Talking about the perfect fit...

Talking about the perfect fit, how about this pretty, pale pink skirt and top, Duchess Catherine wore today? I like the contrast between the elegant, minimal top and flared skirt. A top with such 'clean' lines needs to fit perfectly. Choosing the perfect color for your complexion is another important thing of course.

Let's take a look at the pictures above:

• the waistline of the top sits at the natural waist
• there is a perfect amount of ease 
• shoulder width is perfect
• look at the picture where she lifts her arm! That's how a perfect armhole should behave! 
• the neckline lies flat, there is no gaping
• there are no drag-lines or wrinkles 
• the bust dart might be just a tad too high imo (hits right at the apex) 
• skirt hem hits the leg elegantly just at the knee

It looks like the fabric is some kind of heavier (wool crepe?) jersey. The peplum has more body than the skirt, so it is probably underlined.
I tried to search the net for the original Alexander McQueen garments but could only find something similar. The top at left features the just slightly flared peplum and the V-neck, but placement of the bust darts is different. The top in the middle has the right color and dart placement, but the peplum is more flared. I guess the skirt is similar to this one below. At first I thought it was a circle-skirt but then noticed the pleats.

 

If you'd like to make something similar, I have the right patterns for you!
Vogue 8815 peplum top:


Butterick 5756 pleated skirt:

The 3,5 hour skirt challenge! Vogue 2885 from 1944

The idea of the 3,5 hour skirt-challenge comes from the TV-series The Great British Sewing Bee. In the first episode the contestants had to make an A-line skirt in 3,5 hours. Back then I thought 3,5 hours must be more than enough for a simple skirt with a few darts, seams and a zipper closure, but for the contestants it turned out to be a tuff challenge.
Have you ever kept a stopwatch when sewing? Me neither, but ever since I wanted to give it a try. Of course, instead of a really basic skirt pattern in a sample size I choose one with a bit more construction details, a pretty V-notch in front, fitted for myself: Vogue 2885. Have I managed to finish the task within the 3,5 hours? Let's find out!

00.00 start!

00.22 min
Copied the pattern on tissue paper and adjusted (shortened) the skirt length. Kept the flare at the bottom but didn't change the width of the triangle insert at the back.


00.47 min
Finished cutting the jeans fabric pieces. (did in one layer at the time as always). Unbelievable how quickly time is passing by!


01.30 hour
Sewn all darts and seams plus decided to put the zipper in the back instead of the side seam. First fitting round! Luckily, there were no swayback issues, the fit was quite good actually. Yes, I'm back on track: not even halfway there with my time!
Below some construction details of the back pleat:
   

   

   

01.42 hour
OMG, what happened? Where is my facing?! Apparently, I totally forgot to cut it. Quickly searched suitable fabric, how about those pretty roses? Used fusible interfacing, as always.


02.49 hour
Finished stitching the facings! After the fitting decided to take in the sides above the hipline (so that is tapering from size 12 to size 11 now) and also decided to transfer the zipper to the back opening instead of the left side. I just don't like putting a zipper in a curved seamline.
Of course, by the time I was this far I've already cut the back facing and interfacing in one piece. To adjust it I've cut it open in the middle and attached a piece of bias tape to add enough fabric for the seam allowances:
   

   

Understitching facing (can you tell I practiced?...)


Finished V-cut in the front. Simple but effective, a pretty detail:


41 minutes to go!
Things to do: placing the zipper, finishing the raw edges and hemming. I guess I need to hurry!
Well, we al know that seam finishing takes time. I quickly decided to do it the quickest way possible, with an ordinary zigzag stitch. I quite like how it looks on the flower facing. A bias seam finish might look better on the other seams but this is functional and old-fashioned as well (I haven't seen my grandma use any other stitch for seam finishing)


For the zipper I choose a traditional one instead of my go-to blind zipper with the thought of saving some time (wishful thinking!) Where the heck have I left my zipper foot?! Again, precious minutes lost....


03.21
By the time my zipper was placed I only had a minute of 10 left.
I had to realize there was no chance to finish this skirt within the 3,5 hours.

03.30

Not finished!

didn't have time to hem the skirt. Was halfway with pinning though...

in retrospect
So what went wrong?
- Mainly, organization I guess...
First I forgot to cut the facing pieces, then I had to adjust the back facing pieces. I lost time with searching the zipper foot of my machine (among other things...) and spent quite some time on neat finishing the V-notch in front.
- This was the first time sewing up this pattern which meant I had to figure out the V-shaped notch in the front and the construction of the back pleat. I'm sure it would go better for the second time.
- Actually, I quite enjoyed working under time-pressure! I guess I keep trying to stay within the magic 3,5 hour when I sew my next skirt.

Of course, after half-finishing the skirt I went back to the seams and finished the raw edges with bias tape and decided to leave the skirt a bit longer, covering the knees instead of ending above them.
New pics of the finished garment are coming up next week!

Sewing a skirt to match my jumpers

Let's continue this week with a little bit of sewing!
Two weeks ago I ran into 2.3 meters (2 yd.) leftover jeans fabric for 9 euro's, and thought it would make two great skirts for autumn!
The first pattern that came to my mind was the one I used for my green corduroy skirt back in 2011. I must say, that is probably the most worn item I've ever made! I remembered that the waist part needed heavy modification so I decided to interchange that part. Little problem: somehow I lost that particular issue of the sewing magazine. Luckily one of my colleagues has it and I can borrow it.
But still, in the meantime I had this 'urge' of making an A-line skirt, so I went through the other skirt patterns I have and pulled out this pretty 1944's Vintage Vogue suit pattern:

Vintage Vogue 2885 (out of print)

Although the skirt seems to be fitted it is really an A-line skirt:
"Slightly flared skirt has a contour waist, back pleat, hook and eye, side snap or zipper closure."

Theoretically, the only modification I needed to make is to shorten the skirt to my go-to just-above-the-knee length while keeping the width and the flare of the lower part. The original length is around 70 cm which is an unflattering length for me, with the hem hitting my calves at the heaviest part.
The original skirt doesn't have a lining. Wartime restrictions made it easier to wear skirts with separate underskirts. Since I have a lot to do around the house I decided to try the British Sewing Bee challenge and finish the skirt in 3.5 hours! Have I managed to do it? Stay tuned for the answer and construction details.

Sewing plans - coordinates

   
Simplicity 3688 and 4044

Love or hate coordinates?
First of all the most beautiful, shooting music to wake up with... at least to whom who love classic music. Others might find this rather irritating because of the repeating theme of the Canto Ostinato from Simenon ten Holt. (the title means 'stubborn song')

Anyway, there is a new Sewaholic pattern!
I wasn't testing this time as I did with the Cambie dress, Tasia asked specially for pear-shaped ladies for pattern testing and I'm not one. Though, my weakest point (hello body image!) are my thighs. Trousers often stuck halfway up, even if they would fit in the waist. and how about the gaping backs? Pffff..... Now, the new pattern, the Thurlow trousers look like have enough room in the leg-area: "It’s the first trouser pattern designed for curvy hips, fuller thighs and a narrow waist." There is also a built-in extension in the back which you could adjust. Once we are settled in our new home I'm planning to make a suit, skirt and trousers to have a complete coordinated set, like the Vogue Wardrobe series.

To make my wardrobe-variation, I need to a fitted jacket. The jackets of the patterns above are not fittd enough for my taste. They are early 40's patterns, a bit boxy and long, while towards the end of the 40's the jackets got more fitted and a little shorter too. For the skirt and the suit I'm going to use the out of print Vintage Vogue pattern 2885 which I've recently ordered. The jacket is really nicely fitted and the skirt is an A-line, even if it looks on the pattern envelop like a fitted, straight one. For the trousers I'm planning to use the Sewaholic Thurlow pattern, which has wide legs, a slightly lower waist than the traditional 40's pants. I think it would go nicely with the 40's Vogue jacket:





Played with Photoshop a little to show how the fitted suit would look on my not-so-elongated torso. Just to show how different the proportions are. Still looks good...