A return

Heidi-ho folks!
Long time no see. Last year was just horrible for me, and, not being able to face writing about the horrible, I stopped blogging. However, looking back I’m finding it hard to remember the good and I’ve realised I really miss blogging. Yes, I have less time now than I did a year ago, but my life is also moving more interestingly and I feel the need to capture it better. So, here I am, making a return after a year of silence!
My year started out pretty terribly as my Nan, who I was very close to, died suddenly in January. That was a pretty bad time, as I helped my mum arrange the funeral and tried to find some way to comfort my Grandad, who’d been with her for 70 years.Things continued on a similarly depressing theme when in early March, my husband was run over by a van when crossing the road. Thankfully, he’s made an almost complete recovery, but in the early days my life was turned upside down as we waited to see what the damage would be. He very nearly lost a leg, but thanks to being close in the region’s trauma unit with some of the finest surgeons just happening to specialise in his specific injury, he’s now walking and just about able to run again. I spent about 5 months nursing him while he was bed bound and the stress and work involved set of my CFS, leaving me barely able to get us 3 instant meals a day. So basically I missed the first half of the year!

The rest of the year though, was ok. In November we spent a long weekend in Paris, my first real holiday in 3 years! 

We also redecorated the whole of the downstairs - plastering, carpets, painting, new doors, everything! There are a few tiny finishing touches to do, and we had a very minimal Christmas due to the workmen being in the house right up the Christmas eve, but it looks so much better now, it’s changed the whole feeling of the house!
I also finished my History A-Level with a B grade, and I’m thrilled to have done so well amidst the chaos I was in! I’ve taken courses in millinery, jean and shirt construction and got a college certificate in Fashion design.

I’ve started volunteering in a school, helping a group of 16 year olds to put on an event to raise funds for a local homeless shelter, which has been a huge amount of fun.
In December we adopted a new cat too (our third now!). Oscar was a stray with a bad flea allergy and was in a pretty sorry state when they found him. He’s settled in brilliantly though, and he’s now a purry, demanding lap cat!

Finally, the biggest change has been my sewing. I went part time in my office job early in the year and have used the time to start a small businesses sewing historical costumes for roleplayers and reenactors. My work has grown steadily and I was asked to help out in the design of a new game, Empire, for which I’ve now written guides to the different costumes you can wear and dressed people for a photoshoot and a video trailer for the game. 

As well as being really satisfying, it’s boosted my exposure in the right communities and I’ve had a huge amount of business through it. As a result I’m booked up for work till April and have been asked to speak at a convention in July! I’m really hopeful that things will progress like this for the rest of the year and that at some point I’ll be able to do this full time!

I’ve been able to really push myself with my sewing too. I’ve self drafted a corset, reproduced 2 different garments by taking a pattern from the finished items, reproduced a 1940s dress by drafting my own pattern based on photos,and am currently working on a full Georgian outfit, stays to hat, for a costume ball in April.

I’ve spent most of the time I’m sewing feeling hopelessly out of my depth and in a near constant state of panic that I’ve forgotten or messed something up, I’ve learnt a lot of lessons too, some of them pretty harsh, but I feel positive about it all. I’m trying to push myself further this year, by spending 2 hours a week working through the many sewing books I have. I’ve started with the basic ones and am working through to the couture and tailoring type books. I use most of my sewing books by flicking to the relevant part and skim reading to find out how to do a specific technique - now I’m stopping to read about why, as well as how, and taking in the recommendations on fabric, thread and machine settings! It’s already been helpful as I’ve been reminded of the best way to do some of the basics and picked up lots of new tips and tricks.
I’m cautiously optimistic about this year and looking forwards to getting back into the blogosphere. I really hope your 2012s were positive overall, here’s to 2013, when all our dreams come true!

Corset making kickstarter project

Making Corsets is a Cinch with Electra Designs!

Electra Designs makes incredible corsets and now Alexis is looking for funding so she can share her skills with the rest of us.

Vists the kickstarter page

Charity shop success

I had a very enjoyable day yesterday, pootling down the Gloucester Road in Bristol looking in charity shops and eating scrummy cakes with the husband. It was a lovely day, despite the cold, and I came away with a few real treasures!

I found this slubby fabric and thought it would make a great dress - it's heavy and has a great drape. I think it's curtaining fabric but it's very pretty all the same. At 6m for £15 I couldn't say no!

I also saw this homemade a-line skirt, soft blue floral cotton and trimmed with white lace. I think it'll need a couple of small darts in the waist to make it fit better but that's easy to do!

I also couldn't leave these shoes behind. They're in my size and in really good condition, and only £4. What a bargain!

They'll go well with my 1940s Swing Dress I'm trying to get finished for a wedding next weekend. I have to say it's causing me more trouble than I'd expected, but I'm getting there. Hopefully I'll have some stunning pictures of the finished item tomorrow...wish me luck!

Briefs, briefly

So I finally got around to making a oair of knickers, and do you know, it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be.

I picked Wearing History's Panties pattern, which doesn't seem to be available anymore. It's a good pattern and very easy to follow. I sewed these up in white flannel and can confirm that they're just the thing for warming the stocking-gap in winter

I'm in the middle of making another 2 pairs using Sew Vera Venus' free pattern, though they're not coming together quite as well. The pattern is pretty good but inserting the 'placket' and gusset are a bit tricky - though I've certainly not helped myself by using very slippery satin! I'll let you know how I get on once I've finished them!

Next up I'm going to try out Anna from A Few Threads Loose's pattern, which I bought through Etsy.  Anna's written some very handy sewalong instructions for these, so hopefully they'll be a doddle!

My hope is to find a very simple pattern which I can use to create plenty of everyday underwear without spending a fortune!
Has anyone else found a simple and reliable tap pant pattern?

New Year, new resolutions

Back at the start of 2011 I made 7 resolution, unfortunately, I failed to achieve most of them...I'm wondering if I should try again this year.

2011 resolutions;

1. Sew at least 12 garments in 2011.

I made it to 11, so not a total fail. In fact I made a lot more than 11 garments - I've made trousers for my Mum, a skirt for a gift and about another 20 garments for myself and others to wear as costumes. As I'm going to make a lot more costumes in 2012, I'm going to try to make time to sew for myself as well. I think I'll be repeating this resolution!

2. Lose weight – any amount!
Success! I lost some, put some back on but I've come out ahead by 16lbs :) Another couple of pounds this year would be nice but I'm pretty pleased with this resolution!

3. Learn some German
Done. I took a class in beginner's German, though how much of it stuck, I don't know!

4. Redecorate sewing room
Fail. I did get a new kitchen though...

5. Pay off £2000 debt
Also fail. I'm earning less this year than I was last too, so I don't see huge success in 2012.

6. Sell clothes on etsy and ebay
Started and going well. I do need to get more items listed though.

7. Live with less – set budgets and stick to them!
Sigh. Total fail. Out of necessity I'm going to have to do this better now.


So, a mixed bag from last year's resolutions. Can I do better in 2012? As I've realised that I do tend to over-commit myself, my main resolution is to me more realistic about about what I can actually fit in and achieve. As such, I'm making just 5, easily achievable resolutions;

1. Sew 12 garments for myself in 2012
2. Eat more healthily and drink less
3. Organise my sewing room to make it a better work space
4. Go out more in the evenings
5. Budget properly. This includes recording business expenses properly.

How successful were your resolutions, and have you made any more?

Tinsel Town

So, the Christmas parties are done and dusted, the tree's come down and the diet's started. I for one an glad we're back to normality, though I am going to miss the lights!

I attended a couple of soirees, which I enjoyed immensely, though I had a bit of a damp Christmas, being really ill for most of it and thus spent New Years watching Buffy at home.

Fortunately, I did have fun in the pre-Christmas week. I went to a works do, where we had a lovely meal and more than one drink. I wore a lace blouse from Zara, an old charity shop find which only really comes out at Christmas, paired with my Nan's black velvet skirt - perfect for the cold, blustery evening. It felt odd wearing black stockings -  I've only worn tan ones for so long, but they're What Katie Did retro stockings, so I got to keep my seams at least.

Later the same week I went with friends to Blitzmas, a 40s themed dance in town. For this, I pulled out the Butterick dress I made back in 2010, but have only worn once! It didn't fit me that well back then, and I've lost weight since, but it's festive and just about the only Christmassy dress in my wardrobe, so out it came!

I accessorised with a handy bit of tinsel, and my trusty Clarks shoes (note to self, buy more evening footwear) I also wore my new MAC lippie, in Chilli, which is far darker and more orangy than my normal Russian Red, but actually a lot easier to wear. The colour still looks good and red as well as matte, but it's far less drying and not so flashy. It's my new firm favourite!

Blitzmas was a big success and I had a fantastic time with our friends, who not only looked great but showed off their mad swing dancing skills as well.

I have sworn that I'm going to try to get out more often in 2012!

What about you, any good parties over the festive season?

Christmas circle skirt

Now that the gift exchanging is over and done with, I can talk about a skirt I made as a present.

I wasn't sure what to buy, so, knowing that the lady in question likes a 50s dress, thought I'd make her a circle skirt. I used the directions Casey posted in her sewalong to craft the size - using a 40" circle to give a likely hip (since I don't know the right dress size!) measurement, and sewed it onto a 28" band of elastic. This way the skirt can be pulled on and suits a good range of waist sizes!

It's a full circle and so it's massive. I think it'll look really good with a petticoat underneath. I couldn't resist the fabric, so very gothabilly!

To attach it to the waistband, I first overlocked the waist seam, and then pinned it to the inside of the elastic at regular intervals. Then I simply stretched the elastic till the fabric fell flat and zigzagged it on.

Simples! And it gives a nice even gather too!

While the maths was something of a challenge (working in a combination of inches and cms didn't help that), this was a breeze to make. I got to use my rolled hem foot and was pleased at how evenly the hem turned out. All in all, a great little project, and I'd strongly recomment Casey's sew along instructions to beginners.



Christmas crazies!

How did Christmas get to be only a week away? We still don't have our tree or any decorations up! I would have been blogging about everything I've been doing for the last couple of weeks (mainly crafting of presents and eating of christmas dinners) but I've been too busy doing it all! I've started to feel rather stressed.

I can share 2 gifts I made last week, both were pretty quick and easy so you might still have a chance to copy the ideas if you're so inclined!

Gift 1 is a set of herb jars, inspired by an article on xoJane. They're normal jars (purchased from Amazon) but I painted the lids with blackboard paint. That way they can be custom labeled, and seen from the top in a draw.

 

I bought fancier jars than the ones in the article a. as a nice gift but also b. so that the jars can be stacked side on with the lids showing on a shelf. The blackboard paint in a tin was about a quarter of the price of the spray, but it has left some slight streaking, so spray might be a better bet! I've bought a chalk pen to write on them so that it's nice and neat and I'll give it with the jars.

Gift number 2 was a fairly simple bag for my Mum to carry her knitting in.I took a square of the cord and rounded the bottom edges, then sewed the 2 sides up and sewed a long rectangle with the corners cut off into the base. I then lined it with this cotton wadding, and a cotton lining over that.
The top was just a wide rectangle sewn over the raw edge, though I added some piping to give it a more professional look. If I made this again I'd make the tuck a box pleat, but it looks ok as it is (pain to sew though - had to turn the tension WAY down because it was so thick!).

The handles are cotton tubes with cotton wadding in too and were top-stitched in flace with purple thread (but light green inside).
The catch is another tube but with the ends pointed, and I added a magnetic clasp to the catch and the bag, then sewed a large button over the top for decoration.
Very easy and, if I do say so myself, very effective!

I just hope my Mum likes it (and that she hasn't found my blog yet!).

Stand by for some rushed shots of me going out for various shindigs (including a 1940s party on Saturday), recent sewing projects (tap pants, trousers and a golden corset!) and me cooking Christmas dinner for 7 on Saturday...Roll on 2012!

Getting it off my chest

I was fitted for a new bra recently and realised I've reached somewhat epic proportions. Although it's somewhat depressing to know no regular lingerie companies provide for my size, getting a better bra has made me look thinner and more shapely. There are all sorts of figures about the numbers of women wearing the wrong size, and I know I've given lots of friends tips which have changed the way they wear bras in the past. As I had a spell fitting bras, and have struggled to find a good bra in the past, I thought I'd share my knowledge with you!

1. Sizing principles

There's a lot of confusion about what cup and band sizing mean, and their relationship. Essentially, the band size is the size of your rib cage, and the cup is the difference between the band and the fullest part of your chest. The sewists amongst you will probably be familiar with the D cup as 2" difference, but this isn't strictly true when we're fitting a bra.

Using my favourite pub discussion (men love to hear about this for some reason) we can illustrate bra sizes.

Imagine I take a standard sized bottle top, and place it on the front of a coke can. It's quite big in proportion to the can right? So the coke can lady probably has F cup boobs, with a 32" band. Massive right? Now take the cap and place it on a large bottle of coke, suddenly that's tiny. Our bottle lady has A cups on a 40" band, despite her boobs actually being the same size.

2. What size band?

It wasn't so long ago that the smallest back size you could get was a 32", and the largest around 38". Many women, therefore, got pushed into whatever was closest to their size.

The rule that gets flug around is usually chest measurement plus 4-5" is your band size, but actually I think the same issues that affect the rest of the clothing industry with vanity sizing means that this isn't really true any more. I'd always start off looking at the current brasize and how it fits. You should always buy and wear a bra on its loosest fitting. That allows you to get a bit of extra grip by tightening it as it ages and the elastic loosens. On that fitting, the bra should be firm around the chest - it should be able to stay up on its own if you take the straps off your shoulders. I find most women can go down one or two band sizes - the tighter it is (within reason - you still need to be able to breathe!) the better support it'll give and the more comprotable it should be.

Something else to look at is the space between the cups. This should sit flat on your breastbone, so that the band hugs your rib cage all the way around. The band should also be level - the same height at the back as the front. Most bras that are too big rise up towards your neck in the back. This is because the bras aren't giving any lift, so women tighten the straps to hoick themselves up - you shouldn't need to do that if your band fits properly! In fact, the straps should be the last thing you adjust to give you a little lift after you know the rest of the bra fits well.

3. In your cups.

Now you can look at cups. This suffers the same problem as band sizing - because cups A-D were standard for years, many women wear whatever was closest to their size, even though they needed an F! The cup should sit comfortably all the way round the breast tissue, not digging in, bagging out or wrinking. At this point it's worth trying a few different brands, as they're all cut in slightly different shapes and will suit different people. Personally, I know that Freya, Fantasie and Rigby and Peller usually suit my shape well, but other brands do have individual bras which work well too.

If you're getting bulging over the top of the cup, you need to go up a size. The rule is generally that for each band size you drop, you need to go up a cup size. Like the other rules, though, use this as a guide to start from!

Don't be afraid of the larger cup sizes - you don't need to be built like a porn star to wear a big cup -  to illustrate this point - I bought a 30H last week, and I'm not porn material! My measurements are around 38" full bust, 30" underbust.

Below is a good exaple of a terribly fitted bra. We all know Christina Hendricks has big knockers. My guess would be around a 30-32" F-G cup. The bra she's wearing in this photo is probably a 38D. You can see clearly the the cup is sitting right on the tip of her boobs, and the wire must be cutting in terribly. The wire should run below where the horizontal seam is, and about half the distance between the strap and her back. You can clearly see from the shadows that her boob continues well below the line of the cup and goes right back under her arm. I'd guess that there's been some significant photoshopping done here to make her chest look smooth and perky, because she'll never get that look from a bra that size!

There's a good guide to specific bra problems here, along with a couple more photos.

4. Shopping for bras.
My first piece of advice is to do this with a friend. There will be a lot of chopping and changing of sizes and brands and the last thing you want is to keep dressing and undressing to get another size. Shops with good bra fitters can save you a lot of work, but beware those sales people who use a tape measure, and anyone in a shop which has a limited range of sizes - they'll only know how to fit you to their closest size, so you may end up with something that only roughly fits.
Start with simple designs - once you know your size in a brand, you can try the pushups, strapless and other specialist designs (and bare in mind this the size might change slightly for fit in some shapes).
Don't forget to have a good jiggle - lean forwards and tip yourself into the cup, get your hand in and move everything around - you need to give yourself a helping hand to get everything in its right place!
If you think you're getting in the DD-E cup territory, you should probably find a shop with plenty of larger sizes - in the UK your best bet is Bravissimo. I say this because once you stray out of regular high street sizes, you need to give yourself the chance to find a range of styles and brands that go up well above your expected size. Don't limit yourself to the 'plus sizes' rack of the department store!
Don't forget to look properly at your size every couple of years, and if you gain or loose weight.

A properly fitting bra will not only make you look better and make clothes fit better, but it can help your back and shoulders if you're very large, and avoid the damage from badly fitting wires, which isn't pleasant and has been linked (though I can't find any actual studies to support this idea) to breast cancer.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I've been too busy to blog of late - between working, sewing and sleeping I'm not getting the time to post anything!
I've been doing a lot of costume making recently, which has been great fun but has tied up every spare minute of the last few weeks. This is, sadly likely to be the case over much of the winter as I try to build up a good range of costumes for a portfolio - I'd like to start making some money from my sewing next year but I need to do a lot of work between here and there to improve my skills. I have a list of about 30 items to get done before March, so time really is of the essence!


An early Templar Knight costume

I have been doing a little sewing for myself too, but I've not managed to finish anything yet! It's very irritating. I'm determined to complete my chanllenge of finishing 12 garments this year. Although I've actually made a lot more than that, most of my creations have been for someone else, or costume (or both!). I'm planning to finish a Vogue skirt, the 1940s swing dress that I started a year ago, and a pair of 1940s knickers before the end of December. Wish me luck!


Toile of one of my recent projects

Something else I've been making is a corset - I'm in the middle of a 6 week evening class making one, and I'm loving it! Once I've done the class I have plans to make another corset the same, just to fix the process in my mind. Photos of the finished article will follow soon too.
So I hope all's well in Blogger land - I've not been reading nearly as much as usual either, so I'm worried I might have missed something. Let me know if there's any news :)

Now we're cooking with gas!

I mentioned a while ago that we'd had a new kitchen installed, well here are the pictures!
We went with IKEA, since they're very cheap, and we were impressed with the quality - I have a friend who had an IKEA kitchen 5 years ago and it still looks brand new.
I used the online design feature to put the layout together. Fortunately once we'd paid for it instore a fitter came out to measure and corrected all of the mistakes I'd made. Oops! My measuring mistakes meant that I didn't get everything I wanted - double sink, built in microwave and full sized dishwasher being the biggest dissapointments!
When we bought our place it'd been a student rental for a long time and the cheap kitchen was really past it. The oven door had lost its handle, and its ability to light the gas. The fridge barely kept anything cold and the freezer frosted up within hours. The sink was leaking and the cupboard doors were warped. In short - ready for the knacker's yard!

Before - uninspiring to say the least

The kitchen was delivered on a Saturday and we were overwhelmed with new things. That was like Christmas, as the men brought appliances and IKEA packages in. Very exciting times!

We ripped the kitchen out ourselves to save some cash and actually it was very satisfying! We ran into trouble with the sink, as the people who fitted it didn't isolate the water supply, so we couldn't remove the taps without flooding the house. Fortunately the buildres managed to sort that out.


The builders arrived bright and early on the Monday - the electrician first to sort the appliance plugs out, then the cabinet makers and the plumber. The benefit of using the IKEA recommended service, apart from getting some of the installation on their interest free credit deal, was that they knew exactly what they were doing with the units. Within a few hours the first cabinets, and the extractor fan had gone up.

And by Wednesday afternoon, they were finished!

We went for Ramsjo units in white, with a solid oak worktop. The door fronts do show every bit of dirt, but they wipe off easily. The work surface has been very easy to keep clean and we've not marked it yet! The sink is Domsjo and I love it - it's big enough to fit the oven trays in completely, to soak and handwash clothes, plus it's been easy to keep clean - I noticed it was getting a bit tea stained today and after putting some soda crystals and boiling water on it, the stains came off with a wipe. My only complaint would be that with a high tap like ours and a shallow sink, the water does tend to splash everywhere if you're not careful. Fortunately, since we're barely washing anything up any more it's not much of an issue!

I think the biggest change has been the use of space - we've fitted a dishwasher in to the kitchen, and managed to hide the recycling bins away without sacrificing any cupboard space. Plus the built in washing machine keeps it lookig tidy.

I've been very impressed with the IKEA appliances - they're all A and above rated and seem to have been designed with very sensible and practical use in mind.

We've made good use of space, with a carosel cupboard in the corner - the shelves pull out completely so you can get right to the back and it works better than I'd thought it would!

The drawers with a cupboard front were a bit of a wild card - we only got them because there wasn't enough space for a regular drawer unit. Actually, though, they work really well. The height of the bottom drawer lets me stand up cleaning spray and kitchen roll, while the top 2 drawers fit cutlery and cooking bits and bobs simply.

The obligatory before and after shots:

The island making the L-shape is a trolley, coincidentally in the same colour scheme as the kitchen. We went for that rather than a built in island so that we can get a big table in and, when we pull it out to seat 10, move the island to keep access all around the table. Using baskets on the trolley shelves lets us store our veg and large bags of pasta.

The 'dining' part of the room got some wall cabinets and a sideboard for storage. Using the alcove left by the chimney breast gives us more space in the room/ We're planning to buy a new, bigger table which will be the same size as the current table at full extention, seating 6, but pull out to seat up to 10. As we've used the length of the room there should be plenty of space for that.

It feels as though we have more space now, and the room feels much nicer too. As the front door opens directly into this room, it's helped to improve the feel of the whole house!
There's a lot of work to do still - tiling the cooking space, painting the walls, making a new blind, fitting new lights and, eventually, stripping the carpet off and doing up the original oak floorboards in the whole of the room. All we have to do is find the time and the money!
I have to say that I've been very pleased with the IKEA purchasing process, the fitters (who came back to fix a minor issue with the work top placement 2 days after I called about it) and the quality of the cabinets and appliances.

For reference;
Sink: Domsjo
Fridge: Framtid fridge freezer
Oven: Datid OV8
Washing machine: Renlig
Dishwasher: Renlig
Hob: Datid
Work surface: Numerar Oak
Sideboard: Stornas Buffet
Doors: Ramsjo white
Handles: Svep

Cost £3350
Fitting £3490 (IKEA approved firm DTW)
All but £1000 of that went on 2 years interest free credit.
The appliances are all under 5 year warranty, the units 25 years and the installation 3 years, so we're pretty confident it'll last!

If you're looking for a good value kitchen, I'd say that IKEA are well worth a look. They're well designed and the service is very good (we had a named contact to deal with). You can almost certainly save money by putting cabinets together yourself if you have the know-how and looking for a local firm to fit them and the appliances, though you won't be able to spread the payments that way.

Sewists of the world - I need your help!

Rewatching True Blood season 2, I was struck (again) by how fabulous Lorena always looks.

This burnt orange number is fantastic

I do dislike the way that most of the vamps dress like 90s metallers - come on people - you have all of eternity to get your style together - be braver! Anyway, Lorena is, to me, how good vampires should look (Eric aside, cos, well, you know).
And that green dress she wears when Bill leaves her in the 30s? Just amazing. So much so that I'm keen to try to replicate it. Can I find a pattern though? And that's why I need your help!

To remind you, the dress is bias cut, has a cowl neck, underbust seam (though I'm not concerned about replicating that specifically) and straps which cross in the back.

I love the brooches on the straps, and the train in the back

The closest pattern I've found is Vogue 8358, though that's v-neck rather than cowl. If anyone can find me a closer pattern, I'd be eternally grateful! 

Vogue 8358

And just cos I can, I give you...Eric Northman.