New fitting issues

Hello! I'd like your opinion on a muslin I've been working on. I want to sew this dress from Burda:

I made a first muslin and there was the swayback problem as well as some strange horizontal fabric bunching on the front bodice so I made alterations and here's my second muslin:




I think this is obviously too tight with the fabric pulling at the sides and the fact that blood stops flowing in my legs when I sit in it :( Yes the peachy bits you can see in the top pics figure straps because I intend to put some on the final dress. What do you think, should I let the side seams to gain 1 cm on each side? Or should I add 1 cm in the middle front and back? Or maybe both?! Once again I need your help girlz!

Grandpa shirt

Hello there, how are you? I'm soooo excited by what I have to show you today! First a quick explanation to this creation: once upon a time I had a great, loose white shirt -called grand-père in French, hence the title- bought on sale in a cheap catalogue and that I LOVED with a passion. Unfortunately said shirt's fabric rapidly became discoloured and full of holes since it was so cheap and I wore it all the time. At first I would mend the holes and pretend I didn't see the discoloration spots but it reached a point where this strategy didn't work and so I had to do something. With trembling hands I took apart my beloved shirt to trace a pattern from it and pheeew, it actually worked! :) Yes, I can now make an endless supply of this super shirt! Without further ado here's the baby:




The only change I made from the original version is not to button the shirt all the way down on the front, I like it better this way. The fabric is lilac striped cotton, I'm in love with it, I have it in navy blue stripes and I want the mint green and yellow ones too!
By the way, thank you again for taking the time to read and/or comment on this blog, I really appreciate it! Have a great weekend, see you!

Japanese tops

Hello! Today I'd like to show you 2 tops I made a while ago and that I hadn't had the opportunity to take pictures of. The first one taught me always to wash fabrics before making anything out of them :( Indeed the white rayon I used shrinked after the top first went into the washing machine. I can still wear it but it's a bit tight around the arms and fortunately even though the length has shortened it still hides my bottom. The design comes from a Japanese magazine very appropriately called "Sewing", it has a front yoke with ties and 3/4-length sleeves, I only added the frayed ruffled band at the hem. I like this top so I'll probably make another one one of these days, I'll just be careful with preparing the fabric first^^.

Argh, did I mention that this rayon crumples like crazy?!

The other top was made using beautiful Japanese cotton bought on sale in Okayama and a pattern from Female Spring 2010.


I love the raglan sleeves, demure neckline, and the pleats and bow details :) It's very nice to wear and I can already picture another one out of light blue cotton piqué! Alright, have a nice week and see you!

My lil chemisier

Hello friends, how are you? I'm glad to tell you that the Butterick shirt is done :) This was really easy to sew once I got the swayback issue solved. I used tiny polka dot crepe fabric and tan buttons from my stash.



The weather isn't very good today so the pictures are ashier than usual but you get the idea for the top^^. Now I NEED a yellow pencil skirt to wear it with and of course among the dozens of fabric in my stash there's nothing in the correct colour or weight. See you!

Burda top: success!

Hiya! Can you believe I finally sewed something that I actually like^^? I found the pattern in the May 2010 issue of Burda magazine, design 104. I cut a size 38 and lenghtened the hem by 2". I loved the kimono sleeves, V-neck and shirring detail of the top and it turned out great, both stylish and comfy to wear.



I used eggplant polycotton veil so it's still a bit stiff but it will settle down nicely after a few washes. I'm still hesitating on what fabric to use for the Butterick project, I hope I'll have a revelation before the weekend is over! See you!

Butterick B4985 second muslin

Hey there! Following yesterday's pattern alterations I made another test top and I'm quite happy with the result:


Those sharp angles I was worried about worked well eventually! I lengthened the back pieces at the hem and drew a curved line to make it harmonious. I know it's not perfect but I'll leave it like that since 1) I'm not a fusspot 2) my weight varies by 2 pounds almost every fortnight. I also slightly altered the sleeves by superimposing the big dots on the back and front sleeve pieces to join them:



To me the sleeve has a nicer drapé like this, even though you can hardly see it in the picture of the muslin -I totally forgot to take side views^^!
Well I guess that will do for the fitting part, I'd like to get started on the real thing but I'm afraid to cut into one of my hoarded/treasured Japanese fabrics so I'm probably going to think about this one a little longer... See you and thanks for your advice on yesterday's problem!

Fitting issues

Hello dear readers, how are you? I haven't posted much recently but I've had seamstress block, I can't seem to sew a proper thing for me :( Strangely enough I had no problem making garments for relatives but for me it just didn't work! That is, until I dug Butterick B4985 out of my stash:


What a cutie! A quick look at some sewing blogs later and I was definitely convinced, I had to sew this one. As I'm rather wary of non vintage US patterns when it comes to the fit I made a muslin. The result is quite satisfying except for my usual sway back problem. Here's what I did to try and solve this issue:


I pinched 1.3/4" of excess fabric in the middle lower back piece and removed 3/4" along the upper piece seam line. Now that's when I need your help: are these alterations enough? Should I alter something else? I wear a lot of loose tops so it's difficult for me to say if this above is correctly fitted :( Also please look at my modified pattern pieces:

That piece n°6 now has a sharp angle at the back seam, is it ok or should I reduce the sharpness by sharing the extra centimeters like this:


And of course I guess I have to make up for the 1.3/4" I removed by adding the same amount at the hem of my modified pieces like this:


I could really use your help so please share your advice in the comments! Thanks!

The Golden Girls tunic!

Hello friends, how are you? I told you about a crazy-cat-lady type top in my last post, well here it is!



Even though it's still fairly hot I was able to wear it today, it's the same design as the emerald top and the fabric is a silky poly something, it's textured and there are those beautiful bright bouquets scattered on it :) I know it looks like something Dorothy Zbornak would wear but I'm quite fond of my top! And the worst part is that I was actually drunk on wine cooler -I'm classy like that- when I sewed it. The memory is bitter sweet since the reason I drank that evening was that one of my beloved cats had just passed away so I really needed a recreation :( Therefore I chose a trusted pattern and cut a favourite fabric that I had been hoarding since 2008. Alright, I hope that wasn't TMI^^, have a nice weekend and see you!