Couture Techniques Workshop at FTM

Last month I attended a wonderful workshop at the Fashion and Textiles Museum ran by Zandra Rhodes' head couturier Jalanta. She planned a comprehensive set of tasks based around sewing silk satin and silk chiffon. These are notoriously tricky fabrics to sew with as well as being very expensive. Double trouble! There was no need to have worried as Jalanta gave us some really practical advice and we were all sewing with little samples of silk satin and silk chiffon with great confidence by the end of the day.

French Seam

I already knew how to do a French Seam but a really handy tip Jalanta gave us when sewing with ANY delicate fabric was to start the seam on a scrap piece of similar weighted fabric and keep sewing onto the seam from there. It avoids the delicate fabric from disappearing down the throat plate of the machine.

Pin Hem

I have read about Pin Hems but never knew how to accurately sew one until this workshop. Fold a 1.5cm hem, iron in position then sew as close as is humanly possible to the folded edge depending on the type of foot your sewing machine has. Now trim the raw edge, again as close as is possible to the sewn hem. Fold over and sew a second set of stitching, ideally in exactly the same place as before. Fiddly but oh so satisfying.

Pin Hem Around a Corner

This looked so hard I thought I wouldn't manage it. Luckily patience and resilience is key here AND nimble fingers. To sew around a scarf / handkerchief the key (which I NEVER realised until now) is to start sewing the edge in the middle NOT at the corner so you can fold over the corner as you get closer to sewing it and keep going. Once you have sewn one full seam all around you trim back the excess fabric like before. Next, fold over and sew a second hem making sure you hit the original sewing lines. This is particularly tricky when sewing with the chiffon as it is transparent and you can easily see any mistakes.

Silk Chiffon Bias Binding

Yes, I know what you are thinking; as if sewing bias-binding with regular fabric wasn't enough! We made our own bias binding with silk chiffon and attached like regular bias binding. The only difference with the final finish was how it was pinned at the front of the neckline / hem so that when you blind-stitch from the back you technically should be stitching in the ditch (I hope that makes sense?). The sewing line is 'supposed' to nestle EXACTLY in the seam of the chiffon bias and base fabric. In practice this was VERY hard.

There were a few more techniques but I didn't really get sufficient photos to share with you. Overall it was a great workshop that made me feel like I could make something from the 2 metres of Liberty silk I have had in my stash for too long.

I will leave you with these fun photographs of Bermondsey Street Fair that was in full swing on the 13th September!

Liberty Scout Tee

I love the simplicity of the Grainline Scout Woven Tee. I have adapted the pattern to fit really nicely after five previous Scout's this is my sixth version of this popular garment.
The beautiful metre of Liberty Tana Lawn was gleaned in the January Sales at a 50% discount.
Got to love a bargain!

I made the following changes to the tee:

• Due to a cutting error I have a seam down the front of the top - luckily due to the busy nature of the Liberty print it is not noticable
• Shaped centre back seam to reduce excess fabric
• French seam construction throughout
• Lengthened the sleeves by extending by about 6cm
• I created a longer hem at the back and made a little split feature in the sides
• Inspired by Elle at Laura Loves Pugs I used silver bias-binding for the neckline

Tropical Fifi

My second Tilly and the Buttons post within the week! When the new patterns were released from T&tB HQ there was a £20 offer for both the Bettine and Fifi.

The Fifi is a cute little camisole and shorts pattern - a summer PJ set!

My friend Sophie gifted me a beautiful metre of this tropical cotton voile from Hong Kong when she came to stay in London in July. As soon as I saw the Fifi pattern I knew it would be a perfect match!

I didn't quite have enough fabric to cut the camisole on the bias so had to stick with the stright-grain

Lovely pleat detailing on the camisole bust area 

The finished camisole set with self-made bias straps and along the hem of the camisole

I am really happy with the final garments but I have to say these are very teeny tiny shorts and definitely only to be worn inside the house! If I had the time to do some unselfish sewing these would make a great present to make for special female friends or family members.

I would like to try a second set but cut the camisole on the bias this time because it would fit so much nicer than on the straight-grain as it's a little snug when getting it on and off.

Overall it was a quite satisfying project with lots of French Seams and carefully considered detailing. Despite the large amount of bias binding you have to make I found it an enjoyable experience. It did make me consider buying one of those bias-binding makers - have you ever used one of those before?

Marilla Walker's Ilsley skirt

I love Marilla's creative approach to clothes-making and her garments are so carefully thought out and versatile. I have been reading Marilla's blog for a while so when she launched her free skirt pattern the Ilsley I was excited to make one.

I had the perfect grey linen in my stash (that had originally been destined for my McCall's 6696 shirtdress) which had the right sort of weight and structure for a skirt of this nature.

Onto the construction of the Ilsley skirt:

The PDF is only about 15 pages long and Marilla has meticulously planned the tessellation so it uses the least amount of paper as possible. Genius!

Next step was the curved hem, then onto the construction of the pockets which are French seamed for a neat finish. Finally sew up the side seams and attach the waistband and there you have a beautifully finished elasticated skirt!

I love it. It is so comfortable.
Depending on the fabric you use it can have a totally different look. I image it would be super-chilled out in a very soft sweatshirt knit or much smarter in a cotton sateen.
Overall it is a lovely skirt and I can see a few more in my wardrobe by the time Me-Made-May 2016 comes around.

The crazy / beautiful 1970's shirt was another purchase from the vintage stall from Camden Passage in Islington last week.

It was £10 because it has a few tears and holes in it. I will need to repair / re-style it so I can wear it without the fear of it disintegrating on me. It is made from a beautiful sheer cotton muslim but has seen better days under the arm and on the button holes. Looks like I have another vintage pledge project to get creative with!

Summery Sorbetto

I dug out my old faithful Bernina today because I fancied whipping up something simple and speedy. I decided on the Colette Sorbetto (free pattern) and focused on improving the fit and length of the top from the previous version (black and white stripy Sorbetto).

First thing I had to do was adjust the pattern by adding 3cm just below the armhole and above the bust darts to not only lengthen the top but to lower the darts too. On a previous attempt I tried to lower the darts using an online tutorial but it really didn't work so I went with a simpler option.

I then also added 3cm in roughly the same place at the back so the notches would still line up (which they surprisingly did!). I also altered the hemline by curving and dropping it by about 6cm at the back so it is a comfier fit (and will tuck into skirts and trousers better too).

I chose a beautiful cotton voile (Wish by Valori Wells Designs) that I purchased at Guthrie and Ghani a month ago. The fabric has a complex paisley-like design with 16 colours in the repeat pattern!

Here is the finished Sorbetto with purple bias-biding on the neck and armholes. I chose not to apply bias-binding to the hemline because it is quite stiff (I'm hoping it will soften in the wash) and wanted the hem to be more pliable for tucking into skirts and trousers. For a neater finish on the inside I used French seams for the side and shoulder seams. Overall I am quite happy with my new summery top - I just hope we continue to have this lovely weather so I can enjoy wearing it now rather than having to wait until next year!

Mathilde blouse

I attended a workshop in May to make the 'Tilly and the Buttons' Mathilde blouse at the fabric shop / cafe called Ray Stitch in Islington. I invited my friend Hayley to join me for the weekend to attend the workshop which was held on Saturday and Sunday from 12 - 5pm. Ray Stitch is a lovely little haberdashery that sells some gorgeous fabric and notions along with great tea and coffee (and cakes).

Tilly was a great tutor, helping everybody through the various stages of the Mathilde blouse construction that included; pin-tucking, stay stitching, machine gathers, basting, French seams, and rolled hems. I had to put in the sleeves two times and am not completely happy with the pin tucks at the front because one is slightly out at each side (luckily they are the same ones for symmetry's sake).

It has taken me quite a while (nearly two months) to finish the Mathilde blouse - it just needed the button holes slitting and buttons hand-sewing! Anyway here it is with a slight nautical-esque theme with the blue 'bunting' printed fabric with red stripy buttons.

If I make another Mathilde I will definitely use a plainer fabric because you don't even notice the pin-tuck detailing at the front because of the busy fabric. Nevermind, at least I know for next time.....

Black and white stripy Sorbetto

I followed the link from Emma Jayne's blog at  Clipped Curves for the free pattern from Colette for a lovely top called the Sorbetto. If you google Colette Sorbetto there are hundreds of examples of hand-made versions that have been blogged about / uploaded to the web so I am in good company here.

I downloaded the pattern printed it out, stuck it together and then cut out my size. (I actually cut out the individual sections on the train over a couple of morning commutes).

Now which fabric should I choose to make the Sorbetto top?

I had purchased some fabric from Samuel Taylors, Leeds in June so I had a few options to choose from. I decided to opt for the black and white striped cotton lawn with the leopard print bias binding to finish the outer seams. What would you have selected?

Here is a quick photographic narrative of the construction of the Colette Sorbetto. It took me about four hours to make (not including the paper pattern construction). I used French seams throughout for a neater finish.

I am really happy with the finished garment but if I make another Sorbetto I will need to lower the bust darts considerably because they sit in the wrong place. I will adjust the pattern by lowering the front yoke just below the armhole and add 3 cm to the front panel. This mean that I could leave the dart as it is but it would just sit lower. Overall the top pattern is very short. I free-styled the back of the top by adding a curved lower hem and I added about 2cm to the length.

Maybe on my next top I will play around with a greater colour contrast on the bias binding? What do you think?