Jess is the mistress of all things prim. Another of her phase that we all have to live with ... :) I gathered some essential prim (dare I not?) items like crushed walnut shells, heavy muslin and a metal clamp make-do. I also stitched a mug rug for her (my current craze). The pineapple stitchery is a freebie design by
Sue Allemand. Being the cat lover that she is, I knew I had to get her this kitty card. These are prints by a talented local artist
Emila Yusof.
Another mug rug but this time for Margaret W. The cross stitch is a freebie design by
Plum Street Samplers. I changed the chart a little with MW's DD as the elder and her DS as the baby! Stitched on Lugana 28ct evenweave with DMC floss. The fabric is from a honeybun called Make Life by Sweetwater for Moda. Sorry about the pictures being a little dark despite being rather sunny outside. I think I need to tweak some manual settings and see how that goes.
I bought this book without knowing that it wasn't REALLY couture. The techniques really looked impressive and quite polished to my untrained eye. Ann of
Gorgeous Fabrics panned it just a few days after I got my copy :( Nevertheless it's really useful to me and I don't think I want to aim for real couture sewing as such although it is always good to know what's out there (famous words by Mulder). I would be happy with meticulously made RTW (Ready to Wear) garments.
This is the start of
Burda 8218. I chucked this fabric aside as it was too sheer almost like organza. The fabric was Glace by Three Sisters for Moda. My friends say I could use a spaghetti T or a lacy camisole inside the blouse ... we'll see. I've cut another piece or white cotton fabric since, this time thicker.
I tried Hong Kong seam for the shoulder seams using the discarded organza like fabric. I think I better stock up on some satin bias tape or some viscose lining. Sure would be prettier and more comfy. And it saves a trip to the shop to serge it before attaching the collar.
I used the couture dart method as described in the book. I needed to sew 6 darts for this blouse. I am also using that same organza fabric as the interface for my facings. I have not got the silk organza that it widely used in replacement of interface. I need to make a trip to the fabric stores to get some essentials soon. The instructions for the Burda 8218 leaves a lot to be desired and for a newbie like me it zapped all the little brain power I had. It was a rather mentally exhausting weekend. For a more finished front facing I used
Sunni's tutorial, which is very clever.
To soothe my tortured grey cells, I worked on
Mary Glover, still some catching up to to. I had to unpick 'FINISHED THIS MARCH' as I used the wrong colour floss :( It's now corrected. When it rain it pours? That's how the weather has been here in KL for some days. There's a mini storm every evening starting at 4 pm. The lightning show is just above my roof!
Some clowning around with the T block. It's a 3" block, a little too small for my liking but I think I may make another 3 just to convert it into a potholder? I saw this just the night before on
Taryn's blog. I used
this instructions. I am using Kona's Rich Red and a white muslin.
