Ohé! La Chemise / Ahoy! The Shirt Simplicity 7082

La transformation de Nicolas sera bientôt complète! 

Rien de super spécial pour la chemise tachée au thé, j'ai changé les manchettes pour me rapprocher de celles de Jack mais surtout, j'ai utilisé la méthode de montage de Kathleen Fasanella pour monter le col et les poignets et je ne la remercierai jamais assez. En faite, j'aimerais ça qu'elle écrive un livre pour nous les  couturières du dimanche intitulé genre : "Bidouillez vos patrons pour avoir des résultats professionnels" ou "1001 trucs de pro" ou "En direct du plancher de l'usine". 

Regardez, c'est presque parfait et ça s'est fait en une seule passe (la deuxième c'est pour faire plus solide vu qu'il va se battre avec). 

Kathleen, je vous aime!

Nicolas' transformation is almost complete!

There's nothing very special about the tea stained shirt, except that I changed the sleeve cuffs to make them more Jack-like. I have used Kathleen Fasanella's method for mounting the cuffs and the collar. I'll never be able to thank her enough. In fact, I would love her to write a book for home seamstresses titled something like : "Professional Tips from the Factory Floor" or "1001 Professional Sewing Tips For Sewing Enthusiasts" or "Modify Your Patterns and Sew Like a Pro".

Will you look at this? It's almost perfect and was done in one take (the second one is to make sure the cuffs don't come out in the sword fights). 

Kathleen, I love you!

:: verypurpleperson :: love

Encore un :: verypurpleperson :: !

C'est pas de ma faute, c'est le sac favori de toute mes copines! Celui-ci a été fait avec des bouts de coton rouge offert par Suzanne et le très joli polyester à pois que j'ai trouvé cet été. La seule modification a été d'ajouter 10cm aux anses parce que ma copine est très grande. Je l'aime beaucoup et j'ai été triste de le voir partir... je vais peut-être devoir m'en faire un, mais pas avant d'avoir fini mes cadeaux de Noël.

Another :: verypurpleperson:: ! 

It just happens to be my girlfriends' favorite bag, it's not my fault! This one was made with some red cotton that was in Suzanne's stash and the really cute polka dot I picked up this summer. The only modification I made was to add 10cm to the handles because my friend is really tall. I really like it and was sad to see it go... I might have to make one for myself, after I have made my Christmas gift.

L'Élève Douée / The Talented Student

Gwen est venue coudre le tissu qu'on a choisi lundi dernier.
Gwen n'avait jamais cousu auparavant et elle est ressortie avec ce joli sac, une version améliorée du cabas en Cuben Fiber que j'ai fait récemment. Gwen est maintenant accro et comme elle a plein d'idées, sa maison est impeccablement décorée, il est possible que j'aie créé un monstre ou que j'aie perdu une cliente potentielle, au choix. Maintenant je comprends pourquoi Gertie aime tant enseigner.
Quoi qu'il en soit, on a passé une super journée.
Vous remarquerez le scotch bleu sur la machine, c'est pour repérer la marge de couture et coudre droit. C'est une super truc pour les débutantes.

Gwen came over to sew the fabric we chose together last Monday.
Gwen had never sewn anything before and she came out of the house with this beautiful bag which is an improved version of the Cuben Fiber tote I made a while ago. I may have created a monster, Gwen has impeccable taste and lots of ideas, you should see her house, or I have lost a potential customer.
Whichever, we spent a great day. I understand why Gertie gets such a kick out of teaching!
Did you notice the blue tape on the machine? It's a great way to give a visual cue to beginner sewers,

The Draft

I am making a sloper! My drafting books out and I am making two skirt from scratch.
Skirt 1 : I signed up for Petit Main Sauvage draft-along with the intention to make some Holiday dress and I need some practice.
I have some misgivings about spending 25-30 hours on a dress I won't wear much though, like this one, worn only twice. I love to make them, I don't wear them. I would rather make that jumpsuit with the mystery tweed that I fondle in secret. I would wear a jumpsuit, for sure.
This means I would have to draft some pants and well, I don't understand pants.
Maybe I should talk to Lauriana about that, she makes good pants.

Skirt 2 : My friend Sonia is very tall, has a small waist and wide hips and can't find skirts that fit in stores and she has been pestering me to make skirts for her.
So here I am, paper, ruler, scissors, Skype. What? Sonia is in Paris and I am not so she took her measurments, I made a muslin and last week we had a Skype fitting which I thought was really funny. Conversation was really strange : "turn, turn, pinch, sit, mmh! back up" and the video is better kept private, but it is possible to fit someone this way.
I have to thank Marina at Frabjous Couture who wrote a neat blog post about grainline fittings on BurdaStyle. It helped a lot.
The mission is to make two low waist knee length pencil skirts with a slit in the back so we can both come out of a car with elegance, without having to pull our skirts down.

I made some adjustments to the pattern yesterday and redrafted, I'll be sending a more complete toile on Monday, we should then know if this is working. I messed up the maths on mine and I can't sit!
Did you know that if you tape 2 Pip Squeaks together, you get a 5/8 seam allowance? Smile!