New, Improved, Crowd-sourced Vogue 7133 dress
I often make up garments twice, or more often. If a garment suits you and fits well, why not make it again? I think this is especially the case when you have done a whole set of alterations to make sure a dress or jacket fits well. This is the TNT (tried “n” true, or tried and tested) approach to sewing. So I was pretty keen to have another try with this dress (the first version, underlined in organza, was unbearably scratchy). Making a second version allowed me to make a few amendments, proposed by my readers.
So I did as you suggested, making the dress both slightly more fitted, and slightly shorter. I did this by incorporating one front dart and two in the back. I got the lengths from Winifred Aldrich – the dart width was either 2 or 3cms at the waist.
Better?
Technical details
This one is not underlined, and immediately the wrinkliness of the linen shows. I had only been wearing this dress for about 20 minutes before I persuaded my husband to take a photograph. To me this is how linen looks. I am not bothered.
It is lined in silk (two tone, don’t you know?). As you can see I often go out with tailors’ tacks in my clothes. It gives me something to do when I wash and press them.
The light weight of the dress, and the luxurious lining, plus the loose-fit made it supremely comfortable, yet smart enough for a day at the office.
The darts I introduced were not extreme – as you can see there is still a fold at the waist and the belt is not done up tight.
I made the skirt just another inch shorter, which I feel is enough. I do wear shorter skirts, but only in winter, with tights. In summer I prefer to let the air circulate.
It is still nice and baggy/comfortable, and I think it still looks like a 1960s dress. It probably needed more appropriate footwear to look authentic.
Any further feedback? Do I have to make a third one?
Thank you!
Why I love SIxties Style – Part 1 (1960-1965)
When I was in the Victoria & Albert museum I took this photograph of the 1960s cabinet. A nice range of clothes showing a variety of 1960s trends. Including some paper dresses – back row in turquoise/green and black and white op-art. The lovely red dress in the foreground is by Courreges, and the suit on the right is by Foale & Tuffin.
Recently I reviewed the decades of style by body shape. The 1960s, as you can see here, had a straight, boyish/childish ideal.
I am not shaped like a boy, or a young girl. I have an hourglass type figure. Yet I love the sixties style.
There is more to the sixties than looking like Twiggy. Let’s listen to Mrs Mole.
“It is the 60’s for me. It gave us more freedom to use colors and shapes and the youthful looks our mothers never had. It was the first generation to have their own look and not borrow from the previous ones. I have patterns I sewed back then and can’t bring myself to ditch them.”
I am very much in the same way of thinking (maybe it is our age, who knows?). I remember the 1960s. There was, as Mrs Mole notes, a change in the law on abortion and contraception, divorce and women’s employment rights. Class barriers began to be reduced and working class people could access a better education, jobs and other opportunities. The London scene – encompassing music, art, fashion and social behaviour – was incredibly seductive and successful. We felt technology and science could deliver real change – an end to hunger and disease. We got a man on the moon, saw JFK take over in the States and Harold Wilson in the UK. Martin Luther King made some headway in terms of anti-racism in the US and made his “I have a dream” speech. My own social housing organisation, Notting Hill Housing Trust, was formed in 1963. In 1968 student demonstrations in Paris were so threatening to the old order that Charles de Gaulle left the country, for a while anyway.
Here’s some historical images, and a corresponding fashion shot for each year.
1961
I remember learning the Twist with my Aunty Beryl and cousin Clive. There was instruction on how to do it on the television. I can still do it now. And Chanel was seen as bit old-fashioned, but also very upmarket. My Mum had a Chanel suit, which she wore a lot.
1962
The image from 1962 is the Aldermaston march arriving in Hyde Park. I live very close to the Park and I like this image as it shows just how many people walked from the laboratory where they were researching the nuclear bomb to London. Lots of people I knew growing up were on that march, or claimed they were. It included Labour and Communist members, trade unionists, Christians and students. The other image is of a Valentino wedding dress from the same year. I saw it fairly recently at Somerset house. I liked that exhibition – mainly for the short films showing incredible craft skills in the workshop. I think of those films every time I cut bias strips.
1963
The explosion in the universities started to happen in the early 1960s, as young people from less privileged backgrounds began to access good quality further education. This photograph is from York. When I went to University in the late 1970s it was still basically free for people who couldn’t afford to pay, and heavily subsidised for those that could. In the 1960s students wore tweed jackets, fitted skirts and quite formal looks. The amazing Yves St Laurent hat just speaks to his original, innovative approach to designing – taking inspiration from peasants and nuns as well as from history, art and dance.
1964
Top of the Pops was launched at the start of 1964. On the first show there were: the Rolling Stones with “I Wanna Be Your Man”, Dusty Springfield with “I Only Want to Be with You”, the Dave Clark Five with “Glad All Over”, theHollies with “Stay”, the Swinging Blue Jeans with “Hippy Hippy Shake” and the Beatles with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. Phew! The most electorally successful (alongside Tony Blair) leader Harold Wilson became the Prime Minister in 1964 giving the pipe, the Scilly Isles and the Gannex raincoat a much higher profile.
What do you remember from the 1960s?
Instagram – Will you do the Sew Photo Hop?
Up to now I have not been doing much on Instagram, but I do enjoy seeing what others are making. Lots of bloggers – Sewing Fanatic’s Diary, Marilla Walker, Sewoverit, and others – post photos as they go along with a project. This makes it easy to get an instant (get it?) idea of what they are doing, and helps to guide me to particular blogs or blog posts that might be of interest.
House of Pinheiro is an avid Instagrammer and she seems to be hosting this one – the Sew Photo Hop. The idea is to post one picture on a theme each day during August. And it starts tomorrow!
Some of these are pretty challenging (I might need some help on the playlist)
I am going to have a go. Are you? I think there are some prizes to encourage participation. IG may suit people who don’t have a blog but do like to share (square) pictures of what they are doing with a short description. It is pretty easy to join.
Do connect with me on IG if you are going to join in, or if you would like to follow me or share your pictures with me. I am fabrickated.
That’s it for today.
Maybe I should end with a photograph.
Copying a RTW dress
I like browsing in the high street fashion shops – do you? I rarely buy an outfit but I need inspiration. Also, when the sales are on, I do sometimes buy oddments either to wear, alter or copy. This week in Top Shop I bought
- A deep red vintage silk blouse (it was a cut down man’s shirt, slimmed at the side seams with the sleeves, cuffless and cut shorter. £12.50 for lovely, heavy silk
- A large pair of white cotton shorts with lace on the hems. I pulled up the elastic waist and now have a nice pair of summer PJ bottoms £4
- A blouse from a firm I like called Miss Patina, reduced from about £45 to £18.
- I also got a really nice quality beige suede coat from Warehouse for £60. I bought a large size (16) as the 10 was just too skimpy in the skirt. I removed the belt carried and have a better belt and it looks really classy, with the too long sleeves pushed up.
Then I popped into H&M and saw a shell pink, fit and flare dress with interesting darts. Well about 14 copies of this item remained. They had loads of them. Made from a sort of crepe polyester jersey with 3 per cent Elastane, the garment is fairly stable with a little stretch, and the sad selection was pretty grubby. They had been £40 (made in China), but now reduced to £20. I looked for my size, thinking of dying it maybe, and found that every last one was an 8 or a 6. I didn’t expect the 8 to fit but tried it on anyway.
Sadly it was much too tight. I needed the 10 or 12. I nevertheless photographed it in the changing room, with a plan to copy it. The assistant said there was no hope of getting a different size.
That night I searched the internet, hoping to find a bigger one. But no luck.
But luck came the next day. I found myself near H&M again, and decided to pop in. Now all the remaining sales items had been moved and I sauntered up and down the racks hoping my dress might have appeared in the right size, perhaps returned from the changing room or from the store room. No. In fact the large stock had reduced down to about 4, and the price had dropped too. Just £7. I took the dress to the counter to confirm the dress really was just £7. The girl checked and told me it wasn’t £7 – it had now gone down to £5.
So I bought it.
I thought “I would pay £5 for a pattern, even in the wrong size. Why not use the dress as a pattern?”
So, as an experiment, rather than drafting this dress from my dress block, I tore the whole thing up. It was pretty quick to unpick. It only has four pieces and a side zip, and I had the idea that rather than tracing it and enlarging it at several points I might just add width at the side seams. The great advantage of this was that I didn’t even need to transfer the pattern to paper. I would be able to pin it to the cloth and then add a bit of width and length using my tailor’s chalk. A bit of a risk I know but while the dress was tight on me, it more or less fit in terms of where the seams and darts lay. Also my life (and blog, and approach to life) is all about learning, and I will be using a fabric remnant, and I will see if it works. If it doesn’t, so what?
I know the side seams are a bit hard to discern in the photograph, but I have used chalk to add 3cms to each side seam and 5cms to the hem.
So far the most challenging thing was deciding what to do about the grain. Some of the seams have stretched out of shape as I ripped this open fairly fast.
The fabric I chose is also a slightly stretchy polyester crepe, but it is much softer and drapier than the original which is rather stiff. Here is the dress pinned together, on Camilla. I think it looks great – a really nice bit of creative pattern cutting, and it was such a quick and easy process.
It has a combined neck and armhole facing – which I haven’t cut yet. I am not sure if this is going to lined or not. I will stitch it up first and then decide.
Have you ever unpicked a RTW garment and used it as a pattern?
Staying with the Saxons in Translyvania
We stayed at a lovely guesthouse Villa Hermani in Magura, Transylvania. Here are our hosts Katerina and Herman, wearing their traditional Saxon outfits. This photograph was taken by Janos Kalmar. Katerina explained that her outfit had been given to her by her mother-in-law. Generally traditional clothes are made to fit by local tailors and handed down through the generations. You can tell some of the elements of the outfit have been the same for centuries.
Herman and Katerina are charming and committed hosts – always ready to discuss the area, the wildlife and how they produce the most delicious food. Katerina kindly took an interest in my blog and told me about how she had made lots of clothes for her children when they were young. She, like some of my other eastern European blog contributors – Galina and Helena – described how, behind the Iron Curtain, ordinary women found ways to look fashionable.
Herman, of the Hermani, is an ethnic German Romanian, like the current president. Although only making up around 1% of the population of Transylvania our guide, Udo Krass was also from the same group. He is a keen photographer and knew the names of just about every plant and bird we encountered. So we enjoyed a special Saxon welcome and experience.
For around 800 years this minority group – originally from the Mosel region of Germany, lived in the Carpathian mountains, forming their own autonomous villages. promoting their own history, tradition, music, dancing, architecture and religion. More recently they became part of one of Europe’s largest mass emigrations partly as a result of the Second World War (where some sided with Hitler and some opposed) and the Communist regime, which eventually sold Saxons to Germany and bribed the families on the way out. Most of the Saxons became Lutheran protestants, although a second group remained Catholic. The dominant religion within Romania however is Orthodox.
We went to see one of the heavily defended churches which felt a bit like a Game of Thrones set, with its heavy portcullis, and a chute to pour boiling oil on invaders. The priest not only showed us around but treated us to his homemade schnapps, tea and pastries.
Behind the fortifications there was the church, and what looked like storage sheds. Apparently all the village would store their produce in these compartments, but if there was a threat to the village each family would move into the shed where they could live on their dry goods until the danger passed.
Three of the sheds had been knocked into one, and electrified, for use by the contemporary congregation. Very snug and cosy.
One of the best bits of our stay at the VIlla was that every morning we were able to enjoy a large bowl of Colvina. This is the traditional local porridge, and it looks pretty solid when it sits in the bowl (cold). It is served with home-made full fat yogurt, which I diluted with milk or water, and then you add what you like – sour cherries from the local trees, amazing Romanian watermelon or apple, orange pieces, local (small) wild blueberries. And then some nuts and seeds, even a bit of muesli, if you like. It was wonderful. We ate it every day. I asked for the recipe (given below).
Romanian Colvina
Boil one cup of wheat or barley with 2 cups of water. Before boiling add some lemon peel, cinnamon and raisins. Then the barley is soft add some sugar or honey and a spoonful of walnuts. Put in a bowl and keep in the fridge for a day or two.
Thank you Katerina, for the recipe, the photograph, and for making our stay such fun!
Improving the Vogue 7133 Kimono sleeved dress
I presented my pink two-tone 1967 shift dress, and explained it was unwearable due to my following the instructions and underlining it with silk organza. As Lynn Malley noted, it felt like a hair shirt. Well not quite that bad, but really not nice.
I had lots of feedback and suggestions – many thanks. Lots of urging to just bite the bullet and line it, even if some deconstruction (or careful handstiching) was required. Other, knowing commentators, said it would be quicker and easier to start again and avoid making the same mistake.
My solution, today, was actually to wear a good quality slip (petticoat) that meant little of the surface actually was in touch with my skin. I also wore the dress with the yellow jacket. A bit bright maybe, but why not? It is summer, but a bit cool.
I may make a lining “in due course”. I agree with a number of you that it is often easier to do the garment again rather than fix it once it is finished.
However a number readers made other suggestions for improvement:
- Wash fabric first
- Add a couple of waist darts back and front
- A “smidgen” shorter – say one inch
- Scoop the neck
I mentioned that I actually liked the shift dress as it is so comfortable. It is also an iconic, 1960s, shape. I have written an ode to the shift here. Once it is darted it looses its unique qualities, and it becomes a sheath dress. I explain the difference between a shift and a sheath dress here.
So if I dart it, it becomes something else. It may be nicer, but it will not be the dress as designed. I am inclined to say I like it undarted as this is true to its heritage. You may remember in my consideration of this pattern (actually both the dress and the jacket) I mentioned that they were the perfect shape for a woman with a relatively straight figure.
The truth is when I planned to make it I saw it had a chain belt. I bought a chain belt in the Shelter charity shop. But I didn’t like the draped look. No I wanted a proper waist belt. That means that I really want shape at the middle (I invariably wear a belt). So maybe I should just take the aspects I like from the dress – kimono sleeve and yoke, knee length, and put the blooming darts in.
This is the decade of crowdsourcing and the wisdom of the larger group. You gave me style advice.
So, impressionable/always open to suggestion, I thought I would make it again (allowing me to fix the underlining/lining problem) and also to introduce darts. In terms of the length the pink dress is faithful original pattern, more or less – I took off just about 1cm.
I thought I would go with a different colour way (who wants two almost identical dresses?), but this time I would use some lighter weight linen. I wasn’t sure whether to underline or not, and in the end decided against, just lining the dress. I was wearing the pink one at the time, with the added slip, and I felt rather warm in it. The lining does give a little bit of body, even though I used a lightweight habotai silk. I also washed the linen, as suggested. But I didn’t scoop the neck as I thought it was fine as it was.
Here is the fabric and lining cut out. I didn’t have enough turquoise silk for the whole dress lining, so I will have a two-tone lining too. I will update you in a few days.
Transparent and translucent fabrics
I really enjoy wearing a layered look made of one or more transparent fabrics. And a post by Annieloveslinen made me realise that I wanted to do something on this theme.
What does Transparent mean?
It could mean this, from Yves St Laurent.
Transparent
adjective
-
1.(of a material or article) allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.“transparent blue water”
synonyms: see-through, clear, translucent, pellucid, crystal clear, crystalline, limpid, glassy, glass-like, liquid; unclouded, uncloudy;“a transparent plastic film”filmy, gauzy, fine, sheer, light, lightweight, thin, flimsy, see-through,diaphanous, chiffony, gossamer, delicate“a transparent dress”It is interesting how many of these terms borrow from fabric.
Translucent
Now you maybe wondering what the difference is between transparent fabrics and translucent ones. Transparent fabrics might include glass or cellophane, or PVCs that are so clear you can see through them as if there’s almost nothing there. Things that are translucent allow light through but with significant diffusion or distortion. Most clothes would therefore better be described as translucent.
Here is a great version, from the Financial Times, Styling and photography by the ever talented Damian Foxe.
The silk organza blouse and the silk-mix fragile underskirt are worn with a full denim dress. I love the way we have so many layers – the sleeves showing skin, the cuffs with their evident seams, the button stand and little white buttons, the pleats in the skirts and the narrow hem. And then the dark navy which adds depth and interest. Aren’t the Churches sandals nice too?
Sheer fabric is made using thin thread and/or a low density of knit and which results in a semi-transparent or translucent, flimsy cloth. The sheerness of a fabric is expressed as a denier – from 3 (very thin, barely visible) to 15 (standard sheer for stockings) up to 30 (semi opaque) until 100 (opaque). The materials which can be made translucent include gossamer, silk, rayon or nylon.
I was a student I considered using translucent fabrics as my difficult fabric (mainly in terms of construction techniques as everything shows). In the end I didn’t, but I have been fascinated by fabric on fabric, and translucent fabric on skin for a very long time.
Fabrics which can be translucent:
- silk (or polyester) organza
- organdie
- lace
lace - fine cotton lawn and voiles
girls dress in lawn - sheers – nylon, silk and polyester
- chiffon
!960s chiffon dress - tulle and nets
tulle - mesh
- perforated leather and other fabrics
perforated leather
I am keen to experiment with these fabrics as I like the way that colours soften when worn under a translucent layer, and the impact of building up density gradually. As a group I find them dreamy, luxurious, tender, delicate and difficult to manage.
So before I start I may need to learn some new (or refreshed) techniques.
Vintage Fashion illustrations now available on line
Many of us who like to make vintage outfits will admit that we are often seduced by “envelope art” – the lovely pictures on the front of a pattern envelope that encourage us to make up something to wear, presented on a lady with an unfeasibly tiny waist, hips and long legs.
However although these pictures are stylised they do give us some really important information that will help us make a choice. Unlike pure fashion illustration they normally show the construction details so that we can take this into account.
The same is obviously true with the pictures that manufacturers use to create their patterns from. While they need to be attractive to sell the outfit (a technical drawing just doesn’t do it) they do need to be true to the design and show a back view too (in many cases). The pattern cutter would take this drawing, and then, usually using the company’s own blocks, (often in a middle of the road size like a UK 12) he or she will create a pattern for the outfit. This would be made up a sample, often worn by a in-house model, and then (if suitable) the pattern would be graded (up and down in terms of size) and a range made from one or more fabric choice.
Recently the New York Public Library has been given a nice set of over 1000 fashion drawings, by Walter Teitelbaum who ran the trailblazing Manhattan designers Creators Studios. Established in 1957 they produced and sold illustrations of up-to-the-minute women’s wear, that were then copied by different companies. These drawings would be bought by both up market and cheaper range companies. The difference was usually in the fabric choice, but also sometimes in the detail.
In the days before the internet (where fashion shows can be downloaded almost instantly) where did clothes manufacturers get their working drawings and designs from?
Those that paid Creators Studios a subscription could buy up to 48 new designs a week, although many bought five or so. The designers got their ideas from magazines, from displays in shops and from attending fashion shows, where sketching was often banned. They therefore had to memorise the key details and shapes and redraw the outfits from memory afterwards.
In those days (and my father was printing textiles at the same period) one of the obvious tricks of the trade was to take a well known designer’s work and tweek it a little, so it was just different enough, transferring in this case the details from a coat on to a dress, say. Teitelbaum mentioned that the designers would all get lunch together and share ideas, encouraging the rapid evolution of trends from the top designers to clothes that ordinary women would buy.
The sketches were then handed to a professional artist who would put the designs on to a female figure, using colour and making the rough sketch rather beautiful.
Fashion illustration through the ages is such an interesting topic. It is nice to see that these images are now available for anyone to look at, to interpret or copy, free of charge.
Draping on the Stand 0.6 – The halter neck dress
Halter necked dresses, blouses and swimwear are such summertime staples, so I draped one, avoiding a side seam. I created the bodice from just two pieces relying on a princess seam line across the bust point.
The two pieces of fabric continued around the neck and the back of the stand. This seamed to be a simple and easy to achieve pattern, and I wondered if that under arm edge would work. My tutor patted it. We had a think. She shared her wisdom.
“I always make a toile any way, and then alter the pattern. The draping is really to get the design, not the fit”.
Wise words, Mrs. Kinne. But ever the optimist I eschewed calico and reached from some lovely left over linen to cut out a toile, hoping that it might actually fit. With a couple of press studs or buttons and loops I thought I might have a little top for the weekend.
I have made up a few princess line dresses over the years, and many of them leave out the CF seam, and cut on the fold. I did this, meaning there were only three pieces for the halter top – two sides and one centre. I stitched the pieces up. I must say it looked a bit flat chested. And then I wondered how I was going to finish the blouse. With such a small item facings are not great, and while lining is a good solution it is a nuisance if the lining shows. So I decided to line it in the same blue linen fabric and to work out how to fasten it once I had fitted it.
I like self lined/faced garments and this was quick to sew up, trim and turn though so the raw edges were at the waist. Sorry the picture is so dark (I was sewing at night!)
Unfortunately this experiment was a complete failure.
While on the stand there was quite a nice snug fit, on the real person (ie me) there was a big gaping gap at the sides. I was wearing my halter neck bra in eager anticipation, but this top did not work on my shape. Not at all. There was oodles of fabric in the underarm area. Neither the stand at Morley college, or poor Camilla, is exactly the same shape as me. I needed much more bust shaping. When I tried it on I thought I might actually prefer a bit more drape and softness so that it doesn’t have to fit so precisely. A tailored halter neck needs an exacting fit ensuring a good fit across the bust, the right depth to the neck and enough tapering to the waist. It is more like a swim suit or evening dress in terms of the fitting demands. It is even beginning to enter lingerie territory actually. None of which I had thought about in advance. I need to adapt this pattern for a closer fit, especially at the side body
While this alteration is not a very difficult it has only just occurred to me that draping only works if the mannequin is exactly the right measurements, or for less exacting fitting.
I shall pin out the excess in the side pieces and reduce them in the next version. I think I will also make the halter section narrower. I may introduce a CF seam in order to improve the shape. The thing is I really like wearing this style so I ought to play around with the pattern in order to achieve a really good fit.
Of course these (in the mirror selfies) are pretty hopeless. I would like to show you the back too, but it was not a shot I could contrive. Suffice to say that the back is not in the right place either. It is too low and reveals the bra strap at the back.
Although I was hoping to wear this top soon, I have a feeling this is the sort of experiment best left to the long dark nights of autumn when there are less distractions going on.
Any thoughts or feedback on making a close fitting halter neck top?
Meeting Gail of My Fabrication
Australian blogger Gail of My Fabrication came to London for work this week, and popped in to see me while she was here.
Gail works for the equivalent of Transport for London in New South Wales and is particularly concerned about accessible transport issues, especially for people with disabilities. She met me at work where we had a nice discussion about fashions and shops on our different continents. Then I took her to have a good look around the Kings Cross and St Pancras area as I thought she might be interested in the regeneration, and how a transport hub had been brought to life. She liked it a lot and took some photographs. I showed her around the Central St Martin’s college. I felt a bit of a fraud as I had done a similar trip with Sew2Pro a couple of months ago. We considered having dinner at Dishoom, a restaurant that serves the food made famous by the Iranian cafes of Mumbai.
Although Gail likes Indian food she said she would really appreciate a salad. After a weekend in Paris where she had eaten a lot of baguettes! So we picked up a few vegetables on our way home. As we arrived at Edgware Road station she commented on the pretty flowers that the staff cultivate within the station. Then we saw a huge selection of flowers piled up against the wall. Gail immediately realised they were to remember the people who had died at the station on 7 July 2005. The smell of the flowers was very powerful and it was a touching moment that we spent looking at them together, remembering that day when people in London were attacked by the bombers.
Anyway I rustled up a cold salmon salad while Gail told me about how she had met her husband on a Kibbutz in Israel. She was a socialist and he was Jewish and she chose to become a “Jew by choice”. We discussed our experiences of Jerusalem, and different approaches to bringing children into a faith. Gail is petite, pretty and very nice. It was a pleasure to have dinner with her and I am pleased to report that Gail enjoys a nice glass of Rioja.
We talked about how wonderful Sydney is – the perfect spot to place a city – and compared it to London and Australia to England. She had lived here as a young woman of 19 to 21, so she had lots of insider understanding. She told me she had met up with several bloggers on her last visit to England, and how she knows quite a few of the Australian bloggers.
Gail asked me to tell her about fabric printing, so I showed her some of my samples, my silk and other textile paints, and one of two garments I had made. She hopes to try some of the techniques when she gets home. If, like Gail, you fancy having a go at discharge printing , this post might help.
I loved Gail’s outfit that she had put on to show me (not yet blogged about). Sadly I had completely failed to choose a handmade outfit that morning. I was wearing RTW I am afraid. I really liked her top and skirt combination (great overlocking) and the really nice silver linked belt she had on (completely invisible in this photograph). Making a skirt and matching top, especially in a comfortable jersey fabric, is a great way to create a smart work look that can be combined differently. We talked about how people dress in Sydney compared to London and I said II told her I liked Australian brands Cue and Veronika Maine.
The best bit of our evening was when I showed her an old Schiaparelli pattern I had wanted to acquire, on Ebay, last week. Unfortunately it went for over £100 which was too much for me. But I was intrigued by the lovely two piece blouse which I covet. It was so nice to be able to have a detailed discussion of the construction of this item with someone who was as interested as I was. Although the blouse is closed by hooks and eyes on one side, and buttons on the other, Gail thought making it in jersey would avoid the need for fastenings. Good thinking Gail. Just discussing this together was wonderful. She also told me of a Burda pattern that has a similar, if simpler, version. I would like to know more about that. I felt like we were blogging but in the flesh. Interesting.
After all this Gail asked if she could check on my Kondoing, so we wandered around the flat looking at the contents of my drawers! I hope it provided some inspiration (Gail thought I had quite a lot of clothes, which is true!
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