Inspired Sewing and Spring Coat Progress Report

I really like the trend of brocade clothes - dresses, skirts, jackets..., you name it. Since seeing Abbie Cornish in this gold Yves Saint Laurent skirt in one of the recent Marie Claire (US) issues, I was thinking about making one like that. I am not sure if the skirt she's wearing is a brocade one and I see there are fringes which I don't envision in my version, but it was inspirational enough to look for a similar fabric.

Other inspirations:

 Simply Vera Vera Wang

 Alexander McQueen

So I am happy I've got this piece of brocade fabric into my possession and I will turn it into a skirt inspired by the pictures above. I especially love it styled with a simple white shirt. The fabric was a remnant, but one big enough (1,6 m) to make something else out of it to match the skirt as well.

But before I even start with something else, I need to finish the trench that I started to sew ages ago. I lost some precious sewing time with unpicking all the seams that kept the sleeves attached to the trench's body (they were already serged and all :-/), because the shoulder seems ended up to be just too long and the sleeves were set in too wide. Of course, I should have seen that before sewing and serging them in, but, oh well, it was just too late to cry over the spilled milk. 

The outer shell as well as the lining are finished now, the collar (with a stand) is attached to where it belongs and the lining is attached to the outer shell in some places. I'll see how much time I'm going to have this week, but I'd like to have it (at least nearly) done by Wednesday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Have a great upcoming week :-)! 

Mid-week Ramblings

There was some sewing going on during the past weekend in our apartment and the Spring coat begins to look more like a trench than a fabric puzzle, but there is still a lot to be accomplished. 

The reason why I didn't have more time to sew was our trip to Vienna (Austria) and that's where I've discovered a great fabric/sewing notions shop (in fact, there are three shops of this one owner, but I've only been to this one so far).

The thing is, that although I live in the capital city of our state, it is not a big city and there are only very few shops with fabric and sewing notions (and this rule can be applied to many other areas of life). Soo, since Vienna is only about 55 km from where I live (my city lies on a state border), we quite often happen to look for things we need/want there, if it's not possible to find here. That's how I stumbled upon this shop (www.Komolka.at). 

It's got two floors and these are full of beautiful fabric, satin ribbons, buttons, sewing patterns, threads, needles, etc. I didn't mean to buy any fabric, but you might already guess how it all ended up. I was quite overwhelmed by the supply (the next time I go there I am having a plan :-D) so I bought only four pieces of fabric (everything remnants). Three of them are not really outstanding in comparison to all the other fabrics there, but I really like them. The next time - when I know what I am looking for, I'll get something I'll need for particular projects. 

The shop has a great supply of special occasion fabrics (including bridal fabrics) and since I've been overly fascinated by evening gowns and dresses lately, I bought a piece of an evening gown fabric as well. There were no labels with the content of these fabrics.

The one special occasion fabric is a beautiful royal blue fabric (the remnant has 2 meters) - satin circles sewn on a sheer base (the picks don't do it justice)...

I envision it transformed in something like this:

pictures from www.pronovias.com

The other three fabric remnants (if 2 meters of fabric can be called a remnant...) are of an unknown content as well - the first two being sheer, the last one a stretch material / knit. I see them turned into a tunic and summer dresses.

As I was saying - these days I am in LOVE with evening gowns. I am fascinated by the fact, that someone is able to make something so spectacular as a beautiful evening gown / wedding dress from a flat piece of fabric. I'd love to learn that - at least to that point to which it is possible to learn "at home". I am not saying I have the time to do that right now, but I definitely do want to master it one day :-). So while surfing on the net and admiring all the great dresses I came along these patterns that caught my eye and that have finally found a way to my pattern stash:

Some elements of Vogue 1701 remind me of these beautiful dresses...

pictures from www.pronovias.com

... Vogue 1853 reminds me of this fantastic number by Elie Saab:

picture from www.pronovias.com

... and Vogue 2904 makes me think of this wedding dress:

picture from www.pronovias.com

OK, I don't think I'll be able to create these fantastic dresses any time soon :-), but I girl can have a dream, so let's pretend that the patterns, their instructions and a certain amount of determination can be a point to start from :-)...

Have a great week :-)! 

Progress Report

I am still working on the McCall's 2252 trench. I wouldn't call it a continuous process, since I didn't sew a single stitch the last week - I was abroad for four days and had no time to sew. Then yesterday, I traded a couple of hours of the pre-midnight sleep for sewing and what I've got so far is this:

The sleeves are not attached yet, nor the collar, but I've finished the lining so now it needs to be sewn to the outer shell. I am also thinking about shortening the coat a bit. I think it runs a bit too long, looks longer than in the picture (McCall's 2252, view E) to me. 

I hope the next sewing "session" or two will be enough to finish the trench. As it is getting its shape slowly, I am starting to be curious what the finished garment will look like :-).

Have a nice week and happy sewing :-).