Mathilde Blouse En Rouge

This is my second version of The Mathilde Blouse, made with a viscose from Stone Fabrics. I used a red cotton sateen for the cuffs and covered them with white lace I had in my stash.

I also treated myself to some beautiful red shell buttons from Liberty:

Yet again, the blouse came together perfectly. I just love this pattern, though maybe my third version should be in a solid colour so that we can actually see those gorgeous tucks in the front. Initially I was sad that I omitted to insert navy piping along the bottom of the yoke, but now I think maybe less is more. After all, we do already have white lace and red shell buttons! What do you think? Hmmm. Maybe a touch more red needed…

Have you made this blouse? How would you customise it?

Sewing Secret: Belding Corticelli Silk Thread

Yes, this silk thread is just as beautiful and shimmering as it looks. It’s also a dream to work with when hand basting because it’s so slippery, making it really easy to remove.

But the company who produced it don’t make it any more.

There’s an interesting insight into Belding Corticelli and the thread here. I first used this thread when studying with Sunny Gal Studios and I’ve recently been reintroduced to it via my Susan Khalje Couture Dress course. I decided I just had to have some of my own Corticelli silk thread.

Even though this thread is no longer manufactured, you can still get hold of it. My impression is that if you live in the States, this can be picked up for a dime at any garage sale. (Though my impression of America is that ANYTHING can be picked up for a dime at a garage sale. Wrong or right?)

Not so here in the UK. But fear ye not, readers! I tracked down some thread.

First off, a quick Ebay UK search turned up several options. But they were all being shipped from the States at fairly hefty prices and I didn’t need 20-odd spools of questionable quality thread. Just a couple of spools of excellent quality thread.

So, I turned to Etsy and found Fahrenheit Vintage. This vendor has lots and lots of really lovely silk thread. Don’t click on the link unless you want to part with some money! But I really recommend that you part with some money. Not only is this thread useful, it’s a piece of history and an object of beauty. William Morris would approve:

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

This thread is both.

Mathilde Giveaway No. Two Goes Live!

Remember when I launched the Mathilde Giveaway Times Three? To celebrate my third blog birthday, Tilly and the Buttons and I came up with a giveaway that had a twist. Whoever won the Mathilde blouse pattern from me, would automatically also win the right to host their own giveaway. All they had to do was make the blouse first! Made On The Couch won my giveaway and 2.5 months later, she has a Made A For Mum Mathilde. Isn’t it wonderful?

I love the slimmer sleeve option that she chose, adapting sleeves from the Laurel pattern. Clever, huh? This should appeal to several readers, as I know the Mathilde puff sleeve isn’t for everyone. (Myself, I can’t wait to try a sleeveless version of this blouse for summer.)

So, if you want to win your own copy of the Mathilde blouse AND a copy of the pattern to give away to a fellow Sewist, head over here and leave a comment. As part of the comment, you need to leave a detail about the most random thing that’s ever happened to you – fun. But be quick! You only have until this Friday to enter. Good luck, my friends.

Gang Life

Meet Poppy – Ella’s cousin! (Aka my sister’s puppy.) Don’t tell Ella, but I think Poppy pips her to the cuteness post. She has the giant-est of giant ears and the most inquisitive little face.

I always swore blind I’d never play dress up with Ella. Then we saw these kerchiefs on a stall, and… What can I tell ya? I could have whipped one up myself in five minutes, but spontaneous purchasing took over. They’re from Edywn UK. (I also bought a bag. Correction, my mum bought it for me. When do you get too old for your mum to treat you, or does it just go on for ever?)

We had a great May Day Bank Holiday at the local park! There was a dog show and dog agility, free for anyone to enter. So we did.

There was Maypole Dancing, with some adults in frankly questionable costumes.

There was apple and pear cider, a coconut stand, Lucky Dip… I expected milkmaids to wander past at any point. Then we encountered a group of teenage Walthamstonians talking in street talk, innit. ‘Gang life!’ Mum whispered gleefully to me. ‘Gang life in the East End!’ Um, yeah. Or maybe a bunch of lads showing off to each other.

And now I’m too tired to sew! What have you been up to?

Sewing A Summer Skirt

I’m going on holiday soon – yippee! But you know how these things creep up on you and you realise you haven’t thought at all about what you’re going to pack? I wanted a nice, cool, breathable summer skirt and knew that some double gauze would be just the ticket. Because double gauze fabric is two fine layers of cotton woven together, it’s almost as though your skirt comes pre-lined. Score! I bought about 1.5 metres of the below from The Village Haberdashery.

I used Colette’s Ginger skirt pattern. It’s fairly simple to construct and flattering as heck. I’ve made two previous versions here and here.

There’s not much more to say other than – hello, new summer skirt! What are your summer sewing plans?

Mapping My Mood – Part One

Back in March, I travelled from London to New York and was lucky enough to hit Mood Fabrics not once, but twice. On my first visit, I spotted some plaid and glitter polka dot wool that I fell in love with. Yes, you read right – plaid and glitter polka dot. Big glitter polka dots. But I was too overwhelmed with choices to make a purchase and left empty-handed. On my second visit, Mood very kindly offered to gift me enough of this fabric to make a dress. All they asked in return was that I blog about my make. I ran around a corner and did my happy dance. Then I went back to Meg and said that I would reluctantly find room in my suitcase for this Marc Jacobs wool challis.

Now, this is how it works for me. The moment someone gifts me fabric, my life gets crazy busy and I can’t do anything with it. This time was no different, but fortunately Meg had encouraged me to take my time.

I took my fabric home and stared at it quite a lot. It had a gorgeous drape and I could feel the quality, but the print also dipped a toe in the ‘novelty’ arena. I’d have to think carefully about my chosen project. Originally, I’d planned to make a Hollyburn Skirt, but I felt I had to up my game in return for Mood’s generosity. Two things happened to help me make my final choice:

• Beth of Sunny Gal Studios reminded me that I’d bought and so far failed to use Craftsy’s Susan Khalje Couture Dress course. 
• I watched The Great British Sewing Bee. (Did any of you catch it? Of course you did, why am I even asking?) In the first episode, Mark made a dress with contrast panels. I had some solid black wool crepe in my stash… 

Bingo! I’d found my make. Some solid black panels would break up my plaid/glitter polka dot mix. I was off and running! A slow run, but running nonetheless.

I made my toile out of stash linen and some old men’s shirts. I took it into work so that a colleague could fit it to me in the office bathroom. The fit was pretty good, other than being a bit roomy. Increased sewing wisdom meant I’d already done an FBA on the toile, which saved a lot of hand-wringing and head scratching.

Next, I had to trace off the toile pieces onto my organza silk underlining. The trace lines weren’t showing up when placed down on my fashion fabric, so I went over them in bright red washable felt pen. Now, if you’re thinking, Sacrilege! I can’t believe she’s doing that to her silk organza! I say to you: Get over it. You should see what Susan Khalje does to hers. Seriously, that woman would write her shopping list on her underlining, given half a chance.

Then came cutting out my fashion fabric. Phew-boy. I’d set myself a challenge and then some. Those glitter polka dots? The rows didn’t run true to the rows of plaid. Each glitter dot had an incrementally different placement. If I was going to cut anything out to line up I needed… No, not a stiff drink! That was the last thing I needed. I needed a good night’s sleep, a clear head, buckets of optimism and patience and the self-knowledge to take things really slowly. I also needed lots of fabric. It helped a lot that I knew I had plenty for my dress. It doesn’t matter, I told myself. If you need to re-cut a piece, that’s fine. Seriously, guys. If you have a pattern to match, buy extra fabric. It will save your sanity!

I only cut out two pattern pieces at a time and basted them to my silk organza. Then I would press over a seam and start trying to find matching glitter dot and plaid placements on my fabric to line up with. This took a loooonnnnng time. No doubt about it, the most intense cutting out experience of my life. (I still have the skirt pieces to cut out and wonder if I’ll foul them up or not.)

It took an entire weekend to cut out some – some! – of the bodice pieces and baste to the silk organza. One whole weekend, of extremely careful work. Even then, I felt very unhappy about how things were matching up. The fabic had a fluidity that made sewing plaid together very difficult, even when carefully matched. But basting together the front bodice section got me thinking. I might see a way forwards. Maybe.

In the Craftsy course Susan talks about the psychological highs and lows of a make at this level. The excitement of choosing your fabric, the dreary admin of making your toile, the frustration of trying to make everything work and then back to excitement as things start to come together. Susan Khalje is a very wise woman. She’s also a perfectionist, winkling out my perfectionist streak.

So, onwards! We all know that this project has one of two possible outcomes: success or failure. Time and other guest blog posts will tell. In the meantime, if you have any hints and tips for working with plaid/glitter polka dot I will be for ever grateful…

A sincere thank you to Meg and Mood for giving me this opportunity to test myself. This post first appeared as a guest post on the Mood Sewing Network.

True Confessions – I’m A Bin Surfer

There I am, merrily sewing away, when I give a yelp. Oh no! I was meant to cut out another facing/a second waistband piece/some pockets. Trouble is, I’ve been too efficient and all my scraps have gone straight in the kitchen bin.

I look around furtively. No one’s watching. I tip toe over to the bin and peer inside. Discarded curry? Baked beans? No, nothing too disgusting. You know what’s coming next, don’t you? I retrieve my scraps of fabric. Wave them around in the air a bit. That’ll do. No stains and the smell will go soon.

Tell me I’m not alone. I’m begging you! Or should I just give up now and pray for forgiveness?

Abbey Coat Winner & Hollyburn Huzzah!

Yay! Am really glad that my first Hollyburn skirt workshop was a success. All students went home with a completed skirt and one student even lined hers! We all worked really hard whilst chatting about The Great British Sewing Bee, inhaling cake between sewing marathons. We pushed the time slots of the classes to the hilt, but we got there and then some. Well done, friends!

Isn’t the above blue skirt gorgeous? I’m tempted to buy some of this fabric myself. The print is purposefully and very slightly off grain, which forces a person to Embrace The Randomness. No print matching here! (Ask my student and I how we know that the print is slightly off grain…)

The Village Haberdashery and I will soon be announcing dates for a second workshop, so watch this space and start dreaming about fabric.

In other news, it’s time to pull a name out of the virtual hat for the winner of the Abbey Coat giveaway. It’s Lori! I’ll be in touch for a postal address, lovely.

That’s it from me, guys. The sun is calling and Ella is impatient for her morning stroll aka excuse to bark at anything with a heartbeat. Small children on tricycles, be on your guard…

What Can I Make With My Bound Buttonholes?

Well, it’s been just over two weeks since I launched my e-book and over 100 people have already bought it. Thank you so much, guys!

The e-book guides you through a practice make of your bound buttonholes, before starting on a project. But knowing what human nature is like, it did occur to me that some readers might feel frustrated to make buttonholes that … well, just don’t go towards anything they can use.

If you’re someone who wants to use their buttonholes, rather than just practise them, you could do what I did – extend the swatches of fabric and turn them into a bag, as pictured above. I made a little bag to carry my knitting around in. I added a bow for cuteness. The whole project was a very loose variation on this tutorial. My buttonholes were big, which was good for a first practice.

Or maybe you’re looking for the perfect pattern to use your bound buttonholes on? Well, you’re in luck! The absolutely lovely Jamie Christina is offering one FREE copy of the Abbey Coat pattern. Anyone who buys a copy of the e-book between now and midnight GMT Monday 29 April will be entered for a prize draw. That’s right. For £2, one lucky winner could have a 40+ page e-book and be in with the chance of a sewing pattern to go with it. But be quick – this offer isn’t open long.

What I like about the Abbey Coat is that it’s so adaptable. You can make a full on winter coat or a lighter mid-season version if you leave off the bottom ruffle hem. There are some great versions out there on the web. I am a particular fan of Handmade Jane’s:

Enjoy, my friends! Anything else you’d like to see in possible future e-books – just leave a comment below. Don’t hold your breath, though. It took me eight months to get this one out!

Self-Esteem Needs Many Mirrors

I’m always impressed by how many of us have incredibly full lives outside of sewing and knitting. I know of bloggers who are actors, scientists, teachers, designers, business people, parents, bakers, gardeners… This list goes on and on. What we do here is only one slice of the pie! Which is a very good thing.

Myself, I work in children’s publishing. I edit full-time and write. On a daily basis, I see and experience the highs and lows of creative pursuits. It’s a rollercoaster, and you’d better make sure you’re strapped in. Many new authors see publication as the ultimate accolade. Well done, you have succeeded. Boy, are they in for a rude awakening. Commercial success brings its own rattling bag of insecurities. Your book’s out there, but is it selling? If it isn’t selling, will the publisher want more? Probably not. Am I capable of writing another book? Maybe. There aren’t any guarantees with creativity. We all know that and then some. Everyone here has a tight bundle of abandoned rags in their sewing psyche, even if it’s been thrown out of their sewing room.

This is why it’s really important to have other things to do. When I feel bad about my writing, I take comfort in the fact that I know I’m a really good editor. When I’ve had a frustrating day at the office, I come home and sew. When my brain is too frazzled for anything else, I focus on a single row of knitting. Just one row. All I have to do for the next ten minutes is move some sticks around some wool. Everything else disappears. My baby blanket project has saved my sanity on many a recent tube journey. (If you’re interested, the baby’s arrived and my blanket is 5/7ths finished!)

There are myriad ways of propping up your self-esteem. Run marathons, bake cakes, write poetry, retrain for a new career, buy a lipstick … get a sewing machine or buy some wool. Just have more than one mirror in the house. If you pour all your sense of self into a single area of your life, that leaves you teetering atop a tall and narrow pillar. You might get dizzy.

Well, that’s just my opinion and I may be wrong. What do you think? Has sewing or knitting helped you keep perspective? Do you think it’s good or bad to juggle several balls? It’s getting the balance right. Right?!