Black Leather Rock Dress

Well, I am proud of this one! I wore it yesterday for the first time, and was having serious doubts about its fit duiring the first hours, but fortunatelly, the leather behaved as it should, and made room for my boobs to fit in, jeje... and specially my midrif.

Some time ago I made this in a polileather version, which was very nice aesthetically, but impossible to wear due to its unbreathability. I was soaked in my own sweat after a concert inside it, so after studing how to properly work with real leather -Don Morin's course on Craftsy, and Sterlacci's wonderful (but lacking, the actual construction steps for the three pieces lack important imformation, like for example, how to held pices together as you machine sew them) book. I found a couple of wonderful websites from the south of Spain that sell nappa leather at a reasonable price, and the product they sent me was quite a good quality leather.
For the pattern, I took my old plastic dress apart, cutting carefully the right side of the dress without seem allowances, and drawing it in the leather wrong side with a pen. I cut it and started directly sewing pices togeter, after apllying some surgical cloth tape to prevent the pieces form stretching in the machinne. After sewing each seam, you have to glue seam allowances open with special glue for leather, and finish them seams with a rubber hammer.
I used the underlining, a black cotton/spandex replica of the dress to make the neck opening and arm holes facings, leaving the shoulders till the end of the process. The dress has bust and back skirt darts, and also a zip in the back. That was difficult to handle, but I endured!
The fitting problem came because I did not have the stretch quality of the faux leather version into the equation (argh!). Since I could not baste it to have a first fit, I could only give it 1 cm more from the seam allowances at breast level, in the sides. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, the dress gave and gave with the warmth of my body, and it really felt like a glove at the end of the evening, and not like a cage, which was my feeling at the begining. But well, leather stretches naturally, and it is breathable, nice and sweet, and at the same time tough and issolating from outer conditions. I really love leather. I'll never use faux leather agian, it is just not  for me, ooops!
This, sewing with leather, was my main aim this 2014 sewing year, and I am proud of learning it with it, but I still have a jacket in tow...

Stretch Cotton Pants

I am proud to present my last work: the hipster trousers! This is my own pattern, I drew the pattern from Aldrich's book and this is the second rendition, the first being my last summer shorts. I am quite happy with the result, the pants are comfortable to wear and the pattern is really good. The only "but" would be the wrinkling quality of the fabric (but of course I hate artificial fabric, and cotton wrinkles). Nothing that can't be solved by some hours of just hanging them. I will make them in black, that's for sure.

Here I am wearing them with an embroidered cotton wrap blouse I made a couple of years back (from Burda if I don't remember wrong), and by beautiful Pretty Ballerinas, which are so confortable I could wear them to the end of the world. 

Mauve Jersey Top

This is another version of my "Universal T-shirt" pattern, which I find so useful because of its raglan sleeves, as I've said in numerous occasions. In this case, I just added lots of ease, specially in the sides, and made a big neck cut.
 I sewed a bias stripe in the neck as facing, and in turning it inside, I decides it looked better if I left some visible part as a trim to the neck. The sleeves and hem are folded in themselves and machine zig-zagged. Very comfortable and nice design.

 

 I sewed a bias stripe in the neck as facing, and in turning it inside, I decides it looked better if I left some visible part as a trim to the neck. The sleeves and hem are folded in themselves and machine zig-zagged. Very comfortable and nice design.

Corduroy Trousers For My Man

Hello!

This is my third reproduction of the same pattern, and not the last, since it is just perfect, and my husband has had the same body shape since I met him almost 20 years ago (and the same hair, doesn't a girl know how to pick a husband? jeje!!).
The most characteristic about these trouser might be the self enclosed seams. The constructions process I follow is the following:
-First, cut the different pieces and sew some tailor tucks in the superior part. In the legs, I simply cut 2 cm seam allowance (I know the are the right fit).
- Cut the back darts and seam. Self-enclose it.
- Sew the front middle seam and self enclose it.
- Construct the fly, with its zipper and all.
- Make the pocket bags and the pockets.
- Unite the front and the back. Sew the inner leg seam, and self enclose it.
- Sew the side legs seams and self enclose them. Those are so unconfortable to machine stitch, because we are sewing inside the legs... but it is worth it. Just try to pull the seam as you sew, to sew it flat.
- Put the waist band, with the belt tabs.
- Finish securing the tabs.

I wanted to show you some important details, this time. The trousers are for work (Carlos is a postman), and he is a pocket breaker because he uses his pockets lots of times everyday. So, this time, after having learnt my lesson, I reinforced the joining part where the pocket meets the side seam (a critical spot), with some fusible interfacing and lots of machine stitches, with strong thread.

Have a look at the pocket bag, also reinforced with machine zigzag, and the zipper. Note also the belt tabs. Carlos is quite picky about those, and after many errors in my past, I've managed to make them perfect for him.

Blue Leather Clutch

I love leather. All my shoes (except for Converse's) and bags are leather. Being a expensive material, I rather have less and made of leather than lots of cheaper and uncomfortable versions. For bags, it is a question of feel and look but for shoes, it is definitely a matter of comfort. Experience tells me my skin hates plastic.
So, I am so happy to have learnt to make my own bags, I encourage all of you sewers to learn the trade and give it a try. Leather is not expensive if we look for remnants (a small piece will suffice for a bag) and we have a ton of possibilities in the kind of leather, the colour and the design, which combined, give us a myriad of models at a very cheap price if we compare it with the prices leather bags have in stores.
After the White Leather Bag I made last fall, and following what I learnt with Don Morin, I made my second project in leather, and I am really happy with the result.

First, I made a mock-up with felt, only to realize the real bag should be 5 cm wider, and that the lining should cover the zipper.

Secondly, I constructed the lining (and I forgot to interface it, damn! According to Morin, the leather will stress the lining by friction and will ruin it with time. If that happens, I will have to remove it and replace it, but now it is too late).

After preparing the machine for leather sewing and testing it with a piece of the leather first, I sewed the zip to the rotary cut leather. I passed the thread tails to one side and knotted them up.

Hand stitch the lining (folding the hem 1 cm inwards) to the zipper.

I sewed the sides of the clutch together, including the lining in them. I cut the leather seam allowances to 1 cm, cropping the corners, and sewed the lining enclosing them.

Turn the bag over to the right side.

Make the handle with a 5 cm strip of leather overlapped in itself, so that we machine-stitch the layers of leather together (for this leather is thick enough, and hurray for my machine). Pass a small leather strop through the zipper hole and glue it inside the handle. Finally, make a small leather belt to encase the top of the handle and hand stitch it tight.

I am wearing it tonight!!!

A Skirt For My Hasbeens!

Hello!












Has it ever happened to you that you believe in the utter need of possessing some pair of shoes, as if they were ABSOLUTELY necessary in your wardrobe (the more expensive, the more necessary they are) and when you get them, you don't know what to wear them with???






















I am kind of familiar with the experience! And that is precisely the case with my winter Swedish Hasbeens (it also happened to me in the summer). I saw them online, and they were a PRIORITY in my life. At least I found them cheaper in the US, even if that meant involving my friend living there to receive them, try them on, show them to me via Skype, and send them to me. But they were more the 50% cheaper! I was extasic when I got them for Christmas.
Then I could only wear them with one dress (or with jeans and black), so I started to look for clothes to go with them, and I found this light maroon wool, perfect for them.














I used my long skirt pattern, making it shorter and dividing it in two pieces. Then, I added some pleats in the center front and back to give it  more moevement and grace. I applied fusible interfacing in the upper parts and lined all of it. 
It matches my shoes to perfection!

The skirt has a marked fold after sitting all day at school with it. And being pure wool, I cannot wash it...

Aren't they beautiful??? I am in LOVE with this shoes, man!

Jacket a la Chanel

It's been a long time since I posted a finished project, because this was a long one. I enjoy the well done pieces, and this is the quintessential slow sewing project.
Many years ago, back in the 80s when I was very young I sew a "Chanel style" suit, green with black trims. It was very successful, but I would like to have a closer look now to see how I've learnt since then, and be proud at myself.
So, a Chanel jacket... or a couture jacket, as C. Shaeffer likes to call it. I bought this book from The Book Depository (great place!)
 Although it is a beautiful book and a learnt a lot with it, it has some omissions, like for instance, collars, facings, and trimmings applied in between, to name some examples.

I followed most the techniques suggested in the book, although I omitted or changes some.
For example, I used my own pattern. I drew it from the tailored jacket with a two-pieces sleeve. The fit was very good, but I had to modify some important parts (and I was disappointed at that). For example, it has too much ease all around, the sleeves were too full in their heads, and the shoulders were too big. I needed somebody to help me fitting the toile (thanks my auntie Marité, an expert seamstress). I definitely need a mannequin if I want some autonomy, specially with sleeves. I now see my clothes form years past and I cannot believe I was able to accept such horrible sleeve fitting.
I've made some pictures of the process, wanna have a look?

Basting the jacket pieces together, after having quilted the lining to every piece. This proves a gruesome task, ironing the pieces together having the lining there in the middle, but the result is worth it, The quilted lining gives structure and support to the soft wool fabric.

Although it was not mentioned in Shaeffer's book, I decided to sew some cotton strips into the shoulder seam to prevent it from sagging. Seen now, maybe it is not necessary, since the jacket is held in place but the quilted lining. Notice the fusible interfacing in the front panel. This is a more practical choice, and the results are excellent, I love fusible interfacing. I applied it to the sleeves and jacket hems as well, as suggested in the book.

Sewing the lining together by hand, avoiding to sew it into the fabric. Of the two techniques suggested in the boo, the "kissing" is easier to do, the lapped more beautiful, in my opinion.

The sleeve is basted and rebasted after a couple of fittings, and finally sewn by hand with backstitches. I loved this! It is easier to control the ease and to shape it.

 Previously, we must give shape to the sleeve head with the iron, also a wonderful technique with excellent results. I marvel at this technique of easing with steam.

Here I am sewing the lining at the sleeve. At this point I felt so happy, seeing the end was near.

 After much testing I decided to make my own double fringe and then apply a navy trim in the middle sewn it by hand, as Shaeffer suggested. But then my auntie told me it would have been better with the machine to keep it from unraveling (too late). Well...

Preparing the lining edges with pins...

...and sewing the lining very close to the edge with fell stitches (my favourite hand stitch)

I decided to use zippers in the front closing and in the sleeves, I see it more modern and less formal (and avoid the hand sewn buttonholes, jeje...)

Finally I made two small pockets without trim. For their practicality.

Coco Chanel liked to make coordinated blouses and since she is my inspiration I made this top to go with the jacket, in a lovely indigo jersey. It is my eternal universal T-shirt pattern, always perfect.

After finishing this project, having studied some of Chanel's jacket designs, I can only state my admiration. I know she had more than 300 employees, a couture jacket or suit cost thousands, she owned millinery and notions factories and had access to the best fabrics, but still, she started out of nowhere, and she was brave enough to change fashion for women in a radical sense. Her imagination in embellishment, the extense use of different techniques, the originalitly of her designs... are amazing.