Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I've been sewing up a storm (pic-heavy)

I didn't vanish into thin air nor died, in case you worried about me not posting :) Just had a very very busy time at work and spend every spare second sewing. Florin was in Brussels for a week and I took advantage of it. But before I show you what I made in a week (looots of things), here is my Chanel style jacket "in action", at the conference. It looks rather interesting with the black pearls doesn't it?






Last night I had one of the happiest moments ever. Thanks to Sigrid, I've discovered Elingeria, an online shop in Germany, selling bra kits, bra notions, patterns and lots of great things (you'll see below what I ordered). I'm very happy with this shop and they provide great customer service. So here is my Christmas present for myself:



Two big cutting mats(90x60 cm). First time I have a mat and I can finally use my rotary cutters - have two and one of them even has that distance arm (how do you call it??) but I couldn't use them because I didn't have a mat!



Bra patterns (one of them by Beverly Johnson, author of the Bra-maker Manual), bra padding in various colors, bra kits: black/silver, chocolate/turquoise, emerald green/gold, hot pink/purple, dark red. Every kit has all the notions (except bra padding) and enough fabric and lace to make a bra and two pairs of panties.

And now, I proudly present you the result of a week's worth of sewing. Beware, I did nothing else this week but go to work and then go home and sew!

Coat, Burda 10/2007, 119








This is the best drafted coat pattern I've ever seen so far! I made it like it was (it is a petite pattern) and I didn't have to alter or change 1 mm of it! It's amazing! Look how elegant this side panel with pocket included is:



And I love the shape of the sleeve. It has a center seam and not cap ease - I think the pattern is cut down the center and all the cap ease is taken out in a dart. The shape is beautiful and as usual, I didn't even need to insert shoulder pads.

Back detail :



The coat is made out of the same wool knit that I used for my Chanel style jacket. The wool if you remember is very stretchy, therefore I underlined the entire coat with white cotton batiste. I love underlining, the coat is so soft and supple and so light!



Burda, 04/2007, blouse 114 with the sleeves of blouse 101 from Burda 09/2007. The original sleeves of the blouse were short and puffed. I copied the sleeve, measured from front (back) notch to the shoulder notch both on the bodice and the sleeve. The resulting difference (that allows for gathers in the sleeve) I took it out slashing the pattern and taking out 1 cm at each slash. The resulting cap sleeve was copied to the sleeve pattern of the other sleeve. The blouse is made in pure silk and I can wear it both with long ties or with a bow.









Burda 09/2007, dress 117

Dress unbelted



Dress belted





The dress is made out of two cuts (about 0.5 m each) of pure gorgeous wool. Those cuts were given to me by my mother, are at least 20 years old and come from a Romanian factory that used to make only wool fabrics.

See how gorgeous this fabric is, and it has the name of the factory (Libertatea Sibiu) woven in the selvage. "Lana pura" means "pure wool". Have no idea what "London shrunk" might mean. Christina reminded me that Carolyn describes in this post the London shrinking method. Thanks Christina! So this fabric was pre-shrunk in the factory. This amazes me.... I guess it means good quality, doesn't it? I also assume this fabric is wool crepe. I don't know the word in English, in Romanian we call it caşa (pronounced "kashà" - the word comes from German).



The dress is underlined with a great knit lining, silky and slippery (no static of any other problems over stockings, no wrinkling and practically inconspicuous). I used this tip on PR to underline and give a Hong Kong finish to the seams at the same time.







Jeans, Vogue 8202






These jeans are very low rise in the back and I noticed that good jeans are normally higher in the back. I therefore altered the waist seam of the yoke, raising it by 1.5 inches at the center and tapering to nothing at the sides.







I used two spools of topstitching thread threaded in the same jeans needle, as I didn't have any dark blue jeans thread. I'm not sure that I like that tone on tone topstitching, maybe I would have liked a rusty jeans thread better, but I wanted a pair of jeans to be worn with dressier jackets and thought that dark blue thread would be better.

Detail of the decorative stitching on the back pocket



Simplicity 4020






61 comments:

Adrienne said...

My goodness!!! Everything you have made looks fantastic! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the jeans!! I will def try those!! Great job on EVERYTHING!

The J said...

WOW! Even with sewing every spare minute, you must be really fast! Either that, or you don't sleep ;). It's a good thing you live so far away, or I might be coveting your closet!

Tumblina on SG

Christina said...

Well I don't even know where to begin!

So you didn't use the shoulder pads on your 119 coat? I'm going to try that...

"London shrinking" is a method of pre-treating wool, Carolyn described it here:
http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/2007/11/prepping-wool-crepe.html

*Everything* is gorgeous, and fits you perfectly, of course!

LauraLo said...

Thank you so much, ladies, for your comments!
Tumblina, welcome to my blog!
Christina, can't wait to see your coat finished, I think it will look great, it is very much your style. I haven't used shoulder pads lately (my houndstooth jacket and this coat) and believe me, I look better without them!
Thank you so much for reminding me of Carolyn's post. I read it a while ago but forgot that method was called London shrinking. So I suppose this fabric was pre-shrunk in the factory? Oh my!

Lashell said...

Okay. When you come back you come back with a bang. A whole new wadrobe on two weeks. That is phenomonal. I love that coat. When you do underlining do you treat the fashion fabric and the underlining as one. I am currently working on a wool jacket and I am a little stumped.

LauraLo said...

Lashell, you make me feel like a star :) Thanks a lot!
Yes, when I underline, I treat both fabrics as one (I baste them by machine first). For this wool, as it was very very stretchy, before basting it to the batiste, I first glued the wool and the batiste with temporary adhesive spray. That way I could control the stretch of the knit and steam it back in place (it started growing 5 seconds after cutting it grrr!)

Sigrid said...

WOW indeed Laura, what an accomplisment. All your new garments look so lovely and well made.
I'm glad you had good experience with Elingeria too, and look forward to what you're making with all those goodies.

Anonymous said...

wow!! You got so much amazing stuff done in a week! I came in to tell you about London shrink, but I see I've been beaten!

I attempted those Vogue jeans a couple years ago, but found the fit to be so bad (like 3-4 inches too big at the waist and about 5 inches too low at the front and back) that I just gave up on those and used their embellishments on a plain (and much better fitting) Burda WOF cords pattern instead.

And I adore that two-tone dress. Utterly fabulous.

Lisa Laree said...

You made all of that in one week??!!
(Must pick jaw up from floor). Fabulous...fabulous...fabulous...every single thing that went through your machine is fabulous.

Congratulations on some wonderful results from all your work!

Summerset said...

Wow. Fantastic items. I really love the coat, and have considered making that one - mainly because it was petite sized. Your version is beautiful!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Well its good to know that you have just been buried underneath your sewing machine making wonderful new garments! 'Cause I was wondering where you had gone. All I can say is that each piece is even more stunning and beautiful than the prior! What a productive week you've had and thanks for all the photos...especially the live and in person one of you wearing your Chanel jacket!

Anonymous said...

All of the clothes looks so good. You must have had so much fun doing it all!

Bonnie O. said...

Each item looks spectacular on you! Those jeans are wonderful. I just love the details. And the dress is just lovely. Great idea to make it two-tone.

You continue to be an inspiration!!

Erica Bunker said...

Everything is amazing! I especially love the coat. This is an upcoming project of mine. I love the cut of the cut and I plan to "un-petite".

Emily said...

Wow wow wow! Everything looks fabulous. I'm completely jealous of your week of non-stop sewing time! (though, I don't think I could have been nearly as productive :)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Everything is absolutely incredible and the fit is perfect! g

007gurl said...

Wow!!!! You have been busy. I love everything. Did you find it hard to do the detail stitching on the jeans?

Cherie said...

Lady, you sew with magic dust on your fingers! What a fashion show you gave us! Loved the "in action" shot of that jacket - you look as if you are in the front row at a couture fashion show!! But you are the artiste!

Debbie Cook said...

Wow!! All of those beautiful garments in one week?? You are amazing! Everything fits perfect and looks beautiful on you. I especially like the color of the blouse with your dark hair.

Vicki said...

Wow, Laura! How could you do all that in a week? You have made some stunning garments. I love them all. I love the way you have used two fabrics for your dress. Your jeans fit you oh so perfectly and even the cute top (last item) is gorgeous.

Oh, and you and your Chanel blouse in the first pics look stunning!!

Jess said...

Holy Cow, Laura--you've made more in a couple of weeks than I might make all year! :-) And you worked during the day!

Everything looks great (as always) but that dress is especially chic.

Le sigh... You set the bar mighty high, girl!

BCN - UNIQUE designer patterns said...

LAURA - congratulations, you suit is "divine" and lights fantastic. I really like the shelter model "crass", I had made similar models in the years to "80", is a time to once again become fashionable now. And what of the fabric interior (underlinning) is a good idea. I am currently stitching a boucle jacket and I do the same, but with a cloth fuse bielástica. I taught this method a cousin of mine who worked at Thierry Mugler and has a good result. What I do with the iron and with a lot of patience, ideally have a proper machine, but failing this, all methods are good. Yours is fantastic and very professional, congratulations. Well, receives a warm greeting from me and a hug to the next. Paco.

Lori said...

Oh my goodness, Laura, you must have been sewing every spare moment. All your garments are amazing. I love the jeans, the details are super. Thanks for sharing all the pictures, I love seeing your creations.

Shannon said...

Holy cow!! You have busy, busy, busy!! As usual, your latest garments are spectacular and you look wonderful in them.

Anonymous said...

Amazing work as always but what's really amazing is how you did all this in such a short space of time while working full time! Do you have any tips on how you organise your sewing work or do you just not sleep much?! Great job, really inspiring!

Still Patrice said...

How long were you locked in your sewing room!?! LOL Everything you made looks GREAT!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! You must be a very fast sewer. Of course, since you seem not to have to alter the patterns you do have an advantage. Read that as pure jealousy. Fabulous clothing that looks amazing on you.

Anonymous said...

Oh my,my,my. Yes we missed you! Glad to see you back in action. Fabulous work! So lustin after the jeans pattern. Back for instant replay.

Dina of PR
Coming out of lurkdom

Tracey said...

OMG!!! I wonder if I could get that much done if I sent my husband away for a week. Wonderful pieces.

Anonymous said...

Wow - everything looks impeccable. Bravo, Laura. You're such an inspiration to me. I'm overwhelmed by the sheer number of garments you made (beautifully!) in the span of one week, and I could never hope to match that output, but at the same time, you've made me realize how much time I let slip by when I could be sewing, sewing, sewing! Are there any conferences in Brussels that would accept a husband and toddler? ;-) - Eme

Katrin said...

Laura, I am really speechless!
What gorgeous wardrobe you made in just 2 weeks...
I love everything you made, all Burda items were marked as favourites for me as well...But I will never ever have the time to sew them up. Maybe I should schedule a conference for my honey, too :-).
As regards the blouse pattern I have a question: Why did you combine those two patterns ? Did you deconstruct the button closure ? Looking at the technical drawing the patterns seem very similar to me..
I love the coat, I already considered to repetite it, since I am 1,72 m tall. And congratulations to the woolen fabric treasures. I totally envy you, they are beautiful.

Best wishes,
Katrin

Katrin said...

one addition:

Check out: www.spitzenparadies.de
and www.sewy.de for more food for the lingerie-addicition.

Katrin

LauraLo said...

First of all, thank you so much for your comments! They were much appreciated. So appreciated that even if Florin came back yesterday, I kept checking my blog every time he had something else to do to see what you said... :)
Welcome to my blog, Frida, Melissa, 007gurl, Gaylen, Debbie Cook, Jess, Allie, Pajnstl, Tracey, Nancy K, Eme, Dina!
Melissa: I did some alterations to those Vogue jeans, but I posted so much yesterday, that I totally forgot to mention that I made the jeans in non-stretch fabric (pattern is for stretch fabric) and reduced a bit the center back and inside leg seam allowance - I've used 5/8 instead of 3/4. If you feel like it, read my PR review for those jeans here: http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=24753
Nancy K, you're right, I have to make very few alterations and very frequently patterns fit me directly out of the envelope. I know, I'm lucky, I really am. The disadvantage of this fact is that I don't know a lot about fitting, although I started reading and learning. The fact that I know some patternmaking helps.
Katrin - I combine those two blouses because I didn't want the sleeve of the first one - I didn't want a short sleeve and I didn't want gathers at the armhole. I wanted a long sleeve and gathers at the wrist. That's why I copied the sleeve from the other blouse, but had to alter the cap to fit the armhole of the first one :)
Some of you asked how I organise my sewing work and manage to be so fast, I'll try and post separately about that really soon!

stebo79 said...

Be carefull about that bra sewing virus, ist ist really contagious ;-) I order some of my stuff in the same shop. Another good shop is Spitzenparadies (http://spitzen-paradies.de).

You did a lot of sewing and all pieces look GREAT! I wanted to do that vougue pants too, but it is too low for my taste. I will alter a pattern so I can have one too ;-)

Greetings from Germany,
Steffi

LauraLo said...

Thank you, Steffi and welcome to my blog. I can't wait to start sewing those bras... Thanks for the link to spitzen paradies also!

narcissaqtpie said...

I am speechless! you have an awesome wardrobe! (& look awesome wearing it)

Anonymous said...

You are so talented and so pretty!! I love everything you made, especially that dress. It is smokin'!!!!

Anonymous said...

I forgot to put this in my comment above. I get on spells where I will sew alot in a week's time, but I always end up throwing out my back and having to go to the doctor. I guess I stay hunched over too long. Do you have any suggestions for avoiding that?

Melissa said...

Oh Miss Laura, you've been so productive and I'm so insanely jealous!!! I love every garment you made! Everything fits you perfect and you're so darn cute too! Enjoy all your efforts. :-)

Audrey said...

You have been "sewing up a storm!" Everything looks great! Isn't the BWOF dress a great design? I love how the pleats look in the plaid fabric you used on the top.

Vicki said...

Laura, I am back again because I am still soooo amazed! You are such an inspiration. I was thinking about that beautiful silk blouse and wondered how you will launder it - will it go to the dry cleaners or will you hand wash it? Just curious as I think one of those would look pretty good in my wardrobe;))

LauraLo said...

Thank you very much, Narcissa, Melissa and Audrey! Rachel, welcome to my blog!
Vicki, I rarely take anything to dry cleaners. I either wash woolens and silks by hand (I use Perwoll for delicates, which is made especially for wool and silk) or even by machine, using the same Perwoll and the delicates programme. They wash beautifully!

Anonymous said...

That is amazing level of output and it all looks beautiful-I particularly like both the top and the blouse-both look stunning

Cennetta said...

Everything is beautiful. I love your sense of style and creativity. Fantastic job on everything.

Tany said...

Laura, I'm still trying to catch my breath here! WOW!!! You have been sewing some fabulous stuff! I LOVE all your FOs, so where do I start? The coat is superb, gorgeous, it suits you perfectly! The blouse is stunning! I love the color and it looks so well on you! The dress, wow, I might even "steal" your idea because I have a few 1.5 yard pieces of fabric that Jules sent me as a present and I think I could mix one or two of these fabrics and make this dress! (If I get the time, because I've been the true opposite of you: no time to sew for almost a week!!! I feel like an addict, hurting!). Your jeans look stunning and fit you like a glove! They don't get better than this! And the last top is the cherry on top of it all! Oh and you must have been the most elegant lady at the Conference! Congratulations on all this, my friend!

Anonymous said...

I stumbled across your blog and am blown away by the coat. Beautiful. One question: how does one get archived copies of the Burda magazine? I've finally decided to subscribe (your coat pushed me over the edge)and am always admiring BWOF patterns from the "past." Is there something I'm missing on the website?

Thanks,
Stephanie

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, you sewed all that in a WEEK?!?! I work from a home office and still can't imagine getting that much done! Add me to your fan club!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful garments you have made!
I am very jealous that you don't have to alter a pattern much. I am about 6 feet tall. I have to alter every pattern!

Jada said...

WOW WOW you have been busy!All your project turned out great!Wonderful job!

Jackie said...

WOW, everything looks amazing! You accomplished so much in a week's time and I'm jealous too! LOL

Anonymous said...

Prolific is the word that comes to mind! I've stumbled across your blog and I'm very impressed. I do have a question (which could really reveal my lack of sewing knowledge) - why did you use a petite version of the coat? Are you 'vertically challenged' like myself? I'm just under 5' and don't sew garments as much as I'd like as I'm unsure of how to adjust patterns properly, so I was just wondering if you alter patterns often.

Katrin said...

Hello Laura,

it´s me again :-). I have another shopping tip for lingerie packs.
Have a look at http://www.kantje-boord.info/

Best wishes,
Katrin

Kitty Couture said...

Goodness, Laura! I'm coming real late to the party (had missed your post), but wow! You have been so wonderfully prolific and I love everything you did. I want to make this Burda blouse too... actually I placed it on top of my to-do pile over the weekend!
I also placed an order with Elingeria a month or so ago... one of my projects for 2008!
Do you know that in the first pic it looks as if the lady to your right is checking out your jacket? LOL.

Your dress is beautiful, the pants, amazing (how on earth do you manage to crank out such professional, great-fitting pants in so little time?).
Your kimono top looks lovely... Isn't it a great pattern? Now we have to meet and wear our kimono tops together :)

My jaw dropped as I was reading your entry... So much, with such quality. Un grand, grand bravo !
Bisous Laura :)

Angelia said...

You are amazing! I love everything you have made! I'm very jealous of the bra kits!!!! Wonder if I could find some in the states? Anyways,
your site always inspires me!!And you look really hot in those jeans!

Nancy Winningham said...

You are suc a sewing maniac! I'm going on vacation tomrorrow, but when i get back I'm hitting the machine hard and heavy!

Berry said...

You've been sewing all that in O.N.E week?! Wow, wow, wow. One should think of an expression specially for you, storm is way underrated! I love it all with a special mention to the jeans, the dress and the shoes you wear with the dress ;o) This is amazing, you are amazing!

SmileDog Stitches said...

I just wanted to join the choir and say TRULY INCREDIBLE!!! I love everything you made. It all fits you so well. I am amazed at the speed in which you made everything. I can't wait until your post on how you do that! You are very talented and beautiful.

Linda said...

Happy New Year! I hope you have a fantastic 2008!

Anonymous said...

Laurlo, love the Burda 119. Great work. I am going to make it now. I would like to use faux persian lamb and also do another in a rainwear fabric. Do you think these would work? How did you do your buttonholes? So many questions, but such inspiration.

Susan W

Mirela Popovici said...

I'm speechless! You are unstoppable! Beautiful beautiful beautiful work with your delicate professional touches. I love the white pearls on the Chanel Jacket and the chain under the lining, very classy!

I'm so looking forward to seeing how the bras are going to be and hope to see a great how to from you! I need a good lesson on those.

Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true this year!

Anonymous said...

Girlfriend, you were by far the most tres chic woman at that conference!