Lady Grey Muslin Traced, Pinned, Cut

Yesterday I traced, pinned and cut the muslin for the Lady Grey coat. I had a class this evening or I would have started basting it together. I have another event tomorrow night, so it looks like it will be the weekend before I do much more. Here it is on my cutting table.

I wanted to cut my muslin from something with a similar weight to my coat fabric. I had an unused red faille shower curtain that I thought might work, but it turned out to be too small. (It's now tagged to become a raincoat for Moby, my very large white Standard Poodle. He looks great in red!)

I decided to use the floral tapestry home dec fabric that I blogged about here. Part of me thought it would make a really cute coat, but another part of me thought I would look like I was wearing someone's grandmother's sofa. It was that image that helped me decide to sacrifice it for the muslin. (What you are seeing in the photo are the strange colors of the reverse side. The background is black on the right side.)

I'm thinking of using what's left of the tapestry after cutting my muslin to make this Cynthia Rowley purse, Simplicity 2350. But that's a project for another day.

Pattern Shopping Procrastination

Today I am focusing on my Lady Grey muslin. I have a lot of catching up to do. I should have been working on this over the weekend, but I was having too much fun shopping garage sales and thrift stores where I picked up a bunch of patterns.

Here are my two favorite patterns from my weekend shopping spree. I think they both might have to get sewn up this season and not just put into my stash for later. The Burda coat doesn't have a lining, but I think it would benefit from one. It shouldn't be too difficult to draft one, since it's not a fitted silhouette. The New Look T-shirt has a lot of fans over at patternreview.com. I could see myself making this in several different colors.

Below are just a few of the other treasures I found and listed at my new eCrater store.

Simplicity 7637, size 4-6-8 bustier and skirt from Jessica McClintock. Totally glam.

Vogue 7183, Today's Fit Jacket by Sandra Betzina. From 1999, I think this is one of the earliest Today's Fit patterns from Vogue. If it was my size I would have kept this one for myself.

Butterick 4660, knit tops from 2005. So cute!

Burda 5205, double breasted blouse from the 80s. Check out the beautiful pleated neckline detail.

I even found another copy of New Look 6595, which is a personal favorite in my stash of coat patterns. I blogged about my plans for it here.

These are just a sampling of the fabulous patterns I will be adding to my store over the next week or so. Look for some fun and funky vintage mens and kids patterns too. But for now I have to get back to cutting and fitting my Lady Grey muslin. Stay tuned for a progress report.

The Last of the Summer Sewing

While I desperately need to be working on my Fall sewing (and my Lady Grey muslin), I'm trying not to increase the size of my UFO pile. So I just had to finish this T-shirt before starting any new projects. It's Vogue 2980, the Sandra Betzina bolero T-shirt, which is now out of print.

I'm pretty new to sewing with knits and I'm happy with how it turned out. Even if I won't get to wear it much until the spring, I'm inspired to make more knit tops.

Time to Get Serious About Lady Grey

Today's post by Gertie is all about gearing up for sewing our Lady Grey coat muslins. I've decided to go with the black and mocha houndstooth, but I still haven't found the right lining fabric. I think a trip to Gala Fabrics has been added to today's to-do list.

I'm also going to take my fabric to the dry cleaners to have them steam press it. I've steamed coat fabrics myself in the past, but I want this one to be perfect, and I have a lot of other things to do.

A while back, Carolyn asked, "Are you a tracer or a cutter?" Most patterns I cut, unless I think there will be a lot of alterations, in which case I trace the piece or pieces that I think will need a lot of chopping and taping. That way if I screw up too badly, I can start again. I think with the Lady Grey, I'm going to trace. This has just been moved up to the top of the to-do list. I'd better get to work.

Wardrobe Re-Fashion Tally

I am 13 days into my 2 month pledge to make, thrift, recycle or refashion all of my wardrobe items instead of buying new. So far, so good.

I bought this purse at the local swap meet.

I repaired this sweater that I originally bought at Goodwill (before the pledge period).

And I sewed this pair of pants from a thrifted 80s era pattern, Butterick 4940.

You can read my Wardrobe Re-Fashion posts, here, here and here.

More Swing Coats

I have quite a few swing coat patterns in my stash. These two are my most recent acquisitions.

  

The first one is Vogue 7902, dated 1990. The description reads: Very loose-fitting, lined, flared coat, below hip, mid-knee or above ankle, has collar, shoulder pads, side back seams, side pockets and long sleeves. 

To the left is the line drawing of the back. Besides the flare, I love the inverted V-shaped inset in the center back. 

The Burda pattern is 5417 and is not dated, but I suspect it's from a similar time frame as Vogue 7902. This is one of the older Burda patterns with no seam allowances, sold in a sealed plastic envelope. I really like the shape of the lapels. Unlike the Vogue, this coat is unlined.

Though I usually like my coats long, I'm draw to the mid-knee length versions. I could use a new raincoat and I think both of these patterns would work well in rainwear fabrics. I don't have any in my stash, but I'm keeping my eye peeled for the right one with these two coats in mind.

I'm Taking the Pledge

Forgive me. I'm a little late in getting this posted as I was without internet access for 4 whole days!

Over at Wardrobe Re-Fashion, you can take a pledge that all of your clothing will be handmade, thrifted, recycled or refashioned for period of 2, 4 or 6 months (or if you are really passionate, for life). When I told my husband that I was going to to do this, his comment was, "Why not? You're already doing that."

So if I'm already doing it, why did I only sign up for 2 months? It's been a tough couple of years and I'm just getting my mojo back. So I decided to give myself some breathing room. That said, I spent the last couple of days happily pre-washing fabric and altering and cutting patterns. I'll say this about not having internet access —it makes for a distraction free day.

So here's my pledge:

I Leslie Z pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate and recycle pre-loved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other media for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thriftiness brings! 
Signed Leslie Z.

Swing Coat Love

I have a thing for swing coats. My infatuation with the silhouette is decades old, beginning when I was teenager. Let me introduce you to my first love.

This coat belonged to my mother. My mom had style. She also had the good sense to save a lot of her clothes and accessories from the 40s and 50s. Lucky me! When I was in my late teens and 20s, her vintage dresses, coats and gloves all fit me like they were made for me. This coat was one of my absolute favorites.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the fabric is black ribbed faille, probably rayon. If I had to guess, I would say this is from the 50s. the coat is unlined and has narrow welt pockets. The collar comes to a point in the back and is detailed with rows of raised stitching, as are the cuffs. Click on the photo below to get a better view of the collar details.

Even though it no longer fits, I haven't been able to part with it. The fabric is stiff with age, and the color is faded in some spots. I still love it, not only for it's style, but for the memories it evokes.

I wasn't consciously thinking of this coat when I started collecting swing coat patterns. I'm not even sure I was aware that I was creating a collection. But I can't deny it. I have a lot of them in my stash and I always get excited when I find one for sale or auction.

This one is New Look 6595. Though this isn't my favorite pattern from my swing coat collection, but I think View 2 could easily be adapted to make a copy of my mother's coat. There's no date on the pattern, but I'm guessing it's from the early 90s.

I like the fact that it's fully lined. If I were going to adapt it to recreate Mom's coat, I would remove the center back seam, shorten the sleeves to 3/4 length and redraft the collar to come to a point in the center back. I have a lot of projects already lined up, including the Lady Gray coat for Gertie's sew-along. But if I were to come across the right fabric, I might just have to move this coat towards the head of the line.