As it Seams

Take One Dress...for a little lady in red

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 09:36

There's something about a red dress that I can't resist. I've got a few, and now I've transferred my red dress obsession to Missy.

This is Missy's Christmas dress, sewn late at night in December evenings, rushed, unpicked, restitched and fiddled with.

It's also the very first Take one Dress creation, sowing/sewing the seed for my exciting 2014 guest series. See here for details.

I've been on a little sewing journey - from this 1960s wool vintage dress bought in New York, to Missy's Christmas dress, via the Take One Dress experience. My plan was to sew something inspired by my vintage dress, but not a copy.

The Take One Dress Route...

I spent several nights thinking about my vintage dress. There were two things which struck me particularly; the near-circular skirt, and that triangular insert. How could I make that triangle work in a little girl's dress? Then I remembered this blouse, my shark teeth blouse.

When I made these shark teeth pintucks the first time, it struck me that if I inserted a contrast colour, I could create different triangles. At the time, though, I stuck with minimalist white.

But the Christmas dress! Aha! Now's my chance to experiment!

Now, believe me... this was Truly Experimental!

The dress is made of brushed cotton red flannel. Wintery, and with a bit of texture, like the open weave wool of the original 1960s dress. But it was also bulky, and it definitely didn't make neat pintucks like that crisp white cotton lawn. And then of course, I had to insert the contrast strips. Red and white felt like a harsh combination, I've used stone-coloured linen. And it works perfectly. I stitched the 'teeth' down to hold the linen in place.

And, while my geometry might not be perfect, (believe me this involved rulers, measuring and brain power) the effect is pretty good.

My plan was to insert this as a placket into a dress made from Straight Grain's Tinny pattern, flipped about a little. I also wanted to keep that absolutely horizontal neckline...

Sounds simple, no?

Um... No....

Unpicked...stitched...unpicked.... aggghhhh.....

Think I finally nailed it.

My placket insert was a little short! Oh no.... ! Quickly remedied by lengthening the bodice with a waistband...which also linked to a bow (what could be more Christmassy), lined with the same stone linen.

I lengthened the Tinny sleeves, and made the skirt a 3/4 circle, partly because I felt a full circle might be bulky in the flannel, and to reference the original dress, which isn't a full circle.

Now this is Missy's Christmas dress, and I'm going to link it up with Sew Pony and Craftstorming inspiring 12 Days of Christmas series.

For the past few years we've travelled to Scotland to spend Christmas with my family, but this year, work commitments mean we'll be staying at home. I'm so looking forward to spending time playing with the children and relaxing. And stomping through the beautiful countryside around our home.

So I wanted to make a dress that didn't scream 'Party.'

I was thinking more Nordic folk hero, a little girl from a Tolstoy novel, something striking, simple, cosy, practical (ish) and a touch romantic....

And, while there are lots of things about this dress that technically aren't great (please don't look too closely at the hem! Done very late at night after long working days...), I do love how it looks on Missy! I have, I think another Lady in Red...

And now, I've left Natalie at Nat and the Gang with a challenge? Where will the Take one Dress journey take her? She's the first in an exciting line-up of bloggers, and will be creating a vision, also inspired by my vintage dress. Intrigued? I am! I can't wait to see her creation. To be unveiled here on January 6!

20 Comments

Take One Dress... Announcing my very First Guest Series!

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 12:43

13 Comments

Take one dress....

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 13:47

Normally my blog posts 'unveil' the latest creation. But this time I'm going to do things the 'wrong way round'.

I'm going to share a little of my 'sewing thinking' first... And hopefully start something big....

If you saw my recent post (New York Pumpkin Spice Latte Quest) you'll know that I returned across the Atlantic with this dress.

It's not something I'm going to wear everyday, but it was something I just couldn't resist in a Brooklyn Flea Market.

Something about the shapes inspired me. It's a genuine 1960s dress, in the strangest material. It feels like an open weave wool, but the reverse has a strange kind of nylon coating. Weird!

But the shape is lovely.

It has a 3/4 circle skirt, a beautifully shaped bodice with darts that make it fit and flare.
And that white triangular insert is set behind the red, so that there are little folds of red down either side. And I like the way the white is cut straight across, rather than a curved neckline. And the little covered buttons arranged in pairs, and the concealed zip....

Yep...it's got my sewing brain ticking away.

So I'm going to sew something for Missy for Christmas, inspired by this dress. Not a literal copy, I don't think - although that would be quite cute - but I'm going to use it as inspiration.

Here's the lowdown:

Dress: 1960s, vintage
Designer: A label that reads ILGWU, International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Fabric: Open weave wool, nylon backing
Key features: 3/4 circle skirt, triangular white bodice insert, horizontal neckline, paired covered buttons,

Because this dress is just so Christmassy, I'm going to unveil my creation in time for Christmas, along with a special announcement which I'm ever-so-excited about. (Now I've given myself a deadline, I've got to do it!)

And it seemed that because it's Christmas I should 'share the inspiration.' Does it inspire you too? I would love it if you sewed along with me. Perhaps you're also inspired by that triangular insert, or red-and-white combination, or something totally random that I haven't noticed!

Do get in touch!

3 Comments

Pattern Testing the Louisa Dress - plus a giveaway.

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 23:54

I like deadlines.
In my other life, I'm a journalist and deadlines are everything. And I always, always take things to the wire.

So when Marte at Compagnie M asked me to test her Louisa Dress pattern, with a six-day deadline, I thought; "Yes, a deadline - my kind of sewing project!"

Then Missy got sick, nothing serious, but I had to take time off work and spend my evening catching up, and then Mr As-it-Seams got sick, then Torin got sick and Victoria As-it-seams got tired and grumpy...."This is the week I need to finish my dress!"

But actually making the Louisa dress provided me with the respite that sewing always does.

In the late nights I set about it quietly and methodically and it preserved my sanity in a chaotic week. I must admit though, I was hemming at midnight, the night before these photos.

I had, still have, loads of ideas for this dress. I want to make a split back version next. But for this test version, the deadline meant my options were limited. I don't have a big fabric stash (contrary to what Mr As-it-Seams thinks) and there are only two very small fabric shops in my town, (and I know exactly everything that they both have in stock!) So I had to make do with the fabric that I did have.

Which was this needlecord in a rather lovely soft green colour. I love corduroy for children's clothes. Cord-du-roi, the cloth of kings, is soft, cosy and practical.

But it was a bit plain, I needed to perk it up a bit. It seemed to go perfectly with the last scraps of Jeni Baker's Nordika Whimsicol left over from this dress. So that's the inserts worked out then!

But to my eye, the inserts needed some kind of 'reference' on the front. And I love the Nordika fabric so much that it seemed a shame to put it all on the back of the dress.

So I fiddled about with Marte's pattern and added a placket insert to the front in the Nordika, complete with a couple of pintucks and pink piping. I think green and pink must be my colour combination for the moment. See my Secret Squirrel outfit here. Oh, and this dress ! Without thinking I've created a winter version of it. Oh good, a touch of Nordika all year!

This was also my first proper blind zipper, I stuffed it up to begin with (because I didn't have the right kind of zip) but on second attempt it looks pretty good! Thanks Marte for your great instructions.

I made size 5 for Missy. She's 3 and a half, but tall, and while this dress is a little boxy on the shoulders, it's got just the right amount of room for her to grow. I made the sleeves a couple of centimetres than Marte's pattern as I wanted full length sleeves. The dress is fully lined in green polka dots, which are very pretty.

This dress has really won me over. (Could it be that it's because it's got lots of piping? So love piping!)
It was a straightforward sew, and now it's a surprisingly practical addition to Missy's wardrobe. She loves the big pockets. And it's cosy for winter. A summer version would be fun to make too. Although Marte's called this a vintage dress, I think it also looks quite modern and funky.

Marte's Louisa dress pattern is available in size 1 to 10, and she's selling it with a 10% discount this week over here. I've also got one copy of the pattern to raffle. Just click on the raffle thingy below!
Phew deadline met...now 'hold the front page'...I've got a little announcement to make this week. Please pop back!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

19 Comments

Secret Squirrel's December stop

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 13:06

3 Comments

The Great New York Pumpkin Spice Quest... and giveaway winner

By Victoria As-it-Seams - 13:19

There's a slight deviation from sewing with this post - but only 'slight' - stick with it and some sewing does crop up!
Now...
I am not a jetsetter.. Once many years ago I travelled to far off lands, but now my radius is; home - school - nursery - office - home - weekend walk - park - office - school - home. Or something. And no distance is more than oooh... five miles.

So when I hatched a plan to visit my brother in New York City this was The Most Exciting thing to happen since my babes arrived onto the planet.

And when Mr As-it-Seams barely batted an eyelid when I asked if he would look after the children for six days, I was, and am, infinitely grateful. He is the most capable, hands-on dad that we could wish for!

And...

What better way to seek out a pumpkin spice latte than travel to New York for Hallowe'en!
Pumpkin Spice Latte was the mysterious acorn brought to As-it-Seams as one of Secret Squirrel's sewing theme acorns for October...(see here). A PSL (as I shall now call it) had caused me sleepless nights. Now, at last I would get to drink one!

Airborne! I loved the excitement of seeing the green cliffs of the Irish coast glinting in the sun on the edge of the wide ocean. And then the endless snow and wilderness of Canada, before landing in an autumn sunset at JFK.

Then I was negotiating the New York subway alone, on my way to my brother's apartment, and embarking on my NYC adventure!

Oh where to start....
Well, I love eating, I love art, I love people watching - I was in the RIGHT city! And I was lucky enough to have a City Pass from nycgo.com which gave me free entry to star attractions like the Rockefeller 'Top of the Rock', MoMa, The Metropolitan Museum and more.

I zipped into MoMA and was moved to tears by Van Gogh's Starry Night, and wowed by Monet's water lillies. I explored modern art in the many galleries of Chelsea, saw Vermeer at The Frick and an Egyptian temple at The Met...phew that's enough of looking at stuff...
I ate Mexican burritos, Caribbean curries, bagels, omelettes, Italian bruschetta, Japanese noodles, and in China town enjoyed a $4 lunch of delicacies-with-no-name.
But by day four of my trip I had not yet had a P.S.L...

Then my brother and his girlfriend took me on a sparkling ferry to Smorgasburg, a Brooklyn Food Market. Decisions! Vietnamese noodles? Thai curry? tempeh? jerk chicken? Can you tell I look happy?

I chose a Mexican burrito, followed by a pumpkin spice cheese cake! Delicious... That elusive PSL is getting closer...

Now from food to sewing....(almost)
My brother took me to the garment distract but managed to save me from disappearing into haberdashery heaven! Every kind of ribbon, braid, fringing and trim you could wish for. I resisted. Mainly because coffee was calling.

But my resistance was weaker at a Brooklyn vintage clothing market. I fell in love with this 60s dress.

It's one of those garments which hovers on the fragile line between lovely and ugly, but I think it kind-of-works. And from a sewing point of view, it inspired me.
I like the 3/4 circular skirt, the open-weave wool fabric, the paired buttons, the straight line of the neck on the white panel and more...
It's giving me all kinds of ideas to sew for Missy. Does it inspire you too? If so get in touch! I have an interesting idea...

And then it was all over - time to head back to JFK. I took off into the night, dreaming of seeing my babies soon....but not quite as soon as I planned...

In the middle of the night, the captain announced we were turning back, the plane's pressure wasn't functioning properly.

A midnight wait in JFK followed.

But there was a silver lining!

All was quiet in JFK, except for one ubiquitous fastfood outlet. Where I had, yes, you guessed it... a Pumpkin Spice Latte! Sweet, warm, rich and yes really the perfect drink for a midnight airport!...

Giveaway update
That lovely Kokka red riding hood fabric is on its way to Nathalie at Nat and The Gang. Thanks to all who entered!

All pictures (except red dress) by my dear brother, thank you Mike!