There are sober fabrics, fabrics with psychedelic or floral print, plain fabrics, unclassifiable fabrics. And then there are magic fabrics. And that one is one of them. 😉

Our meeting took place during a sale in Agnès B. During these events, the saleswomen replenish regularly the stock of new rolls: I always go back once or twice, watching for opportunities. It is therefore a little by chance, with my baby girl, that I fell on this black velvet, dotted with touches of gilded lurex. I made a small video for you to see its rendering.

I won’t tell you the hysteria with Juliette : we were jumping everywhere, screaming “OH MY GOD IT’S SHINING !!!” “MOM WE TAKE SOME RIGHT ?!?!” And others “THAT’S BEAUTIFUL!”, all under the amused look of the saleswoman, who doubtless wondered if we had our whole head. I believe that a crush for a fabric can only be understood between seamstresses. : D

I immediately saw a Christmas skirt: I didn’t imagine a dress, probably doubtful on a total look. And with the idea that such a piece would be more easily portable everyday thereafter.

But Christmas approaching, I was totally drying on the type of skirt to associate. I wanted something simple to put the fabric in the spotlight. High waist, flared enough, why not a A-line shape? But no pattern kicked me.

I bring the fabric to my teacher to ask her opinion. This is our last class before the Christmas holidays. She thinks like me that a refined line would be more adapted to it. And while I was thinking about a pattern, her answer rang out: “You will take a piece of kraft paper, your criterium and you will trace it by yourself!”

The opportunity was too good to trace my skirt block at last: turning it into an A-line skirt was very easy. A front, a back, darts, all ended by an invisible zipper: ok chick, let’s sew this !

The whole thing was so easy that it allowed me to polish my finishes up : the skirt is fully lined, with a satin lining from Rascol:

The hem of the skirt is finished by satin bias.

By tracing the pattern of the back skirt, I was a little afraid of the result on my pronounced curve: I thought maybe I would have to add a seam on the middle back. My teacher reassured me by guaranteeing that it would not be necessary. And she was right: the back of the skirt is what I prefer!

(If I had been told one day that I would like my butt … thank you Kardashian family anyway!: D)

WELL, the velvet didn’t contain the slightest elasticity, the self drafted pattern was still the safest option: we get a really comfortable, well-fitted skirt on my shapes.

Unique small flat because it’s necessary to find one: I opted for my usual length, 50cms, and in the end it would not have suffered from being a little bit shorter. We will say that I did not want to bug Mr. Papillon at the approach of the holidays. : D

Conclusion : for a first try from my skirt block, I’m rather pleased with the result. The glittery velvet is festive what it takes, and I’ll be able to wear it with pleasure throughout the year. I’m particularly proud of the finishes on this skirt: there are few pieces of which I am 100% satisfied, and this one is part of them !

I wish you beautiful holidays, and be careful on the road for New Year’s Eve. 😉

Everybody’s fine ? In this Advent time, are you holding on? Here I am completely DROWNED, between the gifts to prepare, Juliet’s birthday in a few days, my advent calendar with the little ones and everything else … but hey: as Alice’s rabbit perpetually late , I procrastinate … and still sew me floral stuff. : D

Well, on this one I have a good excuse: I really needed a new black Nettie. My very first opus didn’t fit me any more: too narrow at the shoulders, too tight at the chest. And as I wore it a lot in winter with my high waist skirts, I quickly needed a new one.

Damn, I love this pattern so much. I swear, when you wear high waist skirts, it really changes your life: no more need to tuck in your shirts, it holds perfectly in place. I have often been told that a body is not practical in everyday life: honestly, I never saw the concern to remove and put back 3 snaps. (And Tom keeps laughing like a whale when he sees me squirming to put them in place.: D)

In my summer version, I  modified the shoulder that I found too narrow, but I had failed to modify my sleeve head, reducing it by 2cms. This is done here, and the result, always size 10, is okay.

This cotton jersey, of an incredible quality, was found at Agnes B sale: I had immediately seen my winter Nettie, and how I regret to have only taken 1 meter! Thick, with a nice quality of recovering, it’s really nice to wear. You will see in the next #Scraptastic post how I sewed it to its tiniest scraps ! : D

With always this cute decolleté…

… and small snaps to sew at the crotch.

Conclusion : I would need it in every colors! The next ones will probably be chocolate / long sleeves and white / short sleeves. All that remains is to find the right fabric for, and concerning knit ones, it is never the simplest. Let’s skip to the skirt?

So this one, believe me, you were close not to see it. But must I have the tenacity of a pitbull and the obstinacy of a mule! : D

So I found this scuba at la Plaine market: I was really taken with this print, and bought 2m, thinking to make me a Zephyr dress. And then the chocolate Zephyr went through there, proving me that wearing a 100% synthetic long sleeves dress was not a glorious idea. And it is by finishing my black Nettie that I thought that these 2 would go well together: why not making a Zephyr skirt?

I cut my pieces, sew my skirt, add my belt and oups ! I don’t fit in. Impossible to pass the skirt, even from the top! “What’s happening ???”

I ask myself, look at my pieces, trit in every direction and BIM, the explanation goes up to the brain (yes it took some time to. :D): THE RATE OF ELASTICITY! It is only 15%, and Zéphyr requires at least 30!

But it’s still a pity, I tell myself, because I can put it on, from the top, without the belt. But I’m not going to wear it like that, with an unfinished waist ? Wait… if I cut a facing and finished my skirt, would it be good ?

And yes, it worked !The skirt was saved. 😉

Here, you see it on the inside : nothing very complicated, just sew the fabric on the waist, and do not forget to stitch it on the seam allowances so it holds well in place.

Here you see the skirt in size 38, sewn with 7mm seam allowances, so rather a 38.5. With the hem indicated by the pattern.

Coldy weather right ??? Ah blogging life is still funnier in summer! : D

Conclusion : the Zéphyr skirt is without doubt the fastest garment in sewing history. Finally … when you look at your rate of elasticity! 😀 But I’m happy to have saved this one: the combo with Nettie is pretty and comfy. My teacher helped me to draft my first skirt for Christmas: I hope it will be as comfy as this one! 😉

A good weekend girls, and great holidays to our kids ! 😉

Woven dresses are fine, but let’s be realistic: what I wear most often, and with the most pleasure, are still my knit dresses. Secret pajamas, as the American seamstresses would say! And if there was indeed a dress scheduled for this fall, at the very top of the list, it was indeed a long-sleeved Zephyr. ;

Yes, Zéphyr is perfect but Zéphyr has a small flaw: it does not include a version with sleeves included. It is drafted with plunging armholes : adding sleeve on it, without previous work on the bodice, could be risky. As one works with a knit fabric, the trick is possible, but in the visual the rendering will not be optimum.

Honestly, if I had not followed drafting classes for a year, I would not have asked myself the question and I would have opted for the last born of Pauline Alice, the Aldaia, which is a beautiful knit dress, similar style. But alas, I myself have a small flaw: I am madly in love with Zephyr décolleté. 😀

This V neck, sexy without touching, I find it perfect. I know that for some it’s quite deep, but precisely, that’s what I like. 😉 At 35 years old I finally understood that when you have assets, you have to take advantage of it. 😉

So I started a little work on the bodice. I enlarged the 4 pieces of the bodice, 2 cms, at the shoulders and armholes. So that you visualize the thing better, I took some pictures :

In tissue paper, you see my Zéphyr pieces in size 38, without sleeve. Below, on colored paper, my reworked version. Warning: I do not pretend that this modification is done according to the rules, I tweaked in my corner, without asking my teacher for help. Anyway, on me, it works!

For the sleeves, I simply took my mix between Moneta for the sleeve head, and Wren for ease and length, and it works there too.

For the size chosen, always 38, but sewn with 7mms seam allowances. So rather a 38.5 at the final rendering.

The fabric is a Punto di Roma knit found at the Plaine market. The coupon was over 3m and the seller gave it to me for nothing. I find two defects: one, the composition 100% synthetic makes one sweat a lot. And it has too much drape: it sticks quite a lot and makes the skater’s skirt less in shape than I would have liked. Finally, I know that this dress will still be worn. (what’s magic with knit fabrics: a moderately successful woven make, I know I won’t wear it very often. The moderately successful knit make, I know it will save me regularly , some tired mornings.We can’t fight against knit comfort :D)

3rd V-neck, and this one passed by itself! 😉 There is no to say, exercising always pays.

Conclusion : I’m really happy with the changes on the bodice, which will allow me to be able to redo Zephyr with sleeves, as soon as my road recross a beautiful cotton jersey, a little dense. You think that Santa Claus accepts this kind of orders ??? : D

A beautiful weekend Ladies, and courage in the Christmas preparations ! 😉

Ready for some Scraptastic Sewing ? Hop hop, let’s go, get into the bus ! 😉

Ah this fabric. Believe me, there really was not much left, but I wanted at all costs to sew something for my baby girl in it. I immediately thought about my knife-Swiss Burda pattern, the dress 144 from Burda/May 2014.

Through lack of fabric, I thought about a top version, with 3/4 sleeves. At the time of cutting, BAM, not enough fabric to make the back on the fold. But we do not stop a butterfly motivated like never: I simply added seam allowances and sewed the back in 2 parts.

(Yeah I was really proud of myself.: D)

But it did not last: definitely, the top at the fitting was too short. And then I pulled out my ultimate weapon: the gathered band.

And that’s good! And in addition it gives a very cutie side to the top.

Rolled hem compulsory, and finish with a facing, embroidered flange and button covered for the back.

Cut in size 116, it’s just large enough for Juliette : she will not wear it beyond this winter, but considering what I had left, I’m already happy with the result!

And Juliette likes it very much: she finds it “very cute”. Scraps sewn to the core + Happy Juliet = Happy Mama !

Let’s skip to the Pinafore dress scraps ?

Again, there really was not much left for me. I was thinking about a pants like harem pants for Paul, and during some shopping time in a kids store, BIM, love at first sight for this skirt:

You don’t see it in the photo, but the back of the skirt is cut in 2 parts. And that’s where the idea was: to find a similar pattern, and to simply divide my half-fronts, and my half-backs, so that I could cut them in my scraps !

I chose the Ikatee Cherry skirt: to properly cut my pieces, I took my pattern pieces, delineated the middle of each piece, and traced my line respecting the straight-wire. And it went on my layplan to the nearest millimeter!

My skirt has 8 panels instead of 4, and it works just as well! Just do not forget to add seam allowances before cutting into the fabric. 😉

(This girl is a real sketch.: D)

I opted for the size 6 years, and as with my previous test at Ikatee, it’s a little large, but it does not matter because the belt has an adjustable elastic!

You know, I’m a fan of this detail in kids clothes, and I was thrilled to find this option here. And of course, my baby girl asked for a heart printed lining ! ❤

It is finished with Prym snaps, same as Rosari ones.

Conclusion : in truth I’m sad I didn’t sew the same for me !!!! 😀 I LOVE her skirt! 😀 If my road crosses suedine or babycord one day, I know what I will have to do. ;

A beautiful end of day girls, take care of you! ❤

If you knew how long I dreamed of a wrap dress. When my drafting teacher, at the beginning of the school year, asked me if I wanted to plunge myself into a complicated project right away, or, to draft me a little desire, to get back on my feet … believe me, it did not take me more than 10 seconds to get this sketch out.

One can be inspired by a fabric, by the lines of a pattern: here it was a bit of the 2. I wanted a wrap dress, but without knowing the details. And it was by touching this microfiber from Bennytex that the evidence was: I imagined a fluid dress, a very flared skirt, an elasticated waist. A dress in which I can feel feminine, but at the same time feeling comfy. With sleeves, to be able to wear it in any season.

To do it, I took my basic bodice. I added ease to get the elasticated waist, shortened the bodice and drawn the wrap-around, as well as a belt. I took the sleeves of my basic dress. Concerning the skirt, I took again my half circle skirt made on my measurements, which I enlarged so that it sticks to this wider size.

A quick toile of the bodice validates the drafting : I start to sew the dress. Wishing the back as clean as possible, I line my front and back on the bodice. According to the advice of my teacher, to prevent the crossed faces from relaxing to use, I sew a thin ribbon on my neckline.

I take the time to sew my lining at the armholes, to have no visible seam. And when it was time to sew my bodice to the skirt and belts (also lined): big black hole. I did the stupidity of any beginner in drafting pattern class: I drafted without thinking about the assembling, and find me with a hangdog look in front of my work. I spent hours there, dreaming at night, sewing, seam ripping, sleeping with my pieces of toile (true story) and ended up asking my teacher for help.

That day I’m slightly febrile, my teacher tired, and we are unable to cope with it. She proposes to give her the dress during the Halloween holidays : she will study it again with head rested and we will talk about it at the return … where I find her with this file under the arm.

A real technical file, which she took the time to write, for me, on my dress: as in any workshop, with a real range of assembling, technical symbols, and everything …

Wow. Believe me, I was flabbergasted. It is a document that I will keep safe, for the assembly of my dress evidently, but especially as a beautiful memory. Time is something precious, and she has been able to consecrate it to me, which touched me very much. Thank you again Chantal. ❤

And in fact, the assembly was super easy ! We had been disconcerted by the layers: but in the end, we just had to sew them in sandwich, between the 2 belts. Here is the dress on the wrong side, for you to visualize.

The magic of this dress is largely in the fabric used: you know, I rarely buy fabric on the internet. But this summer, when I discovered this print on Bennytex’s Instagram, my heart missed. These butterflies, these colors, I could NOT miss this fabric. And at reception, I was not disappointed: very fluid, not transparent, it was perfect for this project.

The dress is exactly as I imagined: the cleavage, the short and dancing skirt are feminine details, but the elasticated waist makes it easy to wear everyday.

Unique small problem that you can see in the photo above, my chest goes back slightly the waist on the front. For the next one I will need to retrace the waist of my front bodice by lowering the middle of 2 cms.

Conclusion: I believe that one can read in me like an open book, and just see these photos to guess what I think of this dress. ❤ I am happy with my drafting pattern job, delighted with the result, and I know there will be little sisters: why not in this beautiful ruby red polyester that sleeps in my stash ?❤

Wish you a good week, take care ! ❤