vogue 8888

July 29, 2020 ~ Tia Dia ~ 15 Comments

This is the second silk dressing gown (because it seriously looks like a dressing gown with that rolled collar) that was made from stash because…. well, because my girls need robes for walking around the house.

The pattern is Vogue 8888, a well-loved much-made pattern in all corners of the sewing online world. I made View A for DD3.

The sleeves were a lot longer than they look on the model. I had to trim off 15 cm from the length so they would not drag through breakfast. Definitely more a ‘dressing’ gown, not an all-around-the-house robe with the longer sleeve length.

DD3 chose this purple silk charmeuse from deep stash that I had purchased several years ago with the hope of purple silk pajamas for myself, but I have no regrets sewing this up for her. It has gotten a tremendous amount of use.

The pattern was sewn up out of the package with the exception of a 3cm square shoulder adjustment, as DD3 is a swimmer, and her shoulders bear testament to that. As a note, I made the garment two sizes larger than what Vogue’s size tables recommended at my young client’s request. It fits her well with room for swanning.

Since handing it over, finished, it has not come off. And I have to say I am so pleased to meet DD3, walking down the hallway, in a pretty purple robe rather than her schleppy tank top and fleece Christmas print pajama bottoms. I’ve got two more of this pattern in the longer length scheduled, selfishly both for me, and am hoping there will be another one in her future, perhaps in a Liberty tana lawn print or some other stash-busting fabric choice.

Have you made any robes or dressing gowns?

silk kimono robe

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 ~ Tia Dia ~ 18 Comments

I have a goal: to work through as much of Mezzo’s Fabric Store as possible, hopefully using most of the goods for other people, not myself. Here we have the first completed garment that meets the goal! Yay!

My DD3 and DD1 like to lounge about the house in shorts and tanks or crop tops, and, in my opinion, have been sorely in need of ‘grown up’ robes since outgrowing their fuzzy cute childhood versions. Enter the tote full of silks with the instructions to find one or more lengths to their liking, preferably for robes. DD3 chose this gorgeous silk charmeuse. Here’s a closer look.

This is Burda 2-2012-116 again.

I actually sewed this version for DD3 up prior to my linen version. I was so impressed with the fit and simplicity of the design and how little time it took to make (even in fussy, slippery silk charmeuse!) that I had to make one for myself. The pictures do not do this fabric justice. It is a stunning robe in person.

I have nothing interesting to say about this, except that Burda’s instructions do not include details like a hanging loop at the centre back or belt carriers at the side seams. There are pockets, but I didn’t have enough of this silk, and DD3 didn’t want them, anyway. I left them off my version, too.

Here’s to swanning around in silk kimonos instead of schlepping around in scruffy shorts and crop tops!

it’s still a jungle in here

January 22, 2014 ~ Tia Dia ~ 30 Comments

A construction jungle, that is. STILL. And since I’m being slowly eroded with the endlessness of this project, I sewed up a little bit of animal print to help me feel at home in the mess. This lovely little ensemble accomplishes three things:

let’s me in for a play date at the Jungle January playground;
brings me one step closer to completing my Burda Challenge 2013; and
checks off two of a 3PAC for the Stitcher’s Guild Algebra SWAP 2014.

My ensemble is the designer pattern from Jo No Fui (Burda 11/2013 #130). I made it up in a black stretch wool suiting for the skirt and an animal print silk charmeuse with an all-over fleur-de-lis burnout pattern for the blouse. Let’s talk about the skirt first.

I was a bit skeptical about the extra yardage that drapes at the CF, but I like it. It doesn’t add bulk to the silhouette – it’s very clearly a pretty drape. The wool I chose is perfect for this – it’s about the weight of a heavy silk crepe – and sewed up like a dream. There is a small hip yoke piece instead of darts in the front. The CF seam is sewn wrong sides together with the drape finished beforehand.

The back of the skirt is simple. It’s short – only about 19 inches in length – and cut straight. I added a waistband instead of the facing, pegged the bottom by a total of 4 inches and added a full lining. I likey this skirt.

And now the blouse. Of course the star feature is the sleeves with the deep 4 inch pleat to keep the excess fabric at a decent length. As it was, I decided to shorten the sleeves by 3 inches in total just to avoid the potential of dragging through dinner or what have you.I added small squares of organza on either side of the pleat for stability and strength. I don’t want those tacking stitches tearing a hole in the middle of my sleeve, thank you very much. The bottom of the sleeves are gathered into a narrow binding that just barely fits over my hands. I’m not complaining – I actually like the smallness of the opening. I think it will help keep the sleeves at my wrists.The instructions for binding the CF and CB slits were just asking for punishment, as far as I was concerned. The binding strips were cut on the bias, and I should have known better and just cut them on the straight grain like one would finish a placket. But what the hey! I finished the neckline entirely by hand because of the finicky quality of the bias, but mostly because the charmeuse handled differently than the burnout chiffon sections in the fabric and it was just simpler to do it by hand instead of swearing at my machine.The back binding extends into a loop for a button while the top of the CF slit is completely bound by the bias. It’s a low opening, too, despite the high crew neck. I had initially thought I’d make up a Ruby camisole in the same fabric for modesty (chiffon sections of the silk) and to prevent wardrobe malfunctions with that CF slit but the crossover of the cami doesn’t quite do the trick at this point. Some adjustments are required before I actually wear this ensemble out in public, and I will probably also sew the bottom inch of the slit closed. As you all know I was a little sewn out after (almost) completing the Burda Challenge 2013, and although I want to finish it (yes, I’m that stubborn), I have a long queue that I’d like to catch up on from the last couple of years that has been pushed aside to make way for other projects. And a lot of fabric that I would love to wear. These are the more immediate items that come to mind:

Pavlova skirt & top
Marfy 2922 jacket in a lurex wool/silk tweed
Harris Tweed coat (originally part of my SWAP 2012)
finish the Burda Challenge
do something for Jungle January
participate in PR’s Little White Dress event
SEW A RED DRESS

So after sifting through all these nebulous ideas wafting around my sewing room, and reading through Ruth’s post on the SG’s Algebra SWAP 2014 rules, I realized I could fit everything in my year(s)-old queue into a lovely little plan. The more I thought about this little SWAP, the more it gave me the impetus to start sewing after the December rush and holidays.And this little ensemble has started me off beautifully. But more on the SWAP in my next post.

Binge!

March 21, 2013March 16, 2014 ~ Tia Dia ~ 21 Comments

Well, I haven’t felt much like sewing these days, so I’ve been fabric shopping, and thought maybe you’d like to see some of the new treasures that came to live in my imaginary all-sewn-up-and-ready-to-wear world. First up, a remnant of cotton stretch twill. There’s just enough to get a shift out of it, and this will be my first spring garment. Can’t wait!

Then there’s a collection of knits, most of which will be either a series of Tiramisus or Vogue 8379, which is the DVF style wrap dress that’s been so popular for years.

And more coatings, because, well, I don’t have enough.

And some beautiful silks for who knows what project. The first is a silk taffeta with a blurry print from Oscar de la Renta, I believe. The second is a Milly silk twill – so pretty!

And a lovely silk/wool blend for trousers. I have always for as long as I remember, wanted trousers in a houndstooth pattern. Can’t wait to add these to my closet!And a small selection of completely unnecessary prettiness. The first is a black wool boucle with a lot of gold lurex. The second is a lovely piece of sequined silk crepe. The sequins are 1cm in diameter. I’ve plans, but I don’t know where or when to wear these lovely examples of frosting!

And wool doubleknit for something Ralph Rucci via Vogue Patterns in a lovely red. And last, but not least, a piece of Missoni knit that will be a spring/summer tunic. It’s draped over the stretch denim that belongs with my SWAP 2012 program. It’ll make a nice outfit.Tell, me, do you like to avoid sewing by fabric shopping, too?

SWAP Jester Blouse

March 14, 2013March 14, 2013 ~ Tia Dia ~ 12 Comments

I decided on a raglan-sleeved tie-front blouse from Burda November 2012 for my jester’s silks. The silk is really luxurious and I wish I had bought more of it. It’s just gorgeous. And I don’t think this blouse is the best idea for it, but it’s what it is. There’s no more, so I’ll have to live with this until I decide to change it up somehow. We’ll see!

The sleeves are gathered at the neckline instead of being cut to fit smoothly over the shoulders and into the collar. I’m not sure I like the extra puffing at the base of the neck. I’ll have to wear it a bit more and think about it.

The blouse has two very deep princess darts. When doing my FBA, I changed them up a bit so that they were shallower – only about 1.5 inches instead of 4 at the hemline. And the hidden buttonholes are a nice touch.

The fronts are supposed to be bound by a bias strip and the long tie collar is only attached beginning at the sleeve-front shoulder seams. I didn’t do this. Burda suggested trimming off the seam allowance for the front neckline and then binding it with 1/4″ bias. I trimmed the neckline seam allowance and attached the tie to the neck edge from front edge to front edge.

It doesn’t quite work because I didn’t think through the change. If you zoom in closely to the picture above, you’ll see that my amendments to the tie application prevent the top CF of the blouse from laying flat when the ties are knotted. I also cut the tie on the straight grain – I didn’t have enough to cut it on the bias. This makes it less drapey, but also more stable through the length of it. The ties pressed beautifully in this silk and hold their shape perfectly on the straight grain.

The pattern is a simple one to put together. The instructions for the hidden button closure were relatively good, although I mocked it up first, just to ensure accuracy in the actual construction of the silk. I have to say, though, I really hate Burda’s lack of construction markings where I’m used to having some guidance. I really noticed it in the plackets and cuffs of the sleeves. In a Vogue pattern (my teacher over the years) the placement of the underarm seam and notches for evenly distributing the gathers are clearly indicated on the cuff patterns. Of course, Burda just has the measurements of a rectangular block of fabric for the cuffs without any indication of where exactly the underarm seam should go to ensure straight draping or even gathering of the sleeve. So I took out the cuffs pattern from Vogue 8747 and used that for mine. Such small details in the markings on a pattern matter to me! I like more information than less. Or maybe less-thinking-on-my-own-required sewing. Ha!

And yes, I wanted a change! Spring always makes my feet itch: it’s time to move houses, cities, countries! But of course, I can’t just up and do that. So I asked my hairdresser for something different and she gave me bangs. After two weeks of them, I’m tired of them and will be growing them out.

I’m amazed at how ridiculously unmotivated I am to finish up my SWAP. I only have the jacket to do, but I just don’t seem to care to have it in my closet, and the tweed coat seems redundant at this stage of the seasons. I find myself looking at summer fabrics and patterns instead of cutting and working on the muslin and fitting of the jacket.