Introducing My New Best Friend!

When my sewing machine broke down several weeks ago, I went into a state of denial.  “It can’t possibly be broken!” I lamented.  It quite obviously was, the bobbin race had shunted forward and there were some confused looking springs sat where the race should have been….

It was like the passing of a beloved pet, one that has seen you through good and bad times, and well she was so young, she hadn’t quite reached her 5th birthday!  She went to the repair shop for assessment but I knew she would be  a write-off - the repair quote came back at around 70% of the purchase value!

Well, I had been toying with the idea of a new machine for a year or so, just wasn’t expecting it to be under these circumstances.  I know woefully little about sewing machine features, I’ve always avoiding knowing too much in case it launches a new obsession with technology!  But I knew what I was looking for in an upgrade.  It was time to go computerised with all the handy functions that come with that, also decorative stitches for embellishing Miss Mango’s clothes and alphabet were all on the list.

I went along to a sewing shop to check out the range there and the sales assistant did her upselling well, introducing me to the little bit of Pfaff magic that is IDT (or dual feed technology) and I was quite stunned. (I’m not sure if it was because of what IDT can do or how it was that I had never heard of it before?!  Apparently Pfaff were quite clever in getting it patented, since that has ceased its been incorporated into Janome and Silver Viscount machines too.)

If you’re pondering “What is this dual feed, IDT you speak of?”, it is also known as the “built-in walking foot” although I am told it works differently (and superiorly to the attachable walking-foot).  What happens is that while your feed-dogs feed fabric from below, the dual-feed feeds it from above and behind. The result is seams that align perfectly (not half an inch difference despite them being cut the same length) and without the need for pins.  Fine and slippery fabrics are sewn smoothly without puckers.  You also wondering how you’ve been living without this?  Its controlled by a lever than snaps onto the foot so it can be de-activated too.  In contrast the walking foot attachment feeds from the side, slowing down the travel speed of the fabric under the foot which is why you can still get puckering on slippery fabric seams. (Enlightenment that has only taken me 12 years to acquire!)

Now the drawback was the cost of these machines, placing most of them outside of my meagre budget.  But there was news, a new Pfaff range with a machine that would be closer to what I was looking to spend,the Ambition 1.0, if I would like to come back after their release to demo it?  Yes I would, and I did. 

I took with me the vilest, most horrible to sew samples of fabric I could find.  Fabric after fabric the machine churned out beautiful flat seams and even stitches.  It was very pretty.  The 1.5 even prettier still. But it it still didn’t tick all my boxes and didn’t feel like it quite belonged with me.  And I wasn’t sure that I wanted to spend half a grand on a machine that wasn’t making me do happy dances around the room. 

Sensing my apprehension, the assistant (and a lovely, helpful person she was too) , asked if I was really set on a new machine?  Well there’s a leading question….

I thought and decided no, it wasn’t a new machine I wanted per se, just that particular feature so the assistant disappeared and produced a part exchange they had recently taken in.  The Pfaff Creative 1475 CD It was love at first sight.  Despite probably being as old as me (“Made in West Germany dates her a bit),  and a little on the yellowed and Amstrad looking side, she sat there proudly ticking off the checklist of features I had in my head: IDT, computerised, needle-down & speed control functions, decorative stitches, alphabets and oh, is that monogramming??  Yes, please! I think.  So we played with her and an hour later I left the shop with my new best friend at my side, costing a fraction of the price of the new machine.

(I’ve pinched web pics as my camera is still packed away from my last gig).

I thought it would be really hard to welcome a new machine into my life, but I am totally smitten already.  I love the fact she’s practically vintage, she’s fitted in straightaway at home!  If you ever have the opportunity to own one, I would definitely recommend it.  Pfaff also made a “Creative Designer” attachment to go with this machine.  Its basically a plastic box and some graph paper and apparently a pain to use but I’m keeping an eye on eBay for one as I’d still like to give it a go.  I love puzzles and frustration!  I’ll post a proper review soon with lots more details and pics.

Addendum:
My old machine was actually repaired, the company whose costumes I was working on offered to fund the repairs.  I was quite unimpressed to get the paperwork and notice that the expensive repair did not include the new needle or bobbin they put in to test it!  And less than 2 hours into my next piece of sewing the bobbin race practically leapt through the throat plate and fell silent again.  I replaced the broken needle and put back in the bobbin the repair shop had put in (wasn’t going to pay for another one). They looked it over quickly and said, “Well its got a Singer bobbin in it, course it isn’t going to work!”.  I explained I had switched to its own brand of bobbin when I loaded it with thread for my project, they’re not getting away with that one!

Doing the FANDANGO!

A few long weeks ago, the buzz word across the blogosphere was "Fandango!" Specifically it referred to the Fabulous Fabric Fandango, a  fabric shop expedition to London's Goldhawk Road, super-efficiently organised  by Karen of Did You Make That? But you probably already knew that, right? With somewhere between 30 to 40 sewers there on the day, it would be hard to have missed the feedback.
I'm a very late with mine, but I'm pleased to finally share my spoils and my intentions for them.
Like several others I arrived keen to see what Goldhawk Road had to offer and categorically stating that I could not possibly buy any more fabric as I had no storage left and a broken sewing machine.   Of course, if I found a real bargain, or something for Miss Mango's summer wardrobe, that would be okay... 
I actual left most of the dozen shops empty-handed until the end of the afternoon when I whipped back round a few to pick up the fabrics I really wanted.  So what's a sewing blog post without pictures of gorgeous fabrics to drool over? 
     

    Spoils for Mango                                                           Spoils for Molly

Because of the fabric restrictions I had to buy with a purpose, so for everything I bought, I had an idea in my head of what pattern it would be used for. And what's a beautiful fabric without a fabulous pattern to partner it with?
    
Clockwise from left:
Brushed cotton lace fabric, really soft and pretty.  this was a free sample and so generous there is enough to squeeze the cute bolero out of it!  Its 100% cotton so could be dyed.  It is £4.99p from A1 Fabrics but I just found it for £2.50pm in Walthamstow!
Lemon floral needlecord £4pm.  Perfect summer weight and hard-wearing.
Red floral needlecord £3.50pm. So cute, will be making a pinafore dress with it
Patchwork fabric, cotton £3.50pm. 
I want to do something with lots of tea-dyed lace and frills for this a la Daisy Kingdom.  Haven’t quite got the picture in my head or the right pattern  This one might make a starting point.


The trip had a second impact on me and one that Karen may not have envisaged. The second part of the fandango for me was all about the patterns.  I already knew what I wanted and could pretty much lay my hands on them straight away, however as I headed for the pattern box I noticed a few mailing envelopes stuffed with patterns laying on my bedside table. And on the hall stand.  And in my filing in-box.  And on top of the fabric stash.  And in a box in the cupboard under the stairs. About time I filed those I thought.  So I gathered them together and pulled out the pattern boxes (divided into costume, children,  mens and ladies). To discover they were all full if not overflowing.  Ahh.
So I ended up spending two days emptying boxes, dating patterns, adding protective covers, reconsidering my filing system and putting patterns away - in chronological order. And I've yet to go through the costume and fancy dress box.   Thanks Karen!  But the exercise was worthwhile and I pulled a few more cute patterns for Mango to be teamed with fabric fro the overflowing stash:

Hot pink needlecord (ebay) for the pinafore teamed with vintage style cotton (Fabricland £2.22pm) blouse.  Hoping this won’t be too much pink!





Summery gathered cuff dungarees in navy floral brushed cotton.  I’m recycling the fabric from a slip dress I made about 14years ago and haven’t worn in at least 10 years.  Its lovely fabric though and very comfortable for Mango.




Red tartan for the jumper dress. Just hoping it won’t be too large a print and drown the poor girl.  Will see when I’ve laid the pattern pieces on it.



As for my spoils. Well, again I know what I want but this time I have no patterns to match (how can this be?), so I shall be kept busy drafting / adapting / frankensteining patterns to fit my ideas. Here’s the fabric in close-up and a rough idea of how it will end up.
 
Gorgeous floral poly-cotton fabric on an eau-de-nil background £3.50pm.  Idea: Full skirted, tea-length dress with simple, square neckline bodice.  I love the skirt from V2561 and the bodice from V2267.
 
Green floral needlecord £4p.m.  This fabric just pops and I had to have it! Pinafore style tunic length top, very simple and unfussy. S3738 is the closest illustration of what is in my head.

    
Teal blue sand crepe-de-chine, £1.99p.m  This has a lovely weight to it and almost designs itself.  While playing with the fabric I decided to do a long drapey skirt and empire draped surplice bodice. V8360 is more-or-less what I have in mind. 
Gorgeous blue and pale grey tweed fabric.  At £2.50p.m I’m  not anticipating this has much of a wool content but it has a lovely soft drape and great spring/autumn weight.  I know exactly what I want from this having drooled so often over Couturier Dimanche’s beautiful weskit and skirt ensemble (click here).

 
Cocoa brown poly taffeta (with a lovely pink sheen to it) £2.50p.m. Wine coloured viscose stripe fabric (with a metallic thread running through it for sparkle) £2 p.m.  The latter has an incredibly soft drape to it, the picture does it no justice. 
I’m going to use these to make Victorian outfits, I’ve set no decade limitations so I am undecided on patterns, but I have quite a few original drafting instructions as well as the Janet Arnold Patterns of Fashion books and modern costume patterns to draw ideas from.  I also really like these from Ageless Patterns, I’m totally in love with #1181 the blue silk ensemble. 
 

There are also some lovely options at Truly Victorian (shown below). Too many to choose from in fact, it will be a while before I get onto making anything with these fabrics!
   
So with all this luscious booty to choose from, do you have a favourite fabric or pattern?

RSC Trippette

This week I went to visit the costume hire dept at the Royal Shakespeare Company.  How could I not try something on.... Isn't it lush?!

Apparently they don't corset their actresses and just heavily bone the bodices instead, this one had 12mm boning every other centimetre!  If they don't use corsets I am curious to know where they find so many 32"B-25"W actresses since that seemed to be pretty much all that was on the rail! "That Cornelia was just beauuuutiful dahling, but I'm afraid you'll never fit the costume. NEXT!!"

I had this urge to run my hands down every rail of men's costume in the hope that I would stroke something David Tennant had worn... My colleague told me that was desperate.  You still would though, wouldn't you?!

Trials and Tribulations of The Crucible

The last couple of months of my life have been more or less devoted to the design and manufacture of a stock of late 17th century costume for a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

It was no easy feat and involved a lot of man power and time, tears, blood (I came out of it looking like I'd gone several rounds with a lion), my first proper sewing machine injury (sewing through the tip of my middle finger, yep that hurts) and sadly it was not without casualties, two sewing machines broke under the pressure, one of them mine, boohoo! :'(

Still I have learned much along the way, in historical and political terms as well as in crafting and found a new passion for natural dyeing which has been immense fun although frustratingly inconsistent.

The design veered sharply away from artists renditions of monochromatic people in collars and cuffs and embraced the colouring techniques, fibres and fashions that would have been available to the populace of Massachussets in 1692.  From wills, testaments, diaries, court records and social writings I discovered that colour was plenty, the scarlet petticoats, sky blue breeches and jackets, purple cloaks and plenty of tans, browns, beiges and fawns.  This gave me a lovely pallette to work from, defying social convention slightly but allowing for the the theatrical means of alluding to mood and character through colour itself.

The accusing girls all worked on variations of brown and yellow, the maids wore cinnamon (dyed) dresses and they were complemented by copper, lemon, yellows and browns. All the cotton and calico was naturally dyed.  Abigail wore changeable silk (how pleased I was to discover this a fabric is use at the time) in shades of red and green to display her passion, anger, bloodiness and envy. The yellows came from various combinations of onions. Tea was also useful in taking the bleached edge off fabric.

These are rehearsal photos, for the correct look the girls should have  had aprons and collars on and we hadn't got round to finishing boning and lacing the bodices for a more structured look (without having to put the girls into stays).

They are based on Simplicity 3723 Pilgrim costumes which includes a stereotypical Thanksgiving Puritan costume in black and white. The pattern really is just a fancy dress nod to the era, using zips and darts so I ended up redrafting all the bodices.  The new bodice draft had no darts, instead shaped at the side-seams, and the zipper was replaced by a modesty panel and back lacing.  I added a full lining to each gown, the bodice lining was boned at intervals and also into the V of the bodice front to support it. Waist-stays were also used to support the skirts.  The skirts were constructed with a nifty short cut that occurred to me late on evening when reading up on cartridge pleating (the correct period way of gathering your skirt).  I attached together the skirt outer fabric and lining at the top, then stitched on 1 inch curtain header tape along the width, pulled the strings and hey-presto, pleated skirt! Saved a lot of time and tears, especially as the skirts still had to be hand sewn onto the bodices.

Abigail's dress had an extra process to go through as the fabric was taffeta lining, so very fine and needed stiffening up.  To do this I layered 3 pieces of of fabric for each pattern part - a red tulle behind the taffeta lining for stiffness, a red organza layer behind the tulle to add drape, prevent the tulle from showing through and give a softer finish.  The tulle was the last fabric I purchased, I found a bargain on eBay - 5m for £4 including postage.  I was more than dismayed to open the parcel and discover it was fluorescent!  Fortunately the organza did a good job of disguising it and I found the bright colour very cheering as I put this dress together. I was pleased to find that I had little problem with the fabrics on the machine and I actually really like this dress, I want to make it again. The only thing I might do differently is to tack each top fabric piece onto the fabric of the next layer and cut it out that way as I found very rarely did my edges match, especially on the skirt pieces. I wanted to do a similar dress for her cousin, Betty and ordered what was described as a yellow-peach taffeta online as couldn't find one locally.  The fabric that arrived was practically orange and not at all what I expected so the dress got scrapped and she ended up wearing the cotton lining instead as her dress!

It was interesting to discover that the Puritans weren't so much into the wearing of rough and practical clothing as we think.  English-origininating Puritans keenly followed European fashions and their regular sea-trade with the "motherland" brought them fabric, garments and trends from England.  They also believed that social position and wealth was divinely attributed, so if God had bestowed it upon you then you were entitled to wear it.  As was common in that period of history (and still is if we think about it), clothing reflected your social status and your income and by the time of the play, after almost 70 years of industrious occupation, many Puritans had become wealthy. Just as celebrities drive fashion today, the lower classes of Puritan society  became desirous of the fashions and fabrics and court records show numerous people arrested for wearing clothing and silks considered "unsuitable" for their social rank! The upshot of this from a costuming point of view meant it was acceptable to use velvet, silk and satins, lawn and muslin, a little lace and contemporary European fashion as a template.


Keeping up with the colour theme, Elizabeth Proctor was also given green to represent her jealousy and fertility, however her costume took a lot more dyeing in the natural dyes than I anticipated and didn't quite get to its desired finished colour. Her bodice which should have been a rich, rusty brown came out looking decidedly sunny with no time to keep re-dyeing it. In the end a substitute was made for her Act 1 dress for practical reasons.  All couples were colour coded though for the aesthetics and audience benefit. You can almost see the back of John's waistcoat is sunny too.

Elizabeth's Act 2 maternity dress was dyed in red onion meat which produces the most gorgeous green colour on smaller amounts of fabric, on her dress it was almost lime-like but the washed-out green somehow suited her long stay in prison and her jaded character.

It was very hard to find any description of maternity wear so I came up with the best approximation I could based on my research.  It is basically a tent, fitted at the shoulders then flaring out from the bust and side laced tohold it in to start and allowing for expansion. The picture on the right is pre-dyeing.  It is made in calico lined with cotton and is incredibly heavy, I couldn't imagine it being practical at all for a genuine maternity dress but it held a certain charm!

Giles Corey was intended to be a fine looking man, he was a wealthy landowner, but this is not really made clear in the text and the actor's portrayal of him, made him much more suited to the crumpled, scruffy look he ended up.  The lovely variations of tone and grey-brown (dare I say, stone coloured) came from oak gall tannin which takes very little time to impart colour.

All the men's jackets were variations of one pattern, Simplicity 4923, which was the closest I could find in period style.  The gores were left out to make it slimmer in shape and the cuffs were modified or removed entirely.  The sleeve construction is interesting to say the least and took several attempts on the mannequin to work out the correct positioning and method of fitting.  Once it was clear in my head it was very quick and easy to churn these jackets out. The facing proved to be crucial to stop the fronts flipping out annoyingly with this pattern.

 The costumes are all going to be overhauled for use in other productions and these jackets should prove useful.  They were made in an assortment of fabrics, velvet, heavy crepe-satin, cotton sateen and calico and all turned out very well.  The velvet, bought on a strict budget, was stretch velvet (at £2.50pm) and while incredibly frustrating to cut and sew, once interfaced and lined, it looked as good as the pricier stuff.

The waistcoat pattern included in S-4923 was lengthened to jacket length and again was quick and easy to make.  If you use the Simplicity pattern, as a caveat, it came up small on all my actors and needed some length adding too for the taller ones. The judges had interfaced waistcoats made in red/block shot satin lining fabric, one in plain, one in brocade bought for £2 a meter in Walthamstow.  Parris' heavy jersey satin jacket fabric, the copper satin and Abigail's dress silk were also from there at the same incredible price.  The buttons, which are very pretty metal and wooden designs come from my favourite ebay button shop, Pretty-Chinese and around 200 buttons came to just over £20 including shipping.

I must admit I had truly under appreciated Walthamstow Market as a source of fabric and notions such as thread, ribbon and tapes until a spate of recent blogging on other sites and desperation to save money on a tiny budget prompted me to go and check it out.  I know I shall be a regular visitor there now, I am still in awe at some of the amazing fabrics, incredible prices and the friendly sellers there.

I hope you enjoyed another whirl-wind tour of another costume design and production.  I am shifting forward 150 years for the next one to the 1840s to 1860s for a production of The Winter's Tale and then probably a few years more for a Victorian styled theatre experience for Peter Pan, somewhere in between I might get round to finishing off my 1950s garments.  When I get my new sewing machine of course...

Silence usually means asleep or up to no good...

... in the case of Mango who has been creating great mischief and thoroughly enjoying her toddler years.

In my case it means I am hard at work on another production for theatre, same company as before, this time producing Arthur Miller's The Crucible.  After so much research and design I feel like I could write an essay of American Puritanism and debunking the stereotype of the Thanksgiving Puritan.  Needless to say my cast are not monochromatic clones of a iconic misconception but an attempt to replica what they would more likely have looked like, along with a dose of artistic licence for the purpose of illuminating a couple of key characters (I have restrained the artistic licence as much as possible, rest assured).

This has given me much pleasure and a chance to try out a technique of fabric dyeing that I am now in love with - natural plant dyes. I am in the process of stocking up on dye sources, mordants and assistants and getting ready to embark on a dyeing adventure.  I have already spent a pleasant two days just toying with what I had in the kitchen already with very pleasing, and usually surprising results.  I can't wait to share it with you but I have so much to do and so little time it will be a while yet.  I'm just checking in really so y'all remember I exist!

Jumpsuiting for Joy

Oooh, that was a cheesy title but I've been thinking about puns around jumpsuits and overalls for a week or so now after posting about the my jumpsuit pattern addiction. I'm thinking about doing a project later in the year where I will sew jumpsuits from all the patterns I own for them...

I enjoy reading about other people's projects and always contemplate taking on a project but I have to admit to lacking the time and dedication, I'm a classic case for starting sewing projects and then taking years to finish them off (I blame a penchant for over-complicating things and work sewing for getting in my way all too often!). My toddler has also taught me that although I may think I am entitled to free time during my day, if she doesn't feel like allowing it then I can't, no pointing bleating at her that "it's not fair!".

What's far more exciting at the moment though is that my jumpsuit junkie confession has won me another pattern for the collection, courtesy of the very lovely Stacey at sImpetersen. Isn't it cute? I've drafted dungarees for Mango before now so I'm going to use the pattern as a basis for drafting her a spring playsuit, then have a play with it to help create an idea for a playsuit for me that's been in my head awhile as this pattern already looks pretty close to it.

I love the concept behind Stacey's giveaway - "paying it forward".  She put up three patterns because that is what she has won, what a great giveaway theme, so I'm definitely going to follow it, probably as a spring celebration, I think (I can't wait for the arrival of spring, can you tell?!). Stacey already has has another giveaway on which ends tomorrow so pop over to  have a look and enter.  Today is the regular Wordless Wednesday, simply a photograph for inspiration, another lovely idea.


Random Throw Backs

Further to my post about vintage and repro patterns, I am sure many of you will recognise this pattern.

One of my favourite eBay pattern sellers, Oncillakat has this for sale.  Click here if you want a closer look and to see her other patterns, but beware, she has so many lovely vintage patterns at excellent prices you may find your visit separating you from a few dollars!
 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And if you recall that day I found Batman lurking in my fabric stash?

Well I was sent this in an email recently and it made me chuckle!

Happy sewing y'all!

Something Old, Something New(ish)

It strikes me that pattern companies are onto something great with the retro/repro lines they are doing.  I recall reading on the Vogue website that they are always interested in suggestions for patterns to recreate from days gone by (and not just 40s and 50s but favoured 60s and 70s too). You must be willing to part with your pattern for a while so that it may be copied but it is returned and you get  a few freebie patterns in return, not a shabby deal. 

Quite what the criteria for selection is I am not sure, marketability is obviously a list topper, but the patterns all seem to be pretty samey, a selection of 1950's  full-skirts and wiggle dresses with minor bodice and finish differences. But as vintage pattern enthusiasts we know there is a plethora of much desired patterns out there that would surely have us running to pattern shops in droves if they were re-released.  Take this one for example that I was recently outbid on. I adore it, I am a self-confessed jumpsuit junkie. I could draft it myself from a dress jumper bodice and a pair of slacks but the idea of the trousered jumpsuit patten from the '50s, its such a rare item to see. Of course I am disappointed that it won't be gracing my collection, but with the winning bid coming at £36 (yes, that much!) it was never to be!

Simplicity seem to be the only pattern company going the slacks route and a sharp-eyed Debi (My Happy Sewing Place) recently discovered that their 3688 pattern is a bit of a fraud for the original didn't actually have a slacks pattern included, it has been incorporated on the re-release (click link for her post).  Hmm, naughty tactic but good on them, authentic slacks patterns are hard to find, or rather, not so hard to find if you are willing to part with a fair few pounds for them!  So BMV, lets have some slacks and gorgeous 30s louge pyjama pants pretty-please?

Who's drooling with me? Want it? Just £35!

Next on the wish list, 1940s/50s styles swimsuits.  Who wouldn't want to own that pattern? Incredibly feminine, figure flattering and with sufficient coverage to ensure the disguising of hips and thighs and any other bits we swear wobble too much!  The originals always sell well, again they are few and far between. A repro could be just what we need.


One of the most satisfying things as a vintage pattern collector must be coming across a reproduced pattern and thinking "I own that - the original!".  I hear that an original copy of the Walkaway dress (re-released as Butterick 4790) could earn you quite a lot of smackeroos if you came to part with it.  Last week I came across Butterick 6174, a 1999 release of a 50s pattern, it was familiar, I could swear I owned it but I would have remembered it being a retro pattern, so quick stash visit and hello Butterick 6001! Purchased for a bargain £3.11 plus shipping! Of course it is tiny and I will have to grade it up to use it but there-in lies the beauty of the repro pattern, modern multi-sizing! 

You look familiar...

Hello pretty bargain!

A quick visit to the Butterick website made me smile, I also own in original form this cutie:

And very nearly bought this original recently:














So over to you, dear reader.  Which patterns would you like to see in reprint?  Or would you prefer to own the original masterpiece?