway, and – lo and behold – a funny thing happened on the way to the apartment: I had somehow been transported to London! I mean, look at that fog. It almost completely hides Midtown Manhattan. (Hello, Empire State Building! Are ya there?)

Pattern: Simplicity 5454 Wrap Skirt (1982)
Size: 12
Fabric: Cotton/Linen Canvas by Echino (2.5 yards from Sew L.A.)
Notions: 4 gold flower buttons (from the Pasadena Flea Market)
Paired with: My Musical Notes Renfrew Top! (Sewaholic Patterns)

Yes, the Empire State Building is there, in fact. Can you spot it? The ol’ gal’s barely visible to my left, just past the building with the gold pyramidal tower (aka the New York Life Building near Madison Square Park).

Anyway, despite the overcast weekend we had here in the Big Apple, mild weather – in January?? – allowed for a rooftop photo shoot! I caught a bad cold a couple of weekends ago and just didn’t have the energy to work on my tailored coat. Instead, I looked for an easier project to get me off the couch every now and then. And the color was just so mood lifting, how could I go wrong? :)
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