September Burda Mag - Turtleneck top #121

I traced off the turtleneck tops from september's Burda. I did a one inch forward head alteration, a one inch round back alteration and sewed up a test garment in cheap knit. It went together well.
Then I tried the end result on. The back fits OK, but the front neck is still strangling. I have 3 deep wrinkles across the front, the neckline is strangling me and comes up to my ears. Its not good.
The shoulders and sleeves fit well, but the sleeve is from another pattern anyway.

To be comfortable this needs to have a MUCH LOWER front neckline and for the neck to generally be a bit looser and probably shorter. So not a great success. So if you have a wide neck, short neck, or forward head (or all three as in my case) you might want to give this a miss.
Its been several minutes since I took off the trest garment and I can still feel the discomfort on the throat - URGH!

I'll take this and the distressed pattern tissue when I go and see Yorkshire lass next weekend and we can see if it can be made wearable. I will share results in the interests of research.

Autumn Sewing Plans

Including the altered RTW I am NEARLY there with a type 3 SWAP. which if you remember is

Option #3:
5 dresses -single pieces consisting of top and bottom that can be worn alone.
4 tops  - t-shirts, shirts, blouses, or camisoles
1 bottom  - jeans, pants, shorts, skirt or kilt.
1 your choice (not an accesory)

So far I have
4 dresses
2 tops
1 bottom

I have a waistcoat and a blouse cut out, so if I get on and do those I'd have

4 dresses
3 tops
1 bottom
1 waistcoat

would then need another top and another dress for a full type 3 SWAP.

Looking at it a bit more objectively I seem to be a bit short of layers, which SWAP isn't big on, but 6PAC is.

6PAC rules have

Skirt or trousers (neutral) - I'm OK there
3 blouses/tops (1 to match bottom, 2 to complement) - would be OK when I'm done on tops
Cardigan (to match skirt/trousers) - still needed
Coat or jacket (co-ordinating neutral) - still needed, or cheat and use RTW I already have.

So finish blouse and waistcoat
sew another dress and another top
Sew a cardigan
Use existing brown RTW coat
All done!!

Recent knit dresses

Made in the last week or so. Use a scoop neck top pattern with A line skirt added. Very comfortable, but do need a belt and accessories for them to work.

Weekend Wardrobe from 1982

I had just started to learn to sew a little at school (aged 11 or 12) when this programme came out, though I don't recall ever watching it.
I did have some glasses very much like those worn by Caroline Charles' assistant. The styles bring back memories!

Weekend Wardrobe: BBC Iink

Shall I buy these shoes - in purple?

I wanted to buy these but they did not have the purple in my size.
Worth going to another store?

In the faux suede they come in this dark purple and black. And then in a shiny finish they come in a pinky purple and royal blue. I was wondering between the purple and the black.

Update

A little update. I had 2 weeks of holiday with no sewing, then came home and went back to work including a 2 day trip away overnight and a day trip away, all with early starts and late finishes. So I've been buying fabric and sewing magazines, but not a lot else.

I think today's task is hemming curtains which is very boring but useful. They've been waiting to be hemmed for about a year I think which is pretty bad. I find home dec very boring and it doesn't excite me the same way as tees, pants etc do. But it is nonsense to not have the curtains up for the want of a few hours of hemming time so I am going to tackle them this weekend.

My huge order of knits from Totally Fabrics came this week and I also bought more knits in Leeds during the week. Also the lovely Lisette sent me some Adri patterns so I am very pampered.
In the past when I've ordered from Totally Fabrics at sale time, there are always the odd fabric which turned out to be out of stock when they came to fill my order, so I slightly over ordered, and this time everything was in stock! So two big parcels were waiting at the post office collection place.

So once the curtains are done I want to sew something for me. Probably something fairly quick, maybe PJ pants or a tee shirt, that will give me a sewing fix without being a massive project. I kinda fancied a mad print knit dress (I have lots of fabric options now) so I shall see what appeals.

Sadly the weekend can't be all splobbing about reading sewing blogs and sewing, some grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry need to be factored in as well. I have a cunning plan to travel less with work next week and so to sew in the evenings, but ha!,best laid plans etc.

RTW makeover

I bought this little cream lace dress on sale today. This photo is from the store's website, and presumably shows the size 8 and not the size 16 which I bought.
Its a cute girly dress but looked too cutesy on me, but the price was right, so I brought it home, rethreaded the machines in cream and shortened both the dress and the lining by 10 inches to make a fun little lace blouse, the sort of thing I can wear with a suit to work with a big necklace. Much better!
(Photo of shortened dress will be here once the camera batteries have recharged!)

Totally Fabrics

Totally Fabrics are having a 50% off sale, so if you are in the UK and want some nice fabric check them out.
I'm a repeat customer and am impressed with their service and fabrics. I've mostly bought knits from them from the 'Lycra Jersey' category.
They send the orders promptly and are generally lovely about any problems so I would recommend them.
If you are browsing their site and putting stuff into your basket, do NOT click the browser back button after viewing a picture as this sadly empties your basket and you have to start over, instead use their 'Return to Fabrics Listing' button.

OK off to see what I would like from them this time......

Future Inspirations

Just got back from holiday and its time to do a lot of laundry and pack the summer clothes away until next year.
I might see if some of the linen can hang on in there until the end of September but after that I'll be kidding myself.
Two items I purchased this year which worked out really well were some comfort wedge sandals in black and some cotton eyelet pyjamas. I am wondering if I should buy multiples (in the end of summer sales) and stash away for next year since they have worked so well, or whether that is a bad idea?

Holiday was in Menorca, and the only sewing related thing I did was buy a copy of Patrones magazine, and sketch ideas in a notebook. I took Burda magazines and tracing paper but got nowhere with them.

I have no idea if it will feed into anything, but I was particualrly fascinated this year on holiday by rock formations. This split fairly evenly between rocks with strange rectolinear features, layers, stripes, blocks etc on the one hand, and other ancient weathered rocks with holes in them. The holes particuarly fascinated me.
I've had no art/design/fashion training (I went the maths, science, computing route), so I have no real idea how you take inspiration and turn it into your chosen medias, for me clothing or perhaps accessorties like bags, jewellery, scarves etc.
Are there any sensible sites out there which cover this sort of thing? Or books maybe (not a whole fashion design course or anything).

The rectolinear stuff pretty much plays to stripes in fabrics, which I already love. One rock in particualrly reminded me of some charcoal linen pinstripe fabric, but that's a Spring project I think and not for now.
The weathered holes however really struck a chord with me, and I think could easily be the basis for a collection, different ways of using deliberate holes, cutouts, cutaways etc but also be grown up and not in the least bit grungy. So will have to think about how that can be interepreted in a practical way.

It also gives rise to lots of different puns for collection names 'The (W)Hole 9 Yards' perhaps?

Wardrobe Contest

I've not entered the Pattewrn review Wardrobe Contest as it didn't fit with my timescales and sewing plans.
The contest has closed now, but if you want to look at the wardrobes and if you area PR member vote for the one you like best then please do.

Link to PR Wardrobe Contest.

I've voted though I shall not say which one for. I love the fact that women of different ages, sizes, shapes and skill level have all had a go.

British Vogue September 2010

I had an initial look through British Vogue and made notes to myself as I did so. I don't buy Vogue very often but the September issue is good because it has the Autumn Winter collection high lights and I can decide what references I want to take forward into my sewing. The UK climtae is such that the winter clothing in fact can be worn for much of the year.

What I noted most from this edition which I will take forward into my Autumn and Winter sewing, were beautiful tailored trousers and various silk, chiffon and other girly blouses which I think work really well with the more tailored pieces.

I am sure further browsing through will lead to other bits and pieces coming through, but pretty blouses and tailored trousers fit into my lifestyle and are things I can work towards sewing.