Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I am really, really pleased with this project as it is my first attempt at really playing around with an altering a pattern. I made my first version of Grainline Studio's Scout Tee a while back and although I'm happy with it and it gets regular wear I wanted to make a few adjustments to the fit. Firstly I found the size I cut (a 4) to be perfect across the shoulders and around the waist but a little tight across the bust. The armholes also felt a little small and the length was a little short for my personal taste; great for tucking into skirts but on the short side for wearing with jeans. Before I started this version, I shook of my impatience to start sewing, and traced the size 4 pattern pieces onto a large piece of paper. I then increased the width across the bust (grading down to the usual size waist) and depth of the armholes slightly. I then cut and spread on the 'lengthen here' line to add just an inch front and back. I wasn't yet sure what fabric ...

Yes, I like this pattern so much I made two in quick succession! I liked my first version, but this one I LOVE! I'm absolutely delighted with the way it turned out; I think I've got the fit a bit better, the length just right and I made a bit more of an effort with the finishing on this one. It feels like a really special skirt because of that extra bit of effort and yet still completely wearable for all different occasions! I actually had this silk brocade in mind for my first Charlotte skirt for the sewalong but walked away from it when I saw the £16 per metre price tag in Borovicks on Berwick Street (I love that shop by the way!). I thought I would need at least 2 metres for the skirt so I just didn't feel confident enough in my sewing skills to be cutting into that total expense of fabric just yet. However about halfway through making my first Charlotte I realised that I was going to love this pattern and if I didn't add the peplum or ruffle I could get ...

I've been working at the National Theatre's Costume Hire Department (where I used to work full time) for the last couple of weeks and made an exciting discovery when going through a rail of new stock one day which I thought you may be interested in seeing here on the blog. This evening dress while gorgeous at first glanced on closer inspection was very stained and in clear need of a bit of attention. I opened it up to see what could be done to rescue it and discovered this... Wowzer! I had in my hands a real piece of designer history! We think it must have been donated to the theatre by some kind soul who could no longer had use for this beautiful piece but wanted it to go to a good home. I love thinking about who first bought this and where they wore it and what the complete outfit was like! We decided that, although the full skirted silhouette suggests 1950s at first glance, this is more of an early 1960s gown because of the style of the high waistline. It looks ...

I love finding out that there are people who actually enjoy reading my blog! I'm always delighted when I have a new follower or comment so I was delighted when a comment popped up on the blog from Hazel at Disaster in a Dress informing me she'd nominated me for the Liebster blog award. Thank you very much Hazel, lovely to meet you and your blog! The award rules are as follows: Nominees must link back to the blogger who awarded them Write 11 random facts about yourself Answer 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you Nominate 11 new blogs and ask them 11 new questions I'm awful at listing things about myself so I have instead decided to list 11 interesting facts I learnt at the V&A talk I went to last week about Restoration Make-Up: Credit: janeaustensworld.wordpress.com The white colour of the face and red cheeks fashionable in that era were achieved by the use of 'paint'. The most popular (and expensive) form of this was '...

Credit: uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com Last week I visited the Valentino: Master of Couture exhibition at Somerset House (half price ticket offer available on Groupon if anyone is interested!). I really enjoyed the visit and was overall impressed with the way such a large quantity and variety of garments were displayed. The first part of the exhibition was about Valentino's career and included many artefacts from throughout his life. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to see some of his sketches from the 1960s/70s in this section. The main bulk of the exhibition is in one long room and is were almost all the garments are on show. There is a lovely neutral tone to the whole exhibition space which I think worked to make the dresses the feature of the room (although it would be hard to detract from them!) and also to give the whole room a feeling of elegance and glamour. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a range of dressing spanning the whole of his long career and that th...

I've been following (as closely as possible!) the By Hand London Charlotte Skirt Sewalong and just about finished my trial version in time for Tuesday's press night of the show I've been working on. The fact that I wore it to press night kind of proves how happy I was with how it turned out! I really enjoyed the step by step process of the sewalong, it slowed me down and stopped me from making the silly mistakes I make when I'm just trying to get something done as quickly as possible. The girls at By Hand London included some great tips and tricks in their posts and explained each step in just enough detail to be helpful. I can't wait for the Elisalex dress one now, I've got fabric ready and waiting! I chose to use some stash fabric for my first attempt; even though I was itching to use a beautiful brocade. It's a fairly fine teal denim with a little bit of stretch which I picked up for probably about £2 a metre on an early fabric shopping trip to W...