an origami-esque jacket

I have a guilt box at home. Its my box of started but unfinished sewing projects.

Some items have been in there for literally years, which is shameful.

Now that I finally have my sewing machine out regularly again, and have started on yet more new items, I have resolved to work my way through some of the pile of incomplete items.

The first to be ticked off was the polka dot shift dress I posted about a few weeks ago. This time it was the turn of a kimono-style jacket. The pattern for this was a web download - it had been back-engineered from a McQueen jacket. The instructions weren't super-clear, and some of the markings on the pattern didn't appear to be needed, but it was an intriguing project.

I'm pretty pleased with myself for finishing this and ending up with something that can be worn. I know I've gone wrong in a few places, and I'm not keen on the way that the folding of the fabric makes the jacket quite thick in places, but I do love the origami pleating all over the back.

I might try this pattern again once I'm a more confident seamstress. It would be interesting to approach it again with a more expert eye and see if I can resolve the areas I found confusing this time.

If you fancy having a go you can find the download here.

Alexander McQueen

I have a bit of an obsession with McQueen. The clothes are just amazing.

Here are two videos which give you a real sense of the creativity, imagination and awesome skill which goes into producing such amazing couture:

An interview with Sarah Burton can be watched here.

Backstage at the SS12 show:


Enjoy!

Dressmaking

I have a guilty secret - A box full of part-made dress patterns. Begun then abandoned to a more interesting/more urgent job. Recently I have resolved to finally complete a few of these, and in the last few days I actually ticked one off the list: A shift dress from a very elegant 1950s pattern I found when rifling through the shelves at a junk shop in Bath.



There are things I would do differently next time (my zip insertion didn't go all that well!), but I love the style of this dress. Very elegant and understated (until you make it in giant red polka dots of course!).

Apologies

Apologies that my blogging has been neglected for a couple of weeks: I've been working on a different kind of creativity.

Last week I did a week-long course at London College of Fashion on how to make custom-designed and fitted corsets. It was amazing! I learnt loads of good sewing techniques, as well as cutting a pattern for a corset to fit me, and making it (well, nearly anyway - I have some finishing up to do at home). The course was just a starting point though - there's loads more that I can learn through trial and error, practice and experimentation. I'm looking forward to improving on the skills I've learnt!

So here's the pattern as I drafted it:



Then traced out into individual pieces and ready to cut the fabric:



Snipped to size!



Catching up a bit by doing some of my sewing at home:



And the front (on the right) and back parts of the corset in the workshop:



You can see the industrial sewing machines in the background - they gave me a lot of grief! Being used to a domestic sewing machine I found it tricky to get the hang of the heavy, FAST, industrial machines. I'm sure I would manage them if given enough time to get accustomed to them, but a week wasn't really long enough to do so.

I'll be finishing the corset at home over the next couple of weeks, so watch this space for a snap of the completed project.