The Crepe Sew-Along!

Hey everyone!

The blogosphere has been blooming sew-alongs lately! After the Lady Grey, I decided to enroll to the Crepe sew-along that Gertie has developed for a few reasons. First, I learned SO much following the coat instructions. Second, Gertie has a gift for teaching! It is so relaxing to read or watch her. She is so passionate about sewing, and so sweet too! Third, I really liked the Crepe pattern. Last year, I have been falling in love with Colette Patterns.

Now, you tell me that I am doing the Crepe, I tell you that I need fabric! I wanted something cute and a little bit springy. I wanted a nice grey-ish cotton that had a pattern on it. And I wanted to use a pink contrasting belt. I completely fell in love with this silk cotton! I have also purchased pink plain cotton and lining, just in case. However, I ended up using woolen left over from a previous skirt, and it worked great!

I have even found a nice close up from the shop website:

I love those little apples, because  you can only seem them from upclose!

Now, the whole muslin process started before Christmas! I needed a break from the vintage-coat-lining-project. I tried on the top. On the flickr page, almost everyone mentioned that the pattern felt quite large, but then again, I wanted to upgrade it the way I was supposed to. I have used a 20 from shoulders to bust, and a 22 for the waist, hoping it would be enough for the hips and especially tummy. Here is the result:

1) It really is too big around the shoulders, and at the sides.

2) Same thing. I am an apple shape, and in order to show a waist, I need garments to mark the narrowed bit of my bust: right under the bosom!

3) Once again, the back is too big, and I am sure that I have pinned the pieces far enough.

At that point, I decided to just downgrade everything one size. And it seemed to help a lot. For the context, you can see the top of my polka dots bloomers! Doesn't it look better?

1) Hello asymmetry! My bad... I was wearing a bad bra, that is in the trash since then! I am very happy with it. The shoulders look good, the sides too, the bust cups too.

2)Same thing for the sides! You can actually see that I am no potato bag (even if my lovely step-mother-to-be begs to differ). The cleavage is not gaping either Yeay!

3) I really like the back! It completely transforms my waist!

Between that point and the rest, a few long weeks passed. Christmas, New Year, Three Kings Day... But I managed to fit the time for it right when I was packing boxes! The Crepe was my only fun break. Mister was working like mad for his phD, and I became an expert in the art of card boxes! And tadaaaaa!

I rally like the result! The shape of the dress is pretty flattering. It just shouts for pink high heel shoes! Or dark grey, I am not difficult! I love the pockets and the back wrap. So comfy! Here come the pictures! For the little story, we shot the photos when it was around 0 Celsius! You can see my arms getting freshly pink!

And yes, I made an effort with my hair!

MMMMMMMhhhh! Warmth!

So, what do you think?
Did you participate to the sew along as well?

The wonderful re-lined Mister Vintage Coat and Me-Made-March!

Let's not dive into excuses! More than one month post-less! Ok, we moved in a new apartment, I have started an intensive language course, blah blah blah... However, it does not mean that I haven't been sewing. I have completed the lining project, two sew-alongs, a jacket, and a dress! Everything will be posted very soon! Let's just start with the coat.

The outside is looking pretty neat after the dry cleaning and the pimpings!

The killer look...

I really like that coat because it does not bring any focus to his scoliosis.

There was not much left to sew and write. I have basically put the lining in and hand sewn the hem. There are however two things that were harder to accomplish: handstitching the armscye to the body, and hand stitching the back slit.

Now, I am used to sew the arms to the body before attaching the body to the facing. However, for this one, I had to stitch the lining to the arm seam *inside* of the arm, and that was a lot of work. But I am sure that i will be better in the long run. My little brain also had to figure out how to attach the bottom of the sleeves pieces together. I really struggled with it. Which lining piece goes on this side? Oh but it has to be inside out first? OOOOppps, actually, no, but the hem has to be turned... Let's just say that I am very lucky that the fabric did not get damaged in the ripping of stitches process!

It looks pretty neat to me!

My other struggling point was the back slit. I know that it's a simple hem, but I felt anxious about it. Pfff, me and my insecurities! The result seems pretty good though!

In the end, Mister was very happy with the result and showed it to EVERYONE! Also, every time he was on the phone, he explained the whole thing! It makes me happy to sew for him! But it does not mean that I will do it *that* often!

Mister, or the impersonation of enthusiasm...

Even the pockets look great!

That's it for the coat lining project! Now, it is time for new stuff! Like spring (uhum, uhum, as if the sun was shining for realz), sew-alongs, and pants, aaaaaaaaand:

Me-Made-March.

'I, Laurence from http://quirkyprettycute.blogspot.com/ sign up as a participant of Me-Made-March '11. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item of clothing each day for the duration of March 2011'.

See you very soon!