Cedi is a great friend. When I first met him he was running Kush, a London housing association. As a handsome, 6′ 6″, charismatic black man he was bound to make an impact. As I got to know him better he has impressed me with his deep experience and understanding of business, the community and how to be successful. I have enjoyed a few lunches with him over the years, and I have always been interested in his unique personal style. He now heads his own business where he uses his experience of running large companies, and playing sport internationally, to help develop new talent. His blog, Unlimited Potential, is about “life and leadership, but I have strayed into sharing my views on politics and the economy” he says with the broadest of smiles.
My parents came from Grenada in 1956 and brought with them a love of dressing up in bright colours and bold prints. But faced with the local climate, and wishing to avoid too much attention, then soon learned to tone it down. They both worked in dress-down jobs so weekends, especially going to church on Sundays, gave them an excellent opportunity to wear their “Sunday best”. Mum would wear her finest dresses, with a hat, my father would always wear a suit. He, especially, enjoyed wearing formal clothes and throughout his life took every opportunity to wear a suit and tie!
We three children also had to dress Sunday best for church but in fact my sister, brother and I were never allowed to go out looking anything other than smart. Once I was asked to go to the shops to pick up a bag of potatoes, but was obliged to change from my jeans into a pair of proper trousers and brush my shoes first.
My mother made a lot of her own clothes, mainly dresses, from paper patterns. She and my sister used the dining table as their workbench, and I can still remember the sound of her old Singer sewing machine. They never made clothes for my father, brother or me – this was ladieswear and sewing for pleasure. But there were always a number of alterations required to my clothes – I was especially tall and slim from a young age – which they were happy to tackle too.
My style for work is pretty formal and I wear suits and ties most days. I’m going without a tie more and more these days; following the growing trend. Weekends is certainly my time for dressing down and being totally casual. It’s pretty much jeans, sweatshirts, T shirts and shorts when it is warm.
Cedi does casual
I was tall and skinny as a young man. Buying clothes in the 1970s was a nightmare, especially as I was on a tight budget. The longest inside leg was 34”, and I needed was 36”. Shopping involved examining the hems of trousers to see if there was enough fabric to allow them to be let down. It was the same story with shirts, jackets and sweaters where the length was always too short. Back then, if you had feet bigger than a size 11 (and I did) you were really limited. Now, most department stores have ‘long’ or ‘tall’ fittings for suits and shirts and shoe retailers will stock or order up to size 13. As my financial situation improved, I remained tall, but unfortunately became less skinny. As a result I could afford to shop in specialist shops like High and Mighty. It was a relief to finally buy clothes that more or less fitted me.
My size has affected my attitude to clothes. I felt self conscious about towering over everyone, and did not want to attract any more attention to myself. I tried to keep my clothes understated, wearing deeper blues and greys for my suits, with a white or blue shirt. But over time I have perhaps become more confident, or maybe I just gave in to years of pressure from my wife. Now I have a selection of shirts in brighter colours, patterns, and stripes.
Pinstripes
Several years ago, I discovered bespoke tailoring. It is an expensive way to buy clothes, but you get an outfit made for you that fits, looks great and I enjoy the whole process. There is something very special about making an appointment with your tailor, being greeted with a coffee or a glass of wine, taking your time choosing the cloth and the detailing then being measured for a suit or a shirt. I even enjoy going back for fittings once or twice, and then turning up to collect my suit and shirts – it’s quite an occasion.
I have a great relationship with my tailor, Sam at Dress2Kill in London. While he understands that I am pretty conservative in my colour choices for suits, he has encouraged me to choose brightly coloured linings, contrasting button hole stitching and cuffs.
I wear a cutaway collar, double cuffs and cufflinks. For a final bit of personalisation I have my name (or initials) embroidered on the lining and shirt cuffs. I also had some shirts made to wear without a tie – with a high, double buttoned collar. Many years ago I found that the best ties are made in Italy and on a annual trip to Venice and Treviso I stock up on the best silk ties. For casual wear like jeans and jumpers I still go to High and Mighty.
I assumed this was a late 1950s pattern, due to the styling. However once I opened the envelope I found a piece of newspaper, used for the front facing. A little detective work showed this to be from March 1960. Undoubtedly this pattern is from the late 1950s, probably 1959 but it could be 1958. It is a classic shape and referred to on the packet as a “misses’ and women’s two piece suit with two skirts: attractive town or country suit”, with a ‘fifties vibe rather than a 1960s look. Probably more for a Woman than a Miss. I like the styling on the envelope – a pink bow hat with the rust suit (town?) and a lemon beret and jersey, white gloves and navy bag (country) with the blue tweed number.
Alterations and style
This is a s12 (32inch bust) pattern which will fit well across the shoulder and lapel. The bust itself may need a little extra and the hips certainly do. This jacket definitely needs toileing, as the fit is everything in such a plain, close-fitting jacket. Also while the fit will probably be good in the shoulder, neckline and waist the bust and hip will need letting out. The pattern is essentially a princess line pattern, with seams dividing the front and back into two sections vertically. So I added half an inch to the back panels below the waist and half an inch to the front side seam. This should do the trick. Also I may need to make the jacket shorter or longer to achieve balance, but I will make it up in the regulation length and then try it on with various skirts and trousers before deciding on this.
The particular design involves a pocket that stands out a little at the front, emphasising the hip curve and minimising the waist. It is a similar pocket finish I made on my Vivienne Westwood style jacket. When making the alteration I wondered where to add the hip width, worrying that I might increase the pocket gape rather than adding fullness in the hip. The construction is a little bit complex, so I pinned the pattern together to work out what the designer had in mind. I added half an inch to the side seam, beyond the edge of the pocket and hoped for the best. I could have slashed and spread closer to where the princess line would have come, had it been there, but this would have mucked up the pocket.
Also when adding width or length to a garment we don’t always get it in the right place. For example I generally need a longer torso but it is sometimes needed above the bust and sometimes below. With width I need it much more at the back and sides, and not much at the front. So a toile allows us to move the fullness to the place it is needed. With a panelled jacket there are a variety of places to let it out, 13 to be exact (nine vertical style lines, plus four darts). At the moment I am guessing, and will try to ensure the jacket is balanced during the fitting stage.
Pinning the pattern pieces together
As you can see the pocket shape allows me to put a reel of basting cotton into it, and this allow at least the fingers to be put into the pocket. The pocket bag is disappointingly small and while this is surely designed to keep the bulk down, I will consider making a much bigger pocket in the final version. It might be a 1950s jacket but I need somewhere for my mobile phone! This photograph shows I have added half an inch to the length where specified. This may not be quite the right place for me – I am tending to find I need the length above the bust, but when I pinned the pattern together and tried it on I found the bust point was in the right place. But paper is not very good for testing fit, especially with older patterns where the paper is more fragile. The fit over the bust – along the front princess line – will be the crucial fitting point when we come to examine the toile.
Also I decided to tape the ancient newspaper cutting to the centre front, allowing me to create a grown on facing rather than having a join. I forgot this idea until I read a comment kindly left on my blog by Annie. It is a great way to reduce bulk, although it may be less economical on your fabric.
Fabric
I have a nice red polyester wool available for this project – rather inexpensive. It is a little lightweight compared to the charcoal pure wool I plan to use on my final item. However it is a nice slightly boucle finish (which, irritatingly, will probably catch) and I shall enjoy using it. I will use cotton organdie as the interfacing, cotton tape for taping, and some vintage buttons I found recently.
Red polyester-wool blend
I will move on to fitting the bodice and will report on progress in a few days.
I am getting closer to finalising the plan. I would like to toile garments 5, 6 and 8, but I”m not sure I’ll have time before Christmas. As well as decorating the tree and printing some fabric for Christmas presents I am working on the toile for garment 4.
Garment 1 Squiggle jacket (top 1)
I made up the jacket of Simplicity 7305, as a wearable toile, and I am relatively pleased with it. Apart from adding an additional inch to the bust measurement I am ready to go on this jacket.
Garment 2 Squiggle skirt or trousers (bottom 1)
I am leaning towards matching this jacket with a pair of tailored trousers. I have toiled the pattern but I am not entirely satisfied with it. I need to reduce the rise (for style reasons), redesign the waist band (to a contour waistband), narrow the trouser leg, remove the turn-ups, add belt carriers, and decide on the exact length. I suspect I may need a second toile before proceeding with the trousers.
Garment 3 – Linen Blouse (top 2)
This has become the already made item. I printed the fabric, but decided I wanted to wear it for a Christmas party (Christmas beetles, plus sparkle – it was just calling out to be worn for Christmas). If it is too much with the Squiggle suit I can make a plain grey one instead. I like the shape and it has got me thinking about a top that can also be worn as a dress (as per the SWAP rules suggestion).
Garment 4 – Charcoal jacket (top 3)
I am very excited by this jacket, which I have started toileing. I will be using a dark grey wool for the final item, which is shown with the selected blouse fabric.
Garment 5 – Charcoal skirt or trousers (bottom 2)
I am unsure about garment 5. Simplicity 100 is essentially a city suit with pencil skirt. But is it? It is also suitable for “the country”, advises the pattern envelope (second home anyone?). So I am considering introducing 1980s pleated trousers, which seems somewhat counter-intuitive, although not that different from the pleated country skirt shown in the drawing. It may not work. The other problem is that I do not know if I can wear a pair of pleated, wider legged trousers, but have decided to try Tamotsu’s Vogue 2959. So I will make this toile to try the trousers with the jacket, but also on my body shape – giving fuller pants a fair chance. Only then will I be able to decide if this jacket is having baggy pants or a pencil skirt. If it is a skirt it will be in wool, but if trousers I may use the grey linen I used for Garment 3 – the beetle blouse.
Garment 6 – Blouse to wear with Charcoal suit (top 4)
I want a simple shirt type blouse to wear with the suit, and this pattern looks OK. I have the white beetle cotton lawn ready. It is necessary toile this blouse first, which I plan to do after Christmas.
Garment 7 – Casual trousers (wildcard 1)
This is the same pattern that I used in last year’s SWAP, to make casual trousers. It is a 1960s pattern and I have altered it to fit. I will use the turquoise cotton for these.
Garment 8 – blouse to wear with casual trousers (top 5)
I haven’t decided on the pattern, but I like the idea of something rather flowing, and ornate. Perhaps a wrap round blouse with a close fit. I quite like the Burda 05/14 134 vintage blouse , but would need to toile it. But the simple shell pattern for garment 3 could work well in a more colourful print. I haven’t decided on fabric. I bought an old skirt to recycle, or I could paint on silk. This is a vague area at the moment.
Garment 9 – Pink Skirt or Shorts (bottom 3)
I have toiled the shorts pattern; they need a lot of alterations. I will recut the pattern, making a smaller size, changing the waist band to a create a snugger fit, narrowing the legs, changing the length, omitting the turn ups, and adding belt carriers. Then these shorts will be good to go. Pink shorts. Yeah!
Garment 10 – Purchased top to wear with trousers (wildcard 2 – purchased item)
I have been looking for a jumper in the shops. There are a few nice cardigans out there that I would consider, but I am waiting for the sales. My fall back choice is to embroider a plain RTW sweater or cardigan with colourful wools. Before I embroider anything for myself I would like to practice. Last week I bought a charity shop cardigan for Kit which I hope his Mum might allow me to tamper with. As the boy is growing so fast I anticipate the cardigan will be outgrown before the SWAP deadline. If not I am sure he will enjoy wearing colourful daisies on his cardi.
Kitson, helping with the blog
Garment 11 The coat (wildcard 3)
This may be the garment I start on, once the sewing stage really starts. I have made up this coat before so know what I am doing. I have fuchsia wool, so it is going to be bright.
Now you have found a suit that suits you, you probably need to get a shirt too. Now of course a suit can look nice with a jumper. Some men suit a polo or turtle neck with a suit, but it can be a difficult look, even if you are James Bond.
And a T-shirt is worse, on the whole. But the worst thing is a jumper or T-shirt that shows the chest – especially chest hair.
My rule would be if you want to wear a suit, also wear a shirt. If you must wear a jersey or T-shirt pair it with jeans, casual trousers or shorts. If you are very, very cool you may be able to break the rules, but then if you are very, very cool you don’t need advice.
The rules for shirts are related to the rules for suits. Buy for your body shape.
If you are angular (chest is 7″ or more greater than waist, and shoulders are wider than hips), you should wear a tailored shape, so that you don’t have loads of fabric around the middle. You can tuck the shirt in and it looks neat. If you are slim the slim fit shirt will probably work well. Choose smooth, crisp fabrics.
If you have a straight figure (appears straight with less than 6″ difference between chest and waist), you should choose a straight cut shirt, in medium weave fabric. Most styles of shirt will suit you but avoid a very tailored look.
If you have contoured (softer outline, bulkier, often stocky) shape, then choose a “classic fit” shirt. This is a more traditional shirt shape and often cut a bit looser making it more comfortable. Avoid crisp fabric and the slim fit cut. Softer cottons and other fabrics will work well (unless you are overweight – see below).
In terms of collar types I would say that the traditional formal collar is good for all business wear.
Classic Collar
The cut away collar is designed to look best on men with very long faces – otherwise avoid it. I think it looks odd on a man, and would be interested in other views. It seems to be paired with contrasting collar and cuffs, another look I personally dislike.
cut away collar
It seems to be chosen by “trendy” men, but to me it looks like the collar is too small. What do you think?
The button down is a casual shirt and can look very nice, but not for the most formal occasions. In terms of fit you should be able to get one finger comfortably between your collar and your neck. I prefer the double cuff, with tasteful cufflinks, but of course a nice button cuff is just fine too. Just avoid the short-sleeved shirt for work. My post on what not to wear for work may help.
If you are overweight chose a stiffer fabric to provide more structure. Make sure the neck fits well so it does not look like the shirt is strangling you. Choose a longer/more pointed collar. Make sure there is enough fabric in the shirt so there is no gape.
If you are a smaller man then make sure the collar and overall look of the shirt is smaller scale, and probably avoid a patterned shirt. It is really important to get the sleeves the right length.
I am still looking for a colourful cardigan. I have months left before my final SWAP collection, but I have been thinking about how to create a colourful cardigan and have been given some advice by my knitting friend Galina. She suggested I buy a nice cashmere cardigan and embroider on it. She sent me some Debbie Bliss pictures as inspiration.
Debbie Bliss embroidered jumper
I always like to see colour on a black background as it can really make the colours sing out, but I while I might choose charcoal I was thinking of a white cardigan which has a similar effect. Here is a second Debbie Bliss jumper with knitted patten plus embroidery.
Debbie Bliss jumper
Another inspirational picture I found is from the Matthew Williamson collection. This uses beads and bobbles as well as couching.
Matthew Williamson folk jumper
Both the Debbie Bliss and the Williamson item are very folksy, which is nice. But I preferred the work of a young London designer Laura Helen Searle, which is beautiful, edgy, challenging and quite sensational.
If I cannot find a cardigan in the colours I am seeking then I am going to have a go at embroidering on wool. I am thinking of trying to create this cardigan as my reversible garment as the reversible skirt is probably going to have to make way for the Squiggle trousers. I have bought two jerseys, one in grey and one in off white. I am thinking of making a cardigan from them, and then embroidering some colour on to it. I would have to cut the jumper down the CF, stabilise it in some way (ribbon?), create a set of buttons and button holes, or maybe press studs so it is reversible. I think this is what is known as steeking (text abreviated from Wikipedia).
After completing a tube, a straight line is cut along the center of a column of stitches, in order to make room for an opening. The steek itself is a bridge of extra stitches, in which the cut is made, and is usually 6-10 stitches wide. This technique was developed by the knitters of the Shetland archipelago and is particularly associated with Fair Isle sweaters.
Before the steek is cut, the edges are tacked down on the wrong side of the fabric in order to create a neat finishing, or the adjacent stitches are sewn or crocheted together to prevent unraveling. The stitches can also be picked up and knit from, for example, to create a sleeve.
Steeks can be used for front openings (such as on a cardigan). In general, there is little risk of unravelling with a steek cut if the sewn or crocheted line has been done with wool yarn that is not superwash. In addition, the sides of the steek can be reinforced by crocheting or sewing.
If I make the two jumpers into one cardigan I could then embroider on the two layers so that the back is as nice as the front. Or embroider each separately and then join them (wrong sides) together. Just a thought at the moment.
Embroidery instructions
Has anyone every tried steeking or embroidering or both? How do you address the stretch on the button hole edge, in making a cardigan from a jumper? When you embroider how do you stop it bunching up and tightening the knitwear, loosing its essential jersey-ness?
I have already blogged about the top I made in this fabric. This post explains how I printed the cloth.
But first a word about beetles. My Mother and Jenny had an “uggh” reaction to the beetles, which is understandable as some beetles can bite and harm you (malaria, dengue fever), many are regarded as pests (locusts) and large flying ones can be frightening. But me, I really like insects and find them fascinating. Like humans they can live in all parts of the planet. They can walk, fly and swim. Bees make honey and pollinate, and silk worms make silk, ladybirds and butterflies are pretty too. Some of them – like ants and bees – have advanced social behaviour and create staggeringly beautiful and extensive living areas. These guys can metamorphisise – let’s hear it for the insects!
In addition, of course, they have a nasty side too. The dung beetle, the death watch beetle, the woodlice scurrying in the undergrowth, the creatures that live off the dead. So I suppose some of the fascination is fascination with death, decay, and fear. The Mexicans celebrate the dead through incorporating skulls made of sugar, or embroidery, into their everyday lives; and of course designers and artists like Alexander McQueen and Damian Hirst have adopted skulls in their work.
Celebs in skulls
Putting the scary into art helps us deal with it – everything good has a bad side, life is meaningless without the inevitability of death, beetles are just part of nature, as important as the pretty butterfly. So the idea that middle-aged women can adorn themselves with delicate flowers and colourful butterflies but should steer clear of the stag beetle or praying mantis, is one I am trying to challenge. Having said that ancient rockers like Keith and Yoko do look a bit predictable in their rakish hat/sunglasses/AMc scarf get-ups.
I took a piece of firm, dark grey-blue linen and printed it with my beetles screen, using bright white printing ink, binder and added silver pigment. I created whitish, silvery beetles. As I blotted off the excess quite a lot of the whiteness came away and I was left with a subtle, silvery print. It was a nice effect. However I was keen to do something more blingy. Many beetles are shiny in their natural state, and I wanted to capture this. This photograph comes from The Sun, with its hilarious headline.
Foreign insects wreck havoc in British gardens
So I tried using foils. We have two approaches which work well. My first sample used plain (unprinted) grey linen. This effect involves screen printing your plain fabric with textile adhesive, and leaving it to dry. Then using the foils in the heat press you get this effect. I used a silvery foil, with just a couple of strips of pink. As you can see the effect is quite flat – this is achieved by adhesive with foil. It is a nice effect and pretty close to the commercial T-shirts printed in this way. It is washable (like all the effects shown here) at 40 degrees C. The iridescent colours are an effect of choosing a silver foil with this kind of finish.
Using the heat press with foils
However I wanted something more crafty. We had a second kind of glue that can be piped or painted onto the fabric. I used this on top of my previously screen printed beetle fabric. As you can see I cut out a bodice piece and tailor tacked the darts, so that I could see where I was applying the glue. I decided only to use the foils on the top two blocks of printing, around the bib of the blouse rather than across the whole piece. It was fun applying the glue, which is then dried using a hair dryer.
Applying the glue
The second stage is to use foils on top of the glue. These are heated, again with a hair dryer, until the foil sticks to the glue and comes away from its backing. I used the irredescent silver again, combining it with turquoise and a swirly pattern which included turquoise, purple and silver. In the picture below they have been heat dried and rubbed with a tissue to ensure the foil sticks to the glue effectively.
Applying the foils
Here is the effect on my blouse. It is quite striking and I found that blobs and dots created very interesting texture and I really loved the effect. The blouse pattern is the shell top from my SWAP suit Simplicity 7305. It is basically a sleeveless bodice with a zip up the back. The shell top was trying to be a T shirt before T shirts were invented. I like them and feel they go well with a 1960s suit. They are often referred to as an “overblouse” implying they would not be tucked in. Therefore they are fairly short and sit over the waist band of the skirt.
Finished effect
And on the subject of beetles, I bought a brooch in Havelock North, New Zealand, made by Auckland based jeweller Tania Patterson. I loved it so much that I contacted her from England and asked her to make me the whole set of six insect brooches, which I wear all the time. This little fellow is a bit battered and may need a clean, but you can see my love affair with beetles contnues.
Tania Patterson brooch
A comment from Kbenco had me searching for images of Christmas beetles. I think this is from a display at the Australian museum.
Have you ever bought an item from a charity shop because you like the fabric, and then remodelled it into something completely different?
Recently I bought some nice old embroidered antimacassars from Cancer Research. Antimacassars used to be draped over the back of sofas and easy chairs to protect the fabric from hair-oil, and similar. Perhaps people were grubbier, or sofas just had to last longer. But these items are rarely used today (except on trains and aeroplanes), and are often for sale in charity shops. I have seen this “flower basket” design many times, and was probably a really popular design in its heyday. There are five pieces (one large, and four smaller), and I think I could make a dress or top from them. The linen cloth is really nice quality. One blog I like is Trash to Couture. Laura produces some really beautiful pieces from thrift shop finds – but beware she looks like a model and can make a doily or tiny T-shirt skirt look amazing!
When I was growing up you could still get amazing vintage clothes at low prices – flapper dresses, silk satin evening dresses, amazing original shoes and underwear. But most of these treasures now find their way direct to the much more expensive vintage industry. Recycled usually means not very nice, hardly wearable or grim design. You can rarely take an item and just incorporate it wholesale into your wardrobe. I find that Shelter, a UK charity close to my heart, has many new clothes, especially the branch in Finchley Road. They get the samples from M&S and other big shops (usually with the labels cut out). These can be really great items at about half or less price. My yellow leather skirt came from Shelter and Autograph this season has the same skirt in light turquoise – obviously yellow was seen as too out there. My skirt was £60.
Yellow leather charity shop skirt
The turquoise version is in the shops for £199.
Autograph skirt
While it is relatively hard to find a really nice outfit in the charity shops, second-hand clothes can be a very cheap way to acquire antique or unique fabric, or yarn. This weekend in one of the many charity shops in Clitheroe – raising money for the YMCA – I found an extra-large knitted jumper with Rupert Bear on it. Hmm. If I were a keen knitter I would have had that and unravelled it. Instead, at Help the Aged, for just over £4, I got a tiered maxi skirt in soft cotton, lined in plain white cotton.
Long skirt
Obviously it’s horrid, and I haven’t attempted to style it with a toning top, belt, and reasonable shoes. My navy and white rabbit socks look ludicrous. But even with styling I can’t say much for this item. It is exactly the type of garment worn, with headscarf and sleepy baby, by Roma beggars in our nearby Edgware Rd.
However close up you will see the fabric is quite pretty, and probably made in India where it imitates a wood block print. I picked it up as it included charcoal grey, two slightly different colours of turquoise, green, white and a nice bright red pink. I was thinking it may have a role to play in my SWAP this year, with its emphasis on re-cycling.
Recycled cotton
It looks a bit like William Morris’s Strawberry Thief, at least from a distance.
Strawberry Thief by William Morris
Because the skirt is a large size, gathered, full length and unshaped it will yield quite a bit of fabric. I don’t know what I will use it for at the moment. Maybe a top, a scarf or even a lining.
And I bought something else. A bright blue Angora/Wool Kangol beret for £2. The problem is – it’s very itchy. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?
Sam Tennakoon is a member of Notting Hill’s committee, a senior civil servant and a dear friend. I have known her well for a few years now and when I saw her at Notting Hill’s annual strategy day I asked her how she was. She told me she and Mike had just got engaged, and showed me the ring.
Hand made engagement ring
Isn’t it lovely? It is made from two types of gold – white and rose. It is delicate and beautiful like Sam herself, precious but not flashy and is based on a Celtic double love knot.
Even better than the use of the two varieties of gold, and the special design, is that Mike made it himself. While it is not difficult to find a ring like this on the internet Mike bought the gold wire, and using YouTube for guidance learnt how to fashion it himself.
Close up of Celtic love knot ring
Isn’t it just great? To me this is the essence of love – individual, caring, involving the expenditure of dedicated time to produce something so perfectly suited to the recipient. Sam’s long elegant fingers would have looked just fine with a diamond, or a traditional ring. But this is so special and so appropriate. By combining two colours it also conveys a subtle message of mixing cultures as well as male and female. It has delicacy and poignant beauty.
Sam listens to Lord Wolfson at Notting Hill event
Sam and Mike are getting married in the Summer and I asked what she would be wearing. She hadn’t decided yet but didn’t want to wear a traditional white dress, nor a Sari. She wanted something that possibly combined Indian embroidery with a modern looking dress. The couple are coming to dinner next month so I may have more of an update.
I made up the shiny beetle fabric. It was all cut out waiting to go. I had meant to wait until after Christmas. But those shiny beetles kept winking at me. The lovely off-white tailors’ tacks were calling out.
“The rules”, they said, “the rules of the SWAP allow one previously made item! And your printing course Christmas party is next week. Surely you want to arrive dressed in hand-printed fabric? Please”, the shiny beetles squealed, “make us up. Wear us with pride. We want to go out for Christmas not wait until the sales are on, and it’s slushy out.”
I caved in. An hour or two later I had a shell top, an overblouse, from 1969.
Pattern, style and alterations
Here is the pattern I used (not evident from pattern envelope, which doesn’t reveal the blouse). As a design it could not be simpler. It is basically a bodice block with the dart transferred into an underarm and waist dart. The necklines of these tops are high fitting round neck – a look I like, and feel is authentic to the period. The back dart is another essential ingredient. As is the zip.
I didn’t alter the design of this pattern, but I did add one inch to the length above the bust to bring the bust dart down to the correct position for me (I made the same alteration to the jacket). I added an inch to the side seams to account for my wider hips and I added 5 inches to the length. Why? In my experience these overblouses are not meant to be tucked in. But I quite like the option. So I made it almost tunic length, bearing in mind the SWAP rules which suggest a dress that can be worn as a blouse. So it is long, but it could be tucked, worn out, belted or indeed shortened.
Simplicity 7305 overblouse (nice shoes!)
I am pleased with it. I love that it is dark greyish navy rather than black. I love the shiny insects. I like it that my silver jewellery works so well with the silver foil effect.
close up
Here is the full length picture, with dark jeans.
Simplicity 7305 tunic
The beetle overblouse may be the first item finished for my SWAP. On the other hand this item maybe over the top (OTT) especially when paired with a two piece suit in the squiggle fabric. I will need to try them on together to know for sure.
Charcoal and Magenta wool
My husband say it looks “Goth”. I have sufficient grey linen to make a plain blouse when the time comes.
I hadn’t anticipated this. While planning my winter wardrobe for the SWAP challenge, my mind has turned to trousers. This year I may create three or four pairs of trousers and not a single skirt! Currently I rarely wear trousers for work or formal occasions, but I am thinking of changing my ways.
My aim is to make tailored trousers which are both formal and elegant, but also comfortable and flattering. This is quite a tall order, and one that I have not yet resolved.
I have toiled a pair of Burda tailored trousers. This is a photograph of the model in a snake-skin version. With some kind of rubber, stilt shoes and thick leather jewellery. Not sure if the photograph it tells you anything about the trousers. I am thinking of making these, with a number of alterations, in my Squiggle fabric and matching them with the 1967 Simplicity jacket.
Tailored trousers Burda 11/ 12 107a
I also made a pair of shorts, using Burda 08/2014 110. Again an unrevealing model shot (in terms of the construction of her shorts). My plan at the moment is to make these as a wildcard in pink boucle, matching them with a RTW cardigan.
Burda shorts 08/14 110
By spending quite alot of time over the past two weeks on creating test garments, I have worked out what changes are needed to the patterns. I have run off the shorts pattern again because my changes are so extensive. I need to alter the trousers too. By having the patterns right at the start of the SWAP sewing period (26 December to 30 April 2015) I will be able to start sewing without worrying about fit, style or technique. That takes alot of stress away and means you don’t have to keep trying on and messing around. You can just sew carefully and accurately, and it is easier to keep the fabric pristine. I don’t want to be pretentious, but it is a bit like a surgeon practising on a computer model before separating co-joined twins, for example. You want to know what you are doing before you make the first cut.
I am not sure at the moment if I will pair the 1950s grey crepe Simplicity 100 jacket with trousers or a with skirt. But if it is trousers, how about a 1980s pattern? Something high-waisted, in linen perhaps, with wider legs? I am unsure about this idea – I will need to make a toile not just to adjust the fit but to see if this style of trousers will suit me or not. And will a fuller, pleated pant work with such a highly fitted jacket?
Simplicity 100 Drawing
On the pattern envelopes the 1980s trousers go with loose fit collarless jackets with big shoulders, providing balance. However the greater challenge is getting a style to suit me. If it goes horribly wrong I can easily fall back on a skirt as I have lots of pattens already tried and tested.
I had already planned a pair of more casual trousers, in turquoise stretch cotton. These would be matched with a hand painted silk shirt.
If I plump for pants I will be making more toiles (initially I had not planned to toile more than three or four items, relying instead on TNT skirt patterns). Going for trousers will make the plan a lot more challenging for me, as I will have to do more practice sewing, fitting and experimenting.
Toile plans
Simplicity 1967 jacket
Burda 11/12 107a trousers
Burda 08/14 110 shorts
Reversible skirt Vogue 8961
Simplicity 100 (1950s) jacket (I have started to make initial alterations to the pattern)
Vogue 2299 trousers
Burda 04/2011 105 blouse
Undecided blouse pattern
(I don’t need to toile the shell top, Burda boyfriend coat, or indeed the cardigan).
There are now only three weeks left before Sewing starts. I may be able to toile one or two more items on this list but it is not practical to finish everything before Christmas. I will prioritise the S100 jacket as it is the most difficult item in terms of fit in my SWAP. However I will not worry too much if I don’t do another toile, as we have four months of sewing time – plenty of time to have a few dry runs while I get started on the plan. I need to think about the unidentified blouse, and the ready to wear cardigan too, but I am getting there.
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