Gala Dress

I've been putting off my Vintage Sewalong dress in order to finish a formal dress for an event that came up last minute. Well, not exactly last minute. I knew it was going to happen (as it does every year) but I didn't have a date for the event until less than two weeks ago. The company gala. My husband's company Winter Gala, to be exact, and it's January 29th.

So, I dug out my list of formal wear patterns (of which there are very few) and chose Burda 7470.  I first noticed in the inside cover of my November Burda Style magazine. I'm generally not the 'butt bow' kind of girl, but this one just looked so elegant. I even chose a very similar color, a deep maroon.





This is as close as I could photograph of the actual color. It's really close.

The instructions on this one were actually pretty good. I've heard some horror stories of Burda instructions, but I didn't have any problems at all. Of course, I'm not a beginner, so that could make a difference. It seems like it took forever to put together, but that's mostly just because the plague hit our house (or at least it seemed that way) last week and both the little girls and I were quite under the weather. So, that meant that when I felt like sewing (which wasn't much) it had to happen late at night after the girls were in bed. It probably only really took a few hours.





















Sorry for the horrible lighting. It's very late and I have harsh florescent lighting in my basement studio. And the material is shiny. I used a really delicious feeling crepe backed satin and lined it with black charmeuse. Don't look too closely at the bottom of the photo - it's not hemmed yet. I'm getting there tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to take some pictures of the dress on my body, too. You won't get the full picture until after the masks are finished. That's right, I didn't mention that it's a masquerade ball! You can't even imagine how excited I am about it. I love a good theme party. This is the ultimate. A fancy hotel ballroom filled with 200 adults dressed in black tie and feathery/sequined masks. There will be copious amounts of pictures, I promise. :)

Come and Join Us!

There has been a bit of sewing happening here in my house, just nothing blogged about yet. I'm saving up my few 'brainless' projects for one post. I needed a bit of a thinking break after The Coat was finished. Plus, I'm getting ready to start my muslin for my Vintage Sew-along 2011 project, the 1930s Button Dress.

In other news, though, I have joined forces with Steph of 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World. Alas, not for sewing (although I admire her work so much I sometimes contemplate traveling halfway around the world just to raid her closet). Instead, she's hosting a bit of a side project -- a vintage read-along. And why not? We're all talking 'vintage' these days and what better way to understand the world we wish to emulate? The idea is to read the chosen book with the group and pick out the parts that help color our mental images of the time period. We're starting off with Breakfast at Tiffany's. Far more colorful a read than the watered-down Audrey Hepburn movie (as wonderful as it was). Please come and join us! You can find the read-along at Pelicans and Penguins.

I hope the new year is treating you all well and has presented you all with new, promising opportunities and lots of motivation!

Ah, 2011! Welcome... welcome...

I just love the start of a fresh year... so many possibilities. 

I'll be spending the afternoon thinking about my creative to-do list and my goals for the year. There are so many things I want to do and try, it'll be difficult choosing where to begin.

Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you a creative and prosperous year with lots of inspiration and motivation.

FINISHED! The Great Coat Project of 2010

What can I say? I'm a bit of a flapper at heart. I really didn't mean to style myself right out of the Decade of Indulgence, I swear. (But I like it!)

And wouldn't you know that the day I finish a wool winter coat it would be 50 degrees outside? I was sweating while doing my contest photo shoot! Last week... wind chill of 16. Today? Not so much. But, I'll be honest and say I MUCH prefer the unseasonable warmth. Greatly.

Here it is, all pretty and pressed on Beatrice. The only thing that bugs me is that I can't get my buttons to stay facing the same way. I had to add a bit of a thread shank, since the wool is so thick, and now they twist all over the place. I'm working on a solution. ...... Ain't she perrrrty?

 The front of the coat, in all its 20s-styled glory:

 And the back. It lays nice and smoothly without the original vertical shoulder folds. I guess those two full weeks of muslins really did pay off in the end.

 Too warm for the hat and gloves... after breaking into a sweat, we went with less buttoned-up type of look.

 And some of the front details. Did I mention before that I love the buttons? Cause if not, I really love the buttons. I mean, really really. They cost me a small fortune, but worth every penny. Now, to get them to stop spinning around! I know, I know, I mentioned that already.

*WHEW* I'm actually pretty glad that's over. It was fun, I learned A LOT of new techniques, and I got an amazing coat out of it. Overall, I'd say that I'm thrilled and excited to move on to the next project. Good luck to all of you participating in the Winter Wear Contest. Except Peter. That toggle coat is far too amazing, so I'm sending some voo-doo vibes that it doesn't win and gives the rest of us a fighting chance. ;)

Thinking Ahead

The coat is very nearly finished. I've gotten the wool completely hemmed and topstitched. Now, I just need to finish hemming the lining and get some buttonholes put in! I was busy trying on hats last night while out on a quick shopping trip. I'll need something new and special to go with my work-intensive coat. I think I found something that I really like, but I'll need to have the coat on when I try it, so I guess it will wait until after tonight. That's right... a few more hours and it should be complete!

And, on other thinking-too-far-ahead news, I'm excited to say that I've joined the Vintage Sew Along 2011. I even picked out my pattern... a 1930s reproduction - the Button Dress from Decades of Style.

Just look at that beautiful vintage silhouette! I will probably change the back to include fewer bows. I'm not such a bow kind of girl. It has an invisible side zipper, so I'm sure I could do away with at last the neck bow, and possibly reconfigure the waist tie to just be a belt of sorts that will open at the side seam with the zipper. Minor redrafting, I think. We'll see once I actually receive the pattern.

At any rate, I'll be looking for some amazing fabric to cook this one up with. I'm not generally into very vintage-y fashions. I work in a professional office where even a hint of 'costumey' wouldn't work. But I love the lines of the 20s and 30s, and I think this will look very classic when it's finished - just a bit reminiscent of the decade from which it was designed. Either way, I'm very excited!  I hope all of you out there who are enjoy vintage take a moment to check out the sew along and those of you already participating find something you fall in love with.

Good luck to all - in both the Patter Review Winter Wear Contest and the Vintage Sew Along 2011. More photos of the finished coat to come very soon!

I Can See the Finish Line!

Everyone coming down off the Christmas gifting/food/sugar high yet? It usually takes us a few days in our house to get back to normal. Today was planned to be the massive clean-up until Lilly woke up at 5:30 AM throwing up all over her bedroom floor. Poor baby. So, I let her off the hook for one more day. Santa hit our house hard, so she'll need to be in full health to tackle the mess. :)

I, on the other hand, have been working furiously on my coat for the Pattern Review Winter Wear Contest that ends on December 31st. I'm pretty sure (barring any unforeseen emergencies or snafus) that it'll be done with time to spare.... days, even.

Many thanks to my sweet hubby for taking on post-Christmas children solo for a few hours yesterday afternoon, so I could have some un-interrupted coat time. I got the sleeves set-in beautifully and smoothly using Gertie's method. Definitely worth a try if you've never used it before, especially on thick unwieldy fabrics like wool. They look great and the sleeve caps are supported, too.

 I got the lining completely cut out and the body seams finished and sewn to the facings. I had a really hard time deciding what color to use for lining. I wanted to use the Kasha flannel-backed satin for warmth so that I wouldn't have to underline. But, it only comes in a few solid colors. Hubby suggested ivory, which would have indeed looked gorgeous, but I worried about how easily white-ish colors can begin to look dirty and settled on navy instead.

It feel absolutely spectacular! If I ever make another winter coat, I'll definitely be using it again. If you could see close enough, you'd notice that where I attached lining to wool, I actually changed bobbin threads to match. I know, I'm an anal-retentive perfectionist. I can't help it. 

I do have the upper collar attached and the facings sewn to the coat (although it's still inside out). But, alas, I had to call it an afternoon when I ran out of thread. I should've known better and bought two from the beginning. I used heavy thread for the wool, so there's significantly less of it on the spool. It's okay, though, I need to get my shoulder pads, too.

The best is yet to come. After the lining is attached, I have all the hemming to do (ugh) and then... the buttons! Oh, I cannot wait for the buttons. They are, hands down, my favorite part. You'll see. I promise you'll love them, too. :)

Teaser

It's getting there...

Belt - finished.
Wool body shell - finished
Undercollar - pad-stitched and attached; steamed and drying overnight
Sleeves - stitched and awaiting attachment to coat
Facings - pad-stitched and read to go
Lining - in the dryer with wet towels, shrinking if it's gonna...

To do:
Cut lining
Attach sleeves
Attach facings
Sew and attach Kasha lining
Attach overcollar
Hem
Buttons and buttonholes
Admire ♥

Here's a little teaser:

Merry Christmas Eve! (okay, in 19 minutes...)