More Fabric and New Look 6619 Progress

I have been very restrained with my fabric purchases this year. This might be due to the fact that I was running out of storage space for any more. But when I saw this wool crepe and wool gabardine on sale at Cleggs last week for $10.00 a meter, I snapped it up. They had an Italian version, but I could not see a lot of difference. I guess I will only know what quality it is when I make it up and start wearing it.

And then I saw this gorgeous print which is like a very light weight linen. I bought the co-ordinating plain print with the idea to make a skirt. These two fabrics were on sale, but not as heavily reduced in price as the wool fabric.

The idea is to make this jacket out of the print fabric. It has a draw string tie at the waist.

So, as usual, lots of ideas, but my sewing output is going at a snails pace. Lots of social activities meant little sewing this week, but I have resolved the fit issues on the front part of the jacket I am making, New Look 6619. I used the technique in Fit for Real People by Palmer and Alto. Problem is, I forgot to slant the bust dart upwards, but it is a small shallow dart and I don't think it will matter too much. You might be able to make out in the photo below how I have enlarged the front:

Increasing the bust area meant that I also had to increase the length. I read over on Pattern Review that his pattern can be a little tight in the arm hole, and found it was the case for me, so I had to increase for that too. I want to insert a very small shoulder pad as I like to use them in my jackets as I think they sit better. Problem is I had to increase the pattern piece for the sleeve, lining, fronts, back and front facing. Phew!

At this stage I plan to use a piece of very pale pink for the lining which will look good against the brown gabardine.

Well, at least I have made a start with the sewing and should make great progress now that I hope I have resolved most of the fitting issues on the calico and the paper pattern.

Dolls! Mary Poppins & Friend

Hi all. A couple of my old work friends asked if I wanted to go to see the Melbourne show of Mary Poppins with them. I had not got myself organised to go, so I jumped at the chance. All our tickets have been bought and we are going in November.

I thought I would do a post about my original Mary Poppins doll which was given to me when I was about 2 years old. I got it a few years after the movie came out (yeah, showing my age). Here is a photo of my doll, showing a lot of playing wear and tear:

The sewer made a couple of modifications to this doll which were to add a separate piece of pink fabric to the face and line the jacket.

A couple of years ago, I was on the Cloth Doll Supply website looking for vintage cloth doll patterns. You can imagine my surprise when I spied this pattern! When I bought it and got it delivered, I realised that it was the exact same pattern from which my childhood doll was made!! I have the most divine cotton sateen all the way from the USA and some German felt to make this doll in.

Surfing around on ebay, I thought I would look for some Mary Poppins memorabilia to add to my collection, and I won the original version of the pattern I got from Cloth Doll Supply, circa 1964 (no, I am not quite that old). I was so excited. It actually states on the front of the pattern envelope that it is 'Inspired by Walt Disney's new full length motion picture'.

Front view, original pattern

Not only that, but I realised that I had the original story book from the movie (yeah, they had good marketing ideas back then):

And here are some photos from inside the book. The suit she is wearing below is closest to the one my doll is dressed in.

I think the art work is just delightful.

The red suit Mary Poppins is wearing in the picture below is all over the promotional posters in Melbourne at the moment.

Finally, some of you might have noticed that the title of this post mentioned Mary Poppin's friend. Well she probably couldn't have been as this cloth doll design was released 10 years before in 1954. This is another gorgeous pattern from Cloth Doll Supply for a Betsy McCall doll. Look at the lovely skirts on her outfits; a separate pattern is included just for the petticoat.

Look at the shaping they have given the doll to give her more of a 'grown up' or teenage look. I bet little girls would have loved to have been given this doll.

Finally, a word on my New Look jacket 6619 saga, it is going on the cutting table today after all the adjustments I made to the calico and then the paper pattern! I hope to have some pictures of my progress soon

Mid-Week Musings, or Why I Got Back Into Sewing!

I am starting a new job in just over a month's time and the New Look jacket 6619 is languishing still in the corner of my sewing room. I would really like a new jacket for my new job, and having not completed all my clothing alterations, I got a quote on getting a jacket made. Now I think I would want to be rewarded well for all the work that goes into making a jacket, and I think $250.00 is a fair price for the time and hassle. Only problem is because I know how to do it myself, it really hurts to 'cough up' that amount of money. Just think of all the lovely fabric, patterns and books that I could buy with that amount of money. Also, that price does not include the fabric, lining and notions. Looks like I am going to have to get organised. I do have a week off before my job starts so I had better get sewing!

Trials of a Short Person, New Look 6619 Jacket & Watercolour Fabric

There won't be much 'real' sewing going on around here for the next couple of weeks. Apart from the fact that I will be working one extra day at work next week, I have a whole lot of adjustments to do to some clothes I bought recently. Not only do the pants and jeans hems need taking up, but I have to shorten the shirt with the white cuffs and the other top needs the length adjusted by cutting off the band. I will either cut off a couple of inches of the length and re-attach the band or leave it off altogether.

It is a lot of work doing this kind of thing, but I bought almost all of these clothes at very reduced prices, so I suppose it is worth it.

Next up is some stretch cotton sateen that I will call the 'watercolour fabric'. As that is the medium I paint in, this fabric really called to me. Being a short person, and the fact that I love prints and colour, I had to really think hard about whether or not to purchase this. To make things worse, I bought it by mail order from Knitwit. I only had a tiny swatch to go on too. I had a discussion with some of my work colleagues about buying such a 'busy' pattern, and the fact that it will go out of fashion some time soon. The consensus was to go for it. I think I would like to make a longer jacket out of it.

Finally, here is the fabric I have picked out to make my New Look 6619 jacket out of. It is looking a bit creased isn't it. It is a polyester (I think) gabardine which I got at a ridiculously cheap sale price from Spotlight, so if it does not work out, it is not a great loss.

So as usual, I have a lot of sewing to do. Until next time.

Top for Lisa's Wedding, Simplicity 2596 Pictures

Ta da! I have some pictures of the finished top. The satin fabric was much easier to sew than I thought it would be. I expected the side and neckline seams were going to cause me trouble by puckering, but it was the hems that were the problem. The sleeve casings stretched somehow, which meant I had a terrible time folding in the amount of fabric required to insert the elastic. The hem was all uneven when I first sewed it, but a good press and letting it hang for a couple of days sorted this problem out. Here are some photos of me the morning after the wedding (without makeup too!). I was in such a rush to get ready on the day of the wedding, that I forgot to take photos.

I actually wore the top tucked in, but these photos show you how I arranged the design on the fabric.

These are the earrings I wore with it. They are a bit 80's, but the colours and sparkle were perfect, so I decided to go with them on the night. If you lived through the 80's once, you don't really want to do it again!

In all, I am very pleased with the top as it is something different from what I usually wear and it will go with a brown linen jacket that is on the list of things to make for summer. I can also wear it with a basic black suit for work.