Aug 27
2007
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The idea behind it is that the author (a designer) has made up three basic patterns - a skirt, blouse and trousers - that can be used as a jumping off point for creating whatever you want. What’s really great for me is that she goes into just enough detail about how patterns fit together and how different fabrics behave for the book to be useful without me having to slog through a lot of text. I learned a lot of my basic sewing skills from my Mum but I’ve just sort of picked up pattern making skills here and there a long the way. Some things are starting to make sense but frankly altering armscyes still scares me.
My Regency gown is my best fitting project to date and I love how well it fits (though it will only fit over my Regency underpinnings). I’m determined to take a little more time with my sewing and make things that really look and feel the way I want them to. I’m starting with a couple of skirts.
The brown and dark green chunks of fabric above are going to become skirts for fall and winter respectively. The brown is a linen blend (going by feel) that I got a few years ago but never decided what to do with. I think there is just enough for a nice tea length skirt if I use something else for the facings. I think I might give it a lining for a nicer drape. The green is actually a skirt already; it’s just to big. I got it last year knowing I would have to alter it but because it was just the sort of thing I wanted for a winter skirt and as it’s A-line it wouldn’t be difficult to alter... Except that I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve found some kind of strange things in the construction that I think I need to fix (the facings have been sewn in without any reinforcement and the whole waist band is stretching) so it is no longer just a matter of taking in the side seams.