Rainshore 0.5 – a building arises!
I showed you the foundations going in, in my post last month. I am amazed at what has been achieved during February. Here is the site in the middle of the month. The gound floor was in, ready for the construction of the second floor. In the second picture (from the back of the house) you can see how there is a line of sight right through the property. The blue skies are amazing. It is cold in the UK at the moment but we are having some stunning sunny days too.
Around one week later – look! We have the second floor on and the house is really (as Kevin McCloud would say) “really beginning to take shape”. I am amazed and thrilled with the progress. You may remember the plans.
The amazing thing about a timber framed house is that once the plans are agreed and signed off the work starts in the factory or workshop to make the walls according to the measurements and specifications. Everything is already settled – window shapes and positions, door types and sizes, built in cupboard placement, electric sockets and light fittings. The process of building the frame is exacting and precise – the workmen are very skilled. But because they work in doors, in a controlled environment, they can get everything to work together – a bit like pattern cutting. No inclement weather or bits that won’t quite fit together. Once everything is prepared the panels and structures can be assembled on site in a matter of days.
The next stage will be to start forming the inside of the house. We still have to make some decisions on
- How to build the kitchen. We will probably buy ready made units and create our own doors, but it depends on price.
- How to deal with the fitted cupboards. Nick wants to make them himself (and our bed, tables and outdoor furniture, but you have to be realistic!)
- The wood burning stove. We have been considering a vintage, second hand one.The old European stoves are beautiful, whereas modern wood burners can look like a 1970s TV. But on balance we are going with a streamlined, Danish tube as they are much more energy efficient and reliable.This particular design allows you to see the fire from three “windows”; additionally you can rotate the stove. And I love this colour (although Nick wants black so who knows?)
Anyway I am beyond excited. This is such a wonderful project and although we are not truly self builders (too old and busy for that) we will be doing a lot of work inside the house once it is constructed. Here I am on 27 February, standing in the sitting room, in front of our lake side view. I’ll show you my sewing room, next time.
Sewing with a Plan 2016 0.19 Starting the McCalls 7938 Courreges coat
I am making the double breasted coat for my SWAP. I like the contrast bound edge, martingale and loose back panels and the simple sixties style of this McCalls coat pattern.
Alterations and pattern
I didn’t make many changes, as I was lucky enough to find it was made for my size. I have already made the blouse, and a toile for the skirt, which both fitted with minimal changes. For the coat I took it up two inches in the length and reduced the shoulder by one inch. The sleeve was shortened one inch too – perhaps I should have taken out a second inch, but I will see at the fitting.
Fabric and materials
I have used a nice, Italian boucle wool for this coat. It has rather a loose weave, and it frays terribly. For this reason I used an iron on interfacing on the front. I wouldn’t normally do this, but I felt in this case the bonding would help hold the coat together. It may be a mistake but the lightweight of my interfacing also encouraged me – this is not a stiff tailored winter coat but a gentle, soft, summery coat. Look at Mia Farrow in her coat – it has a softness at the hem and sleeves that implies there is not much support behind the wool.
Leather binding
The main issue for me was what to use for the binding. This makes or breaks the coat, and while I considered navy which would have given a nice clear definition to the edges, Once I decided on silver I considered different approaches. I had some silver bias binding, but that looked cheap. McCullough and Wallis have some faux silver leather binding at around £3 a metre, and in leather at about £14. I decided that I would use real leather from the piece. I bought a piece of silvered pig skin from Storm leathers in Hackney.
I cut 3cm strips, hoping that I would have around 1cm visible on the edges – subtle rather than dominant. I tried out silver leather on the welt pocket flaps.
Not very satisfactory. The binding looked bulky and too rounded. I tried an alternative technique that worked much better. If you ever want to do leather binding here are my tips.
- Cut the strips as you go so as to use the minimum amount of leather
- I found it worked best if I did straight runs and avoided corners
- Sew the binding to the wool carefully as it stretches about 2/8th inch from the edges
- Turn it over and press well
- On the reverse don’t tuck it in
- stitch the turn back to the row of stitching using a leather needle
- At the corners cover the already attached binding with a straight cut (raw) edge
Buttonholes
I had a similar issue with the proposed bound buttonholes. The suggested buttons are quite large (one and one-eighth inch). My fabric is lumpy (boucle) but also tender and loose. I tried a range of options. The first one, using the boucle for the lips was horrible and raggy looking. I then tried (right at the edge of the fabric) a machine made buttonhole which looked huge and overlong, but also spindly. The best option was when I used silver leather for the lips. Neat and clean.
Now I know what I am doing I will be able to crack on with the coat.
In terms of SWAP I have completed the struck through items:
Blue set skirtBlue set blouse- Blue set dress
Mauve set blouse- Mauve set skirt
- Mauve set coat
- Combo skirt
- Combo blouse
Pink wildcard evening dressPink wildcard evening trousersPink wildcard evening tunic
Only five more garments to finish by the end of April. Assuming the coat goes well this should be fine. How are you getting on?
Best dressed (male) politicians
I did a short post on best dressed men from the world of music and the arts. This week I will have a look at politicians.
George Osborne
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, known for tucking into burgers, fries and fizzy drinks, has recently appeared in public looking younger, fitter and with better clothes. Here are some of the before pictures.
Since the election he has lost a considerable amount of weight and got a more flattering hair style. His clothes too seem to be a little bit more modern compared to the identikit Tory minister look he was so readily slipping into. I would say he looks at least ten years younger. I like the deep coloured ties – navy or bottle green. Here is someone who is preparing to lead the Conservative party, once David Cameron steps down.
François Hollande
French president Hollande is rather short at 5’7″, with a rounded silhoutte. His trousers often emphasise the narrowness of his legs. The press has poked fun at his ludicrous beach wear (trousers, polo shirt and leather shoes) and poorly fitting suits. He has smartened up his act recently and the new framed glasses are a major improvement on the thick-lensed rimless specs he used to wear. He has grown in his role too, coping impressively with the terrible terrorist atrocities in Paris last year.
Justin Trudeau
The one to top the lot is probably Canada’s new liberal Prime Minister, young Dad, 43 year old Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre Trudeau. Justin is very committed to equalities and is happy to present himself as a relaxed man of the people. He is over six foot tall, with a strong physique and an engaging manner.
And finally here are two that would not win any best dressed contests, although they both have nice grey hair despite their relative youth (41 and 45). Here are Little and Large the two Mayoral Candidates for London (we vote in May). Zac (Conservative) is tall, very wealthy, handsome but scruffily dressed. Sadiq (Labour) is shorter than me, has modest roots, and dresses in a non-descript way. On the style stakes there isn’t much between the two of them – they like floppy shirts, the tie-less look and dark blue suits. What is this saying to Londoners? The current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has perfected the I-couldn’t-care-less-about-how-I-look which now seems to unite the candidates. It’s a bit disappointing for London’s fashion industry.
Meeting Mary Funt
Blogging has brought me great joy. It has allowed me to meet the most interesting women from all over the world, some of them in person. I have written up many of these encounters because they have been such fun, but also because there is always something to be learned from others with the same interest in making clothes.
One of the most interesting blogs is Cloning Couture by Mary Funt. If you haven’t come across her blog go and have a look. This is high end, couture sewing at its very best. Mary makes wonderful bridal and evening wear and alters original couture items such as Chanel so they fit well and look contemporary. When she mentioned she was coming to the UK to purchase some fabrics, visit some factories and see the sights of London I arranged to meet up with her. What fun! We arranged to meet in British Museum as Mary and her husband wanted to see the Rosetta Stone. The real stone is in the Museum but this one is a copy you can touch.
Mary is, apart from being a wonderful seamstress and seriously good tennis player, is “Daughter of the American revolution (DAR)” – women who can prove that they are descended from someone who played a role in achieving Independence for the United States. As someone who has studied her own ancestry Mary’s was particularly proud that she has five connections to the American revolution, and had been visiting graves and collecting information. Her husband explained that she is practically American royalty!
We drank tea in the members room, wandered around the exhibits and talked of politics, family, sewing and Mary’s adventures so far. Mary had been to the Linton shop in Carlisle and Lochcarron in Scotland. They had been in Edinburgh and Sterling too and loved Scotland. I felt very proud of our British textiles and traditions – tartan, tweed, Scottish wool, Yorkshire woolen fabrics, our cotton and silk industry and asked Mary what were the authentically American textile traditions. She said, of course, cotton is grown and manufactured in the US, but not the very highest quality, on the whole. I mentioned that I had been interested in the beading and leather work of indigenous people, and hey presto we found ourselves in the North American and Canadian parts of the Museum. The cloak on the left was very interesing, becasue although it is heavily decorated it was just worn folded slightly at the neck rather than being cut into shape.
We saw something else I found fascinating, originating in Canada rather than the United States. I am including this for Stephanie, especially, but I wonder if anyone else might know a) what it is and b) what it is made from?
In the meantime I have been using the basting thread and needles. What a perfect present – unobtainable in the UK and of superlative quality. I shall weep when they are exhausted. Thank you lovely Mary, and do come again!
Do you have a Fantasy SWAP collection?
Have you come across Fantasy Football? As I understand it you create your ideal football team. I am not sure if you “buy” players, or chart your progress by how your team members score in actual games. But I believe it provides hours of fun for football fans (I will have to ask some of my male work colleagues to explain it to me as my husband has no idea).
Do sewists ever make plans that we will never carry out, but have a kind of ideal quality? I read an interesting post from Dr Elizabeth this week, where she covers the Fantasy 6PAC. She writes
One thing I like to do when I get a pattern magazine is to try to construct a 6 piece wardrobe from the patterns in the magazine and my fabric stash. I mean, mostly in my head, because my sewing time is limited. I find that limiting my patterns leads to a more creative mindset for me. I am someone who can get stuck in a rut, and also someone who can be paralyzed looking for the “perfect” pattern or the “perfect” fabric…My rule of thumb is: two bottoms, two tops, two layers all working together.
I found this interesting. Since being introduced to the Sewing With A Plan and the pared down 6 PAC (basically a SWAP with just six items as described by Elizabeth, above) process (of putting a coordinated wardrobe or collection together), I have started to think about what to make next in a more structured way. This year I had three possible SWAPs which I had imagined on numerous tube journeys. The neutrals collection; the inspired by Vivienne Westwood and the Sweetpea collection (which I am executing). Like Elizabeth I have limited time to actually make things up – but my mind still works out what it would be great to sew if time were not so short.
So I have another SWAP notion. Obviously I am in the middle of SWAP 2016 and won’t be really planning the next one until Christmas. There is no reason why I couldn’t or shouldn’t make this set of 11 items up between May and December, or any other time of my choosing. But, like that neutrals collections, I am unlikely to actually make this collection. But I wanted to get it down as I think it is an interesting idea.
My new collection a capsule collection – featuring all the items that magazines and blogs say are “indispensable” “classics” “suit everyone” items. This, of course, is far from the truth. We all have different body shapes and colouring and we don’t all suit a “Little Black Dress” or “A white shirt” for example. My idea is to stick to classic shapes and colours, but branch out a little with the shapes. Firstly I have listed 11 items that usually make up the capsule wardrobe (in cooler climates).
The classic, capsule wardrobe collection
- Tailored jacket
- Tailored trousers
- Tailored shirt
- Jeans
- Leather jacket
- T shirt
- Fitted skirt
- Fitted dress
- Blouse
- Warm coat
- Raincoat
Here is my version
Set 1: The first three items are a navy trousers suit with a white shirt. This gives a high authority look and would be suitable for work. I would make the jacket very shaped and the shirt important in its own right with a strong detail – cuff links, a bold collar or maybe a twist or wrapped look. This suit is the sort of thing I would like, with a more fitted jacket, and not in beige.
Set 2: This is the casual or off duty outfit; denim jeans, a T shirt and a leather jacket. I think I would use indigo denim for the jeans, and make a white T shirt for a really classic look. Maybe flared jeans (I have not finished with that Birkin jeans pattern) or self dyed indigo jeans. The T shirt could be novel in terms of its cut or styling, but I may just opt for a well fitted classic T shirt. I would have fun with the jacket – probably making another peplum jacket but this time using dark green suede. The photograph again has a nice neutral colour scheme – I wouldn’t have the chiffon piece hanging down, but roughly these shapes.
Set 3; Here I would add a further skirt and top, plus a dress. I would make a straight skirt in bottle green so that it would work perfectly with suede jacket. Also with the white shirt and navy jacket from set 1 it would be a good work outfit. My blouse would be a shell top, designed to go with the skirt – simple in shape but using a patterned fabric to bring the collection together. I would look for fabric that was white, navy, dark green and dark brown – or I would paint some silk to bring these colours together. To bring the fabric to life I may add red, pink or yellow. This blouse would look good with the navy suit, the jeans or the bottle green set. The dress would be a very classic shape but I think I would make it in white. This would look great with the navy and dark green jackets. The dress would function as my LBD.
Wildcards: Because I am in the UK I would make a couple of coats. One would be warm for cold days – I would love to buy some dark brown shearling to make a really nice loose fit coat. And my raincoat would be trench style, but not in boring beige. I would choose a cheerful colour taken from my silk blouse pattern – yellow, red or shocking pink. In a warmer climate I would put a summer skirt and cardigan here, or a couple of casual summer dresses – one smarter and one a maxi dress.
Do you have a fantasy wardrobe or a coordinating set you would like to own (but will probably never sew)? Do you dream up ideal 6PACs like Elizabeth and me, or do you think we are nutty?
Sewing with a Plan 2016 0.18 Making the McCalls 7938 Courreges blouse
For my SWAP outfit I identified some nice light mauve silk to use for the McCalls 7938 simple shell top.
In the meantime I attended my draping class and, as I had finished the peplum top, I draped a blouse, flared from the yoke, using very lightweight silky calico. The front was effectively a full circle, with a half circle at the back from a deeper yoke. I then made up the blouse in some deep purple silk that reminded me of the purple sweet peas in my inspiration photograph. But it went horribly wrong – partly because the fabric was inappropriate for the job – far too heavy to achieve the very delicate look I had planned (chiffon or lightweight habotai would have worked better).
A more serious problem revealed itself when I tried it on. It just didn’t”flatter”; my shaped figure needs waist definition. I decided to take it to the charity shop or throw it out.
Having spent quite a lot of time on this item, I hovered over the dustbin. Inspired by Mrs Mole’s recent magical transformation of a “wadder” into a cute girl’s skirt I wondered if I could unpick the top and reuse the fabric. I decided to toile the McCalls 7938 Courreges shell top, and found that the pattern easily fitted into all that material.
Once the Courreges blouse was finished I played around with my artificial sweet peas on the front. I cut each flower head from the stalk and removed the plastic struts. To put the colours of the design together I used the 1-3-5 flower arranging principle, and placed the flowers across the front, trying as much as possible to attach them to interfaced parts. I stitched them from behind, making sure they stood proud and lifelike, rather than completely anchored.
This week I bought a pair of trousers from Marks and Spencer (20% off) in a new shape for me – I didn’t think I would ever wear pleated trousers. But I did. With my new blouse.
The sun is shining in London – all’s well that ends well.
Menswear Friday: Lessons from the well-dressed
Menswear is rather limited. You can wear a suit, a more casual at work look known as business casual, or you can go casual in your jeans, T shirt and soft jacket or hoody. Your colour palette seems limited to black and blue.
Since reading an article in the Financial Times on who dressed best in 2015, I have chosen seven well-dressed men from the arts, design and sport. They all have an air of confidence about how they dress – a slight departure from run of the mill, but apart from Alessandro Michele, they are still in the mainstream. I offer you a selection of well dressed men collated from mens’ magazines and newspapers, with my opinion about what is working well for them. Do give me your view, or name a few others.
Back in 2012 we went to see the Heatherwick exhibition at the V&A. It was amazing. This guy designs Buddhist temples, zipper bags, the London Olympic cauldron, the Paddington rolling bridge and our new London red buses. At the exhibition I was fascinated by his experiments with fabric – origami type stitched pieces, embroidery and organic patchwork. He is interesting as a natural dresser – soft cottons, big scarves, little vests and messy hair. But he looks confident and happy with his arty English style.
Spielberg protege and Star Wars geek director Abrams looks really nice in his glasses. At nearly 50 his hair is thick and well tended. His deep colouring is flattered in navy, dark brown and denim. Although he looks a little silly in the American cap, overall Abrams shows how to look smart but also relaxed, competent and creative.
To be honest I don’t follow football much but Jose Mourinho did attract my attention. The man who now runs Watford is a very handsome Spaniard with both dancing and football in his genes. He manages to dress almost exclusively in navy blue, combining it with a little grey and white; his hair and beard are also flamboyantly grey and white, while he combines the formal jacket with a button down or open necked shirt and (often) a jumper. He chooses nice casual shoes so he can run about on the pitch but you can be sure that (like most southern Europeans) he will wear good leather shoes on a night out.
Clementine is a British pianist, songwriter and singer who has played and modeled for Burberry. With his high top/flat top hair, bare feet and colourful clothes he looks dramatic and interesting at 26. Let’s see what he achieves.
Michele is the 43-year-old creative director at Gucci. His expressive-romantic wardrobe personality comes through in both what he wears and what he creates. While you can find him jeans and T shirts – often with a necklace – with rings on his fingers, flowing hair and beard he looks like an aging hippy. But. He is genuinely creative and has challenged male ideas of stylish.
44 year old Jamaican writer Marlon James won the Booker prize in October for A Brief History of Seven Killings. His striking dreadlocks (with a little red scrunchie), his ability to wear bright colours like yellow and red, and his ability to both showcase and subvert smart suits makes him a stand-out stylish guy.
Colin Farrell is rather pleased with himself but he generally gets it right in the style stakes. An almost 40, Irish man (which always does it for me), he can wear just about anything and make it look fresh and stunning. With a preference for the three piece suit and a moustache he is somewhat retro in his dressing but is clearly a dramatic-classic and often looks great. Two silver earrings show an expressive side too. Even when he wears a mismatched shirt and tie (middle picture) he makes it look deliberate and understated rather than silly.
Who would you nominate for best-dressed awards?
Tips for sewing leather garments
Last week I provided some information on buying leather for your dressmaking projects. Having bought a nice piece of pig skin I have been experimenting with sewing it, and have started to make up a skirt. I have sewn a few leather items previously – here are my tips, based on my experience, getting it wrong and experimentation.
Tips for sewing with leather
- Make a toile or use a tried and tested pattern that fits you perfectly – you are not going to be able to move the darts or let out a seam
1960s skirt (front view) - When laying out the pieces beware of small holes and imperfections in the leather and plan to avoid them
- You can split your pattern pieces and introduce joins to make more economic use of your leather piece eg trouser legs can be joined above the knee
- Lay the leather piece out so that the spine of the animal lies lengthwise and then place the pattern pieces as much as you can as if this was the selvedge grain
McCalls skirt – laying out the pieces - Obviously you are not going to fold the leather so you may have to flip pattern pieces or cut out the matching half
- If you are cutting a right and left side don’t forget to turn your patten pieces over so you don’t have two left sleeves (for example)
- However once you have cut out the larger important pieces you can fit the smaller pieces at different angles if necessary
- I secured my pattern pieces with magic tape (sellotape)
- Sharp shears cut leather beautifully
- Mark the back of the leather with chalk, pencil or washable felt tips. As you will not be using pins mark the legs of the darts to aid stitching
- Choose a leather sewing machine needle as this has a little triangular blade that cuts cleanly into the leather with every stitch
Leather needles - Use a nice, strong thread. I used Gutermann extra strong (upholstery) thread
Upholstery thread - You can wax your thread too if you prefer
- Use a much longer stitch than usual – I used 3.6 and found this ideal although you could use a longer stitch. Stitching too close together risks creating a slash in the fabric.
- I didn’t use clips or anything instead of pins when sewing – I just held the pieces together and this was fine
- I used fabric glue on the waist band and hem, and to keep the seam allowances flat. I used a fabric glue but last time I used a rubber glue specifically for leather.
Fabric glue - I pressed the seams open on the wrong side with a warm iron (no steam). I found my leather responded well to this although I hadn’t heard of this idea before.
- I used an invisible zip which went in well. To secure it before I stitched I used wonder tape. took it through the waistband so I didn’t need any hooks or press studs. If I had I could have sewn them on by hand but even with a leather hand sewing needle it is hard work and not easy to be accurate.
- I lined the skirt with thin silk.
Have you sewn leather? If so would you agree with these methods? Do you have other suggestions and tips?
Thank you.
Draping on the Stand 0.14 – the peplum jacket
I have been describing my progress at my Draping on the Stand class. This is my 14th post – and I am glad to report I have by finally achieved a degree of competence. Now, in my third term, with a few years of flat pattern cutting behind me, I managed to do a drape, at home, without the instructions. The learning and lectures, practise and pinning finally went into my brain, and stayed.
I covered my plan for draping a flared top. Here are some inspiration pictures.
I didn’t drape the upper part because neither the stand at college or at home has my exact combination of features. Instead I used my princess block to create a muslin for the bodice, and then draped the peplum separately. I created two different looks. The first one is just a basic straightforward peplum as seen below (left front). As you can see draping allows us to get the flare exactly where we want it rather than cutting out (what is effectively) a circle skirt. I didn’t want the flare at the CF as in the red jacket above, and I didn’t want so much at the back; I wanted most of the flare at the side. It was an easy and quick drape to do.
To create flares you pin with straight grain at the CF, leaving most of the fabric above the waist as this will create the fullness. As you get to a place you want a flare you stick in a pin, cut down to the waist line (black tape can be seen below), allow the fabric in your hand to take the shape of flare, then pin once it is the amount required, smoothing the next bit of cloth along the waist line until you get to the next flare. My simple peplum had about six flares before I got to the CB.
For my toile I used the nice charcoal wool jersey given to me at Christmas by dear Meg of Pigeon Wishes. It was a good choice. I made a simple fitted bodice with princess seams – impossible to see in the dark grey. The style line goes into the sleeve at front and back. I cut quite a deep neck as I thought this might be a bit more interesting than the round necks of the RTW jackets above. For the next version I may take a little bit of fullness from the centre back panel, but just a little. Otherwise the fit is pretty good.
I chose the more conservative peplum. I used my sleeve block (with a dear little elbow dart. I had a blue separating zip in my cupboard so I used that. The CF panels have grown on facings which I joined to a back facing. The peplum itself was cut double to give a little weight and a clean finish.
It was a nice straight forward project. It is comfortable, warm and fits. I would like to make this up again in suede as I have seen such sumptuous colours and textures. Maybe when I have finished the SWAP in May. 
The next two draping projects are the twisted top, and the cowl top. In the meantime I am doing a weekend course in bias draping. That is going to be quite a challenge.
Sewing with a Plan 2016 0.17 – McCalls 3938
My big breakthrough this week, in terms of Sewing with a Plan was choosing this pattern. It is based on a Courreges design and is just what I wanted. Utterly 1960s down to the go-go boots and allows me to make a skirt, top, jacket and coat combo into my Sewing with a Plan collection. I am planning to do a skirt, top and coat, but using different fabrics and textures for each item.
The coat
You can just see the Italian boucle mauve wool, close up, nestling under the pattern; the texture is lovely. I cut out the coat but have yet to decide on the trimming, and what to do about the pockets, which are just flaps! I ask you – flaps! Sure they give a nice bit of waist emphasis on a basically straight unfitted coat. But a coat needs pockets (don’t you agree?). So I will let this simmer for a week or two. And choosing trimming seems to be a bit of a full time job. Too many choices. But I am keen on silver rather than the more obvious navy or charcoal – this is a coat for summer. Recently thinking about US fashions (compared to the UK) I realised that a summer coat is such an English thing. We rarely have weather that allows a simple summer dress and sunnies. It can always turn chilly. A nice warm, but light, coat can be very useful – for traveling in, or to put on when it clouds over. In summer a navy, grey or black coat can be a bit depressing. A sweat-pea coat is what I need instead!
I will also need to think about the lining and buttons.
The skirt
I toiled the skirt. Maybe there is no need with such a simple skirt – back, front, side zip. But because this is such a classic 1960s skirt I wanted to test it exactly as it is. If it works for me it will become a TNT – i wear a 1960s skirt most days. Here it is without a waist band. I think this is the right length for me (actually 5″ shorter than the pattern!) I am happy with it – a slight A line that is a flattering outline on anyone with a shaped figure (defined waist and larger hips). Since I cut out the coat there is not enough mauve wool left to make a little skirt, but I have an idea.
The blouse
The blouse is a very simple 1960s shell, with a back zip. These sort of tops just don’t feature these days. Under a suit most women would choose a jersey top or a more formal shirt/blouse under a suit. But I love the nice simple neckline and the chance to use a luxurious fabric. So I am planning using a nice mauve silk.
I have given myself four weeks to make this outfit. I will give you an update next week.
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