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Apr 1, 2011

The Friday Fashion Follies



Readers, as you can see, the little matching bolero jacket for Simplicity 4227 is shaping up nicely.  It still needs sleeves and a good pressing, but the facings are in and you can get a sense of where this is going.  I wasn't able to get much done yesterday.

It looks short in the pic but my hand is at my true waist so I think it will be fine.  I'll have to make some kind of self-belt too, I suppose.  Did I mention this pattern is from 1953?



The jacket has been fun to put together; it has all sorts of darts and curved edges.





I interfaced the facings, clipped, and turned them, and then I'll either serge the facing edges and hand stitch them down, or apply bias strips, turn those under, and hand stitch those.  Even with a Cathy garment I like things to look neat inside and not too bulky.





This fabric presses OK, not great, and I'm cautious as I don't want to overpress this synthetic.  Dry pressing seems to work best and I've been using my point presser/clapper to press open those seam allowances along the outer edges.  They turn better that way.

I'm not sure about adding decorative trim, which the pattern calls for.  It's already such a bold print -- and so dark --and you know how Cathy likes to lay on the bling.  I'll have to see how it looks with the dress.  Anyway, I hope to finish this project today or tomorrow, time permitting.

BTW, I have dubbed this The Deborah Kerr dress; it just reminds me of something she'd have worn back in the early Fifties.


I found this vintage handbag at the Salvation Army on Wednesday -- a rare find there and in very good condition considering its age (1940's?)  Picture it without the dog hair; it's all over everything at our house.  Pretty, no?





In other news...

Actually, there is no other news.  Everything Featherweight-related is on hold while I wait for my screw to arrive.  The case is on the balcony airing out and I'll take another look at it in 2-3 years. 

The Vinyls should be receiving a new shipment of clothes any day now.



Shortly we'll be discussing materials needed for our Jeans Sew-Along, which starts May 2, you'll recall.  

How about a gratuitous puppy shot or two?  Willy is annoying but he is cute.




Friends, I am eager to return to the sweatshop -- you understand.

I hope all you eager beavers are hard at work sewing something -- or unsewing, as the case may be.  Both have their place.

Happy Friday everybody!

Braid trim on this outfit?  What do you think?

19 comments:

  1. Here's an odd tidbit: I'm making myself a strapless dress and couldn't help but think, as I gazed at my fairly curve-less self in the mirror, that if I can wear strapless, so could Cathy. Just a thought... if you're still thinking of making her an evening gown. :-)

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  2. With Cathy's Esther Williams swimmers shoulders, Jenny...I don't know. But a little tulle can soften anything.

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  3. Love the dog pics--they are so cute! What would you think of black braid with a little black jet beading for some subtle sparkle? I know Cathy loves her bling .. .

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  4. Oh, Valerie, I love that idea. I need to go to Pacific trim later today or tomorrow and see what they have and how much it costs. Thanks!

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  5. Oooh... I'm getting excited about the jeans sew-along! I bought a fab c. 1980 jeans pattern last week and it arrived the other day!

    Have I told you my sewing room is being slowly taken over by dolls as well--and my husband's no less?! Well, they're the 12" GI Joe dolls, but they've been threatening to engulf at least one shelf of my fabric storage (the nerve!) and rappelling down the sides of the other bookshelf... haha. I think this doll collecting thing must be going 'round. Would explain why I have been spending far too much time on Ebay hunting down Barbies and Gene dolls.

    ♥ Casey

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  6. We want to see the video, Casey! ;)

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  7. I hope you will forgive me Peter but I started and finished my jeans for the sew along. I was so excited about it, then I saw fabric I liked, and then one thing led to another and now I have a perfectly fitted pair of jeans. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  8. I love your term "unsewing." That's all I've been doing this week as I've had to rip out nearly every seam in my Leopard Print Skirt of Doom. Love the puppy pics! :)

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  9. >Willy is annoying but he is cute.

    So is Michael, esp with the dogs. Cute that is, I wouldn't know about the annoying part. ;-)

    Moi, I would skip extra trim on the bolero. Cathy is cute enough by herself to not distract her admirers with too much swag.

    Beth

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  10. Love the jet beading/buttons idea, hate the braided trim. Cathy strikes me as more of a sleek type.

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  11. I was just going to make an "Affair to Remember" crack and you're ahead of me!!! That movie always seemed to be playing any given weekend of my life when I was in middle school. Someone at the Miami station must have really had a thing for it. My mother and I would watch it and half laugh, half sniffle...

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  12. have you tried pressing through a piece of silk organza? it usually makes pressing poly fabrics WAY easier. especially if you use a light colored, and so see through, piece.

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  13. Hi Peter!

    I just came across a product that can (evidently) remove ANY smell. I saw this on a sewing forum, so I don't have first hand experience, but I think I will buy some. The poster said she had never come across a smell this couldn't conquer. I would love to hear your report. :)

    http://www.scoe10x.com/Scripts/SCOE10X-Odor-Eliminator.asp

    (P.S. This isn't an April Fool's joke, but this is: http://www.youtube.com/v/oSU3ijxkp8Y&feature=youtube_gdata&hl=en&fs=1&

    and so is this:
    http://www.youtube.com/v/oSU3ijxkp8Y&feature=youtube_gdata&hl=en&fs=1&

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  14. P.S. Of course I was thinking of your smelly Singer case. Not just suggesting that, in general, you have an odor problem. :)

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  15. Not usually, but from time to time I suppose... ;)

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  16. I like the bolero a lot. I think a subtle black braided sort of trim would set it off nicely. Cathy can still layer more bling over that. More is more.
    Cute doggie tummy.

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  17. Hi Peter,
    Been following your entertaining blog for awhile, always enjoyable.
    Great find on the handbag, perfect for the dress!
    I agree with those who do not want the trim, the bolero and dress are perfect without it.
    Just sayin'.

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  18. I'll add my vote for no trim. Deborah would go understatement.

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  19. I say nay on the braid trim! It could look tacky spanish lady, what with all the roses already.

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