Alteration DVD giveaway by Gentleman Jim

The other day I was reading my blog feed and came across this post by Clare at Sew Dixie Lou. So I checked out The Lost Art of Fine Tailoring, a blog I hadn't heard about before and the giveaway Jim is hosting. Firstly, even if you're not interested in the giveaway (which, really, you are if you sew), his blog has already a lot of information on sewing and fitting and such. And he just started it!

And he knows what he's talking about: he's been in the garment industry since 1961. That's quite impressive. He's experience is mostly on men's clothes, but includes women's clothes too (and in any case: I think the same techniques are applicable to either, with maybe slight variations). In the 60s he actually tailored custom clothes for major stars like James Brown, B. B. King, and Duke Ellington among others. Maybe I'll find some swing clothes tips there as well ;) although 60s is not really the swing era anymore. Lately he's been teaching sewing in Georgia.

So, to join the sewing community, Jim is hosting this amazing giveaway. I think I can speak for everyone, that he's most welcome! I'm so excited about this blog and the perspective it offers and of course I really want to win the dvd... :)

Sewing Dare no. 1: My Jazzy Aristocats Circle Skirt

My happy picture: too bad you can't see the
 whole skirt and my shoes that I wore just
for the pictures...

The Stitchy Details:

• Challenge Theme: #sewingdares
• Pattern used: Self drafted 
• Fabric: My pretty Aristocats cotton, bought from Etsy and no longer available
• Notions: Zipper and 2 snap fasteners
• Did you make any pattern alterations or design changes? No changes, since there was no pattern...
• First worn/Wear again? Worn today to work. Will wear again for sure. Probably even dancing on the weekend, if I don't feel that the petticoat waist is too bulky.
• Total price: ~49 €
• Time to complete: 14h 15min

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Front view without
a petticoat

I decided to go for the Monthly Stitch format for all my finished project entries, although I added the time to make, which is pretty accurate, but I always round up to closest 15 min. I'm a bit anal of doing things in a consistent way... Maybe it's the scientist in me, or the accountant. Who knows. In any case, I thought it was a good one, so I'm stealing it for my blog.

So, I didn't have a pattern this time. I almost said it's my first time without a pattern, but that's not true. I've done self drafting before (from old clothes), like the top here. And I did sew a skirt in high school with the same method and that actually turned out quite well. But I've never done it on my own before. So, without my mother's help, that is. But I'm really getting more confident with my skills. I have a great machine that I pretty much know how to use (I used to have my grandma's old, which brought me to tears every time), and then there's the internet. And I know where my weaknesses lie (read: fitting).

So, I had made all these calculations as I wanted to make as long circle skirt as possible to have the more authentic vintage look. Well, I know Aristocats don't really fit into that as the film was made in the 70s (1970 to be exact: I just had to google...) but in any case. And hey: they liked jazz, I like jazz, I'm making a skirt for dancing to jazz... But I'm going on a tangent here. So, I actually calculated how long it should be and stuff and when I started actually making the skirt I realized that I did these calculations for nothing. Nothing wrong with the calculations themselves, but I didn't think that I have one way design on the fabric, which means I have to cut the both sides the same way and I can't use the sideways cutting...

Pockets - what a happy idea!

But after that it was pretty much a breeze. I wanted to have pockets, like I always do, but I just used the same pattern piece I drafted for my Réglisse. I even used the same fabric as in Réglisse, the one that was left over from Pastille that never came to be... I also am not a fan of an elastic waist. So, that meant a zipper and a waistband (waistband being the reason it has taken so long for me to get to this: I wanted solid black fabric for it). I found great help for this as I was wondering how to put the zipper in as I didn't want to add a pocket AND a zipper to the same seam. But Casey over at Elegant Musings has a series of circle skirt tutorials (it was a sew-along). I used her method to add a slashed zipper and also the instructions on the waistband. Well I did make some mistakes in the waistband originally, so I ended up cutting a new one. Luckily I had a bunch of the black fabric: it was super wide, from the home decoration side of the fabric shop and you had to buy at least 50cm. Well, there's a lot of it...

The hem finish

Only thing that really took time was hand stitching the hem. But I think it was worth it. I was a bit annoyed how that turned out on my Réglisse and I really wanted this to look good and not go wonky. And I think I achieved that, you can judge from the picture. I also used the bias I had left from Réglisse, so I could have a longer hem. I don't know about the hem calculations, but this ended up being almost as long as I originally wanted (maybe it's my waistband that lowers the hem). But I would've been finished a day earlier if I had stitched it with the machine (it took me like 4h to do the whole hem...). But as I said, in the end, I think it's worth it. And when it was all finished, I realized I had a problem with the waistband, so I changed it back to the original that I had already discarded and actually that one worked really well :) I actually wanted to put in a skirt hook instead of the snaps for fasteners, but I realized that the ones they sold me were for pants and they were huge. So, not really great for my kind of flimsy waistband. And the other hooks I have were too small. But luckily I have a lot of snaps... I always buy them thinking I don't have any, but I have a lot, even some black ones.

So, my pictures today didn't turn out so great, but at least you can see the skirt. In the side view pictures you can really see the difference when wearing a petticoat or not. I have one with a bit of tulle, my mom made it for me for a 50s skirt when I was in high school. It's a cheap version, but actually quite accurate for what was worn at the time (my mom still remembers).

Side view without a petticoat

Side view with a petticoat

Thanks Clare for challenging me to do this! And of course Gillian to arrange everything in the first place! It was fun and I'm really happy about my new skirt! Here's some compulsory swirly pictures where it's really advantageous to have a petticoat!

And on the giveaway news: I never reached the Colette Sewing Book winner, so I chose a new winner:

I will mail all the prizes this week. I hope you enjoy them!

Giveaway winners!

So, I have the winners of last week's giveaway:

The first winner, who will get the pack of patterns is:

And then for the book: How to make sewing patterns:

Catja seems to be a lucky little thing in my blog, since she won the last time as well...

And finally, the Colette Sewing Handbook goes to:

Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks for everyone for participating!

All the winners have been contacted for address purposes. If I don't get a response by Sunday, I will pick another winner.

Who needs more patterns?

So, guess what. I'm moving. Well, I don't actually have a new apartment yet, but I have given notice of the one I have as in France the notice is 3 months if you have rented your apartment empty. So, yet again, I want to get rid of some stuff I don't need. Today it's all about patterns, but there will be a fabric giveaway later. Most likely next week.

Instructions (rules sounded so formal...):

The first two are open for all, the last one only in France and overseas departments and territories of France, because of the postage costs. Participate by leaving a comment (by midnight (Central European Time) next Wednesday 21st of August: tell me which giveaways you'd like to be included in. Notice that the deadline will be earlier for those living in on the other side of the Atlantic. Make sure I have a way to contact you (preferably leave your e-mail in the comment or make sure that you use a profile that has an option to mail you), I don't really want to start looking for an e-mail address.

Giveaway #1: the patterns

The patterns will go all to same person. That's because I'm lazy. If you're not interested in all of them, participate anyway: you can always host your own giveaway :) First there's three Simplicity patterns: 8052 from the 60s, 3696 pyjamas, and 1849 a knit top:

My ideas about these patterns have changed a bit, I really love the 60s pattern, but I don't think it's the most flattering style for me and I would have to grade it quite a lot, so I think it's not worth the trouble. The envelope is a bit torn, but the pattern itself is in good condition. The other two are new, I did try to make pyjama pants from 3696, but it didn't really fit me, and I just don't want to find out where the problem is.

And then, 4 patterns from Craftsy courses. I bought these courses because of the techniques but they will send the patterns anyway. Well, actually the jacket one I'm going to keep: they sent me 2 of them.

Jacket Express #218 - Sew Better,
Sew Faster: Garment Industry Secrets  

Liberty Shirt - Sewing with Silks

V2948 - Pant Fitting Techniques  

V8793 - The Ultimate T-Shirt:
Fitting & Construction  

So, the jacket is actually something I plan on sewing. But I just don't need 2 patterns... The smallest size is quite big (normally something like M, not XS), so if you are small and want a very fitted jacket, you need to grade down. The Liberty Shirt I actually quite like, but with my body shape, it will look horrible and even though I like it, it's not really my style. And the last two are not bad either, I just have other patterns I thought I'd use on these courses.

All patterns are complete and uncut except the vintage pattern, that one is cut. As I said these come as one package: I'm saving on postage.

Giveaway #2: Book on self drafting

I bought this book awhile ago. But I also have another book on the subject that I think is better. So this one is up for grabs. You can read reviews on Amazon. And this book is also suitable for drafting men's clothing (read this review!). It's an old book (1st edition 1973), it hasn't been updated since the 70s, but it's still in print, which says something. Just don't expect pretty color pictures: it's all black and white.

Giveaway #3: Colette Sewing Handbook (only in France & DOM-TOM)

Yes, I'm giving away my Colette Sewing handbook. I really had plans when I got this and I did sew the Meringue skirt. But then my inspiration was lost with the Pastille. I probably should have tried the others, but I just don't feel like it. So I will add this to the giveaway. As the book is quite heavy, this is only available for France and the overseas departments and territories of France. Sorry for that, but I don't want to kill my budget. All the patterns are uncut and complete.

Et en français:

Oui, je vais a donner mon Colette Sewing handbook  J'ai vraiment eu des plans quand je l'ai acheté et j'ai cousu la jupe Meringue.  Mais alors, mon inspiration a été perdu avec la Pastille  Je devrais probablement essayé les autres, mais je ne justement veux pas. Je vais donc donner le livre à quelqu'un qui l'utilise. Comme le livre est assez lourd, ce n'est disponible que pour la France et les DOM-TOM. Tous les patrons sont complètes et non-coupés. Laisse-moi un moyen de contacter (e-mail/lien pour profil de thread and needles) et les giveaways à que tu souhaites participer :)

MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR! — PUISSE LE SORT VOUS ÊTRE FAVORABLE!

The Great Gatsby Winner!

So we have a winner! I actually did the lottery last night just after midnight, but was too tired to write the post... But here it is and the winner is....

gjeometry.com!!!

Thanks for all participating in this. I know I don't have that many followers (well, I'm not exactly the most constant updater...), so I'm glad this reached people who were interested. I have sent an e-mail to the winner, and I'm looking forward to seeing your Gatsby dress :)

The Great Gatsby Giveaway

I was going through my bookshelf when I saw this book I bought last year when I was sewing my charleston dress. At the moment I'm interested in a book with more depth, although this was better than I thought (I have only looked at the pictures before...)
It's not a sewing book, but it's a quick book on the fashions of 1920s and 1930s. I think it pretty much did what it was supposed to do. It's not an extensive history of fashion and it doesn't go into details. What it does, it gives you a good idea of the fashion trends and what to look for when you want to recreate it. Whether you're buying vintage clothes or making your own to achieve the look. I think it's a great resource for someone who wants to have an period accurate costume or is starting to get into vintage fashion of these decades. It also gives a list of further information, if you're so inclined.

But, as I just ordered a more thorough fashion sourcebook and since there's the Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge and all, I thought I would offer this book as a giveaway. It is a pretty little thing, and I think it gives a good idea of the main trends in fashion especially reproducing the look in mind. It talkes about fabrics and cuts and stuff.

So, if you are interested in getting this book for yourself, leave a comment by the end of Friday 24th May (Central European time). There are no geographical restrictions, but I will send the book by cheapest method, so it might take awhile. I hope the book finds a loving home.