Lady In Waiting

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I've been sewing like a madwoman. But not the Lady Grey.

As you can see here, I have gotten the muslin sewn and pin fitted, but that's where I stopped. The weather changed and I realized all my pants were either linen or cropped, so I made three new pairs of pants in three days. More on those later.

I also needed a bag to carry some things to a special event, so I finished my Favorite Things Carpet Bag, which had been sitting as a UFO for 4 years!

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.

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.

Another Potential Fabric for the Lady Grey

Although this is a home dec fabric, it's not stiff or heavy. I bought it with the intention of making it into a swing coat, but still haven't found the perfect pattern. Hard to believe, considering I have at least half a dozen swing coat patterns in my stash. I wonder if it would work for the Lady Gray.

I think it's time for a little Photoshop magic to help me visualize.

And While We're On The Subject Of Coats...

I'm planning to participate in the Lady Grey Coat Sew-Along sponsored by the lovely and talented Gertie.

According to the pattern, I'll need 4 and 1/3 yards for this project. I have a few large enough cuts of fabrics in my stash that could work in this style.

The first one I'm considered is the brown and black houndstooth pictured below. It's a clearance wall purchase from Fabricland, so I don't know the fiber content, though I strongly suspect that it's acrylic. All of the examples of the Lady Grey that I've seen are solid color, but I don't see why it couldn't be made in a patterned fabric. What do you think?



The solid fabric is also a possibility, but I had originally intended to use that for another vintage inspired coat, Vogue 1083.

Why, oh why, are all my coat fabrics in the brown family? I'm trying not to buy new fabrics until I use up some of my stash, but I love how the Lady Grey looks in a bright color. If I found the right fabric I might have to break down and add to my yardage count.