What's been on my sewing table...

I haven't been posting a lot here lately, but believe me (and you would know if you follow me on Instagram ;) ), that was not for lack of sewing!
It's not always fun to be unemployed, but I must say that having more spare time is a change for the best...all the more so when it allows me to be more productive in terms of sewing! However, what I've sewn lately is more suitable for cooler weather and I haven't had the opportunity to take photos of me wearing those garments, so proper posts about these will come later.
So here's what I've been up to lately : 
I've made this Sencha blouse ...

Embroidered neckline...

And fun vintage square buttons!

 And this Chataigne skirt, which I think will be a great match for the above top...

Admittedly, the right side may look a bit plain...

But look at this wrong side! Sacred hearts, polkadot bias, lace-trimmed lining, oh my!

I've also ordered fabric for a Bombshell Swimsuit, which I may (or may not) start this week or next week...

And I'm also planning to make a Negroni shirt for my man.

And also, in other words, this is post #100! Woohoo!

Charlotte's Airelle

I haven't been sewing for myself a lot these past few months, mostly because I was actually busy with...my first order (Well, sewing it actually didn't take THAT long, but as I couldn't see my "customer" very often, the fitting process seemd to take ages!)!

This Deer and Doe Airelle blouse was made for my sister's birthday. She supplied the fabric, a beautiful green/black linen, we chose the pattern together...and there I went!
As she is rather busty, I was afraid I'd have to do a FBA but that actually didn't happen.
Here are the modifications I made to get something that fits :

• I cut a size 38 (which corresponded to her high bust measurements) at the top, then graded to a 40 at the waist, and made the whole top 5 cm longer ;
• I added an invisible side zip and a little slit at the back of the neck to make the garment easier to put on;
• Surprisingly enough, I had to remove some fabric in the bust area, both in width and length, otherwise it would have been baggy ;
• I also moved the front dart so they pointed in the right direction, and made them deeper;
• And finally, I added a bit of  black piping on the shoulder yoke, both at the front and back. I also made little pleats instead of gather when I attached the yoke to the front part, because my gathers really looked like crap.

Unfortunately, due to some mobile phone problems, I can't show any pictures of my sister wearing it...but the fit was spot on and she was really happy with it!

Finished for FESA : Châtaigne skirt

Well, this one took a long time coming too...but at last, it's here!

Sorry I can't be a fast blogger AND post awesome pics...at least you get to see the wonderful Christmas tree which the building's caretakers installed in the lobby!

So, this is Deer&Doe's Châtaigne shorts, turned into a skirt thanks to Estelle's tutorial.
I used a brown tweed-like wool mix as my main fabric, scraps of brown cotton for the inside of the pockets and the waistband facing and olive green Bemberg for the lining. And I added some pleather piping accents around the pockets and waistband yoke..
As you can see I went for the high waisted version and made it longer by 25 cm. I decided to put the zipper in the back, instead of the side seam, slightly tapered it at the side seams to get a that pencil skirt look, and added a back vent. And I also lined it.
I don't know if anybody else tried to make the high waisted skirt version, but once I had modified the leg parts of the short to turn them into skirt parts, the back parts were shorter than the waistband by 1.5 cm, so I had to add that much to my back skirt pattern pieces if I wanted my booty to fit in!
Apart from that, I had no problems making it - except for a bit of thinking about how to attach the lining.

Here's a look at the back vent...

Wait...would that be my first ACTUAL invisible zipper???

And here's my lining. At first I thought the lace was just beige but it's actually golden! Not what I chose first but I finally like it that way.

This skirt is not perfect - for instance, you don't want to look too close at my lining and facings, and I should have done something to reduce the bulk in some seams...but the actual fit is great, it's really comfortable and i love wearing it!
Even though it's not really historically accurate, the look of it is still reminiscent of the 40s/50s, while being at the same time modern and casual...that is to say, everything I'm looking for in a garment!
I'm very happy with this skirt and I'll probably make another - maybe a simpler, black one, in a stretchy fabric. Just wait and see!

FESA is back !

Sarah's Fall Essentials Sewalong is back! Basically, FESA consists in making warm, cosy and easy to wear garments for Fall, and as there are several categories you can choose to make any garment you like and as many as you like...which means that pretty much any sewist can join in with whatever she (or he) is making between September 1st and November 30th! Pretty cool, isnt'it?

The only thing I managed to me make last year was Wearing History's overalls, which did not turn out so great...but at least I see now what I must do to make them better!

This year, however, I feel like I could be more productive during these 3 months (yayyyyy for learning to knit!), so here are my plans :

• In the "Fabulous Frocks" category, a "Goth-ish" Moneta, which I'm going to make in a lace print over beige background jersey for the skirt, and plain black jersey for the top (version 3, with the 3/4 sleeves) ;
• In the "Chic Chemises for Cool Climates" category, Andi Satterlund's Aiken sweater, most likely in Cascade Lana d'Oro (in color 1036 or 1058 H, not sure yet)
• In the "Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather" category, a Chataigne skirt (following Estelle's tutorial for turning Deer and Doe's Chataigne shorts into a skirt), in a brown wool mix I have in my stash

Well, that makes three garments, let's see if I'll be able to make all of them!

Interested in FESA? Then pay a visit to Sarah's blog Rhinestones and Telephones if you want to learn more about it and join in!