Ignoring Lessons

Do you remember when you were young and you were anxiously trying to get your important (probably only to you) point across, and the (usually older) person you were speaking to interjected with something really profound and apparently wise, to which you nodded politely but glossed over because you were so desperate to say what was on your mind? And then later, possibly even years later, you go through heaps of hassle and annoyance by creating a load of mistakes that really could have been avoided if you’d actually heeded what it was that that person was trying to tell you after all?

OR, maybe you have acquired yourself an honestly earned set of experiences that become relevant when faced with a new situation, that you gut is urging you consider but you doubt them and forge ahead with the course that you are being instructed to take anyway?

OR, you know that you really should investigate and begin to apply methods that have been deployed by many generations before you, but in the heat of passion that fuels the initiation of a new project, you can’t bring yourself to hit the pause button and get yourself learned, to the detriment of your project? A bit like sticking your fingers in your ears and saying ‘La la laaaaa’ loudly, hoping all will be well anyway?

Well, who knew that taking on this vintage shift dress pattern would touch upon all (and more) of the above of life’s anomalies?! Not I! And yet....

Something that I’m pretty sure I have heard roughly 347 times before via my mum and other wise dressmaker owls, but that I had to discover for myself, the more simple a garment appears, the more difficult it is to create a good fit. When a style has pleats and tucks and frufru all over the shop to distract the eye, the less important it is to create a well balanced garment. I thought this pattern, of unknown date (though I’m guessing maybe 1973?), which I scored for very little from ebay would be a doddle to run up. Despite this, I managed to stave off boldly attacking my fabric and rustled up enough patience to lay the pattern out before hand and compare it to both my beloved Simplicty 3835 AND my own personal bust measurement. I gleaned the comparative information and then promptly threw it out of the window, perhaps in the odd belief that the pattern makers working approximately four decades ago knew more about my body shape and desired fit than me. I guess I find it hard to trust my own, limited but relevant, experience.

To cut a long story short, a fair amount of unpicking, recutting and restitching occurred, resulting in this flawed but wearable outcome. I love the fabric which I pounced on when I saw it. It’s some type of synthetic blend that my mumma got me when she came to visit. It was nice to work with, and has a certain amount of stretch which I think was a mixed blessing. Aside from the general shape, I think the main flaw is the sleeve, as they don’t sit in the armholes very cleanly. Now I reckon this could either be due to A) the fabric having more ‘give’ in it than most wovens, B) something strange I did either setting in the sleeve or when recutting the armholes closer in to improve the garment fit, C) the sleeve pattern includes too much ease, or D) the instructions which tell you to ease in the excess between the front sleeve head notch to back sleeve head notch, rather than from two points much closer like I’ve come to expect. Or a combination of the above. Answers on a postcard. On both the front and back of the sleeves, strange pulls or bulges are visible, but seeing as I’m not sure what the fault lies, I can’t approach correcting them, so tend to squint when looking at those bits. I find squinting makes things less visible. Sometimes they pretty much disappear altogether. Try it sometime.

On the plus side, the shape of the sleeves is a departure for me and is pretty cute. The awesome (vintage?) buttons were a recent birthday gift from my amazing homegirl Silvia, which I applied to create a mock bib effect, and I think they add a really cute and unexpected element to the dress. The dress itself is very comfy (I wore it all day last Sunday. I cannot ABIDE wearing anything on a Sunday that doesn’t have a high level of comfort). Plus, it is plain enough to be rocked with any of my gradually expanding range of colourful opaque tights.

At Colette Patterns this week: 'Get the Notions'

My second post for the Colette Patterns blog is a sneaky peek at the fascinating and often antiquated Haberdashers here in Barcelona. My experience of the these simultaneously intimidating and alluring establishments can be read here, should you fancy a gander.

At Colette Patterns last week: ‘Martí’s Method’: Pattern Making in 1929

My first post for the Colette Patterns blog was published last week. The post features a fantastic pattern cutting book which was published in Barcelona in 1929, that had been saved from the jaws of death. We also listen to what the self-appointed pattern guru/author has to tell us about the pattern cutting's state of play in the late 1920's, and have a squiz at some of the beautiful illustrations. Just so you know.

Zoe ♥'s Colette

I know I've previously mentioned how much I love the independent dress pattern company Colette Patterns, but in case you forgot, I love it masses. It’s not only because they produce patterns for beautiful garment styles that exude a subtle vintage feel. Or simply because the booklets and patterns themselves have been painstakingly created from scratch by a real person who’s clearly put their heart into each step of the process. Or that the whole shebang perpetuates the concept of an anti-corporation based economy (well it does to me). Or because they have a stunning website that is crafted and maintained by the creator of the actual patterns, which makes the whole thing really personal (unlike the monolithic faceless and unapproachable pattern companies we are used to dealing with). Or EVEN because the website has a fabulous blog which oozes inspiration through posts related to sewing, fabric and style. It is a combination of the above.

Ok, so now that that’s clarified, let me tell you about two of my favourite elements of the blog. Firstly I really like the posts where they show real sewers’ interpretations of the Colette patterns. It’s so interesting to see people’s different visions that result in such different looking garments which are essentially the same style. My version of the Beignet skirt was featured in this post. I also love this version of the Macaron dress, and this version of the Parfait dress.

Secondly, I really like that I am now a guest blogger on the Colette Patterns blog! Yes indeed, I will be contributing one post a week. I’ll add a link from my blog here each week to keep anyone who’s interested up to speed. I really like my introduction here which I may adopt as my personal mission statement/manifesto!

Brokeback Balcony

Just because I haven’t touched upon the subject yet here on my blog, don’t go thinking I don’t have much of stance on men’s style. Personally, I generally prefer guys in casual attire. As a rule I am left untouched (so to speak!) by your stereotypically appealing men in uniforms, or the suited and booted types. One of the looks I really like for guys is Western shirts, of the type modelled above by the boys from the band Calexio. Thanks guys, lookin’ good there!

With my then forth coming Pin-up/50’s Rockabilly birthday party planned, I decided to extend my sewing reach into menswear and make my boy a Western inspired shirt. I love this black shirt with white contrasting topstitching combo featured in the picture above. I used the Jakob men’s shirt pattern on Burdastyle as a base, encouraged by some of the fantastic variations made by other members, particularly the short sleeved interpretations. Matching up one of his existing shirts, I decided to make the smallest size of the pattern.

I drafted a new Western style yoke piece with the obligatory points on the back and front. Altered patch pockets with pointy pocket flaps were also the order of the day. Then basically it was topstitch-ageddon! Luckily my vintage button stash provided me with some pearl effect buttons which, although not actual authentic Western-style poppers/snaps, look damn near the same and really brought the whole garment together.

Result: the fit was pretty good but still ended up a little bigger than I intended. I’d like to make a closer fitting version in the future. Also, the sleeves could have been a little smaller. I’ll try and address that next time too. But I was really pleased with the overall outcome and will definitely make some more versions of this pattern in the future. My boy loved it and looked awesome with his matching handle bar moustache, his inner Rockabilly sufficiently outted!

Hairpins and Pin-up Hair!

One of the best parts of the day/evening of my birthday party was (as is so often the case) the getting ready session with my ladies Ez and Vic. To create suitably pin-up hairstyles, we turned to the wonders of YouTube for some tutorials and advice. In case you’re interested in adding a dose of Pin-up into your own style; allow me to share with you some of the best videos we uncovered.

First up, for creating a mean-ass ‘Pompadour’, check out this girl. (Worthy of note: the confession that she hasn’t washed her hair for two or three weeks! Allegedly this is in an attempt to preserve her hair colour. Last time I checked, hair dye really wasn’t that expensive.)

This Liv Tyler look alike creates a similar look, but is very keen to emphasise how simple the process can be, by only actually using her fingers. (Worthy of note: the voiceover has been added after, and her self-critical ‘Yeah, I really should have done that again’ which she repeated over and over really made me laugh.)

Now for a more 40’s/early 50’s interpretation of the ‘Pomp’. (Worthy of note: if you can bring yourself to watch this video without having to mute the annoying soundtrack, you’ll catch her more-than-slightly sinister threat to ‘Track you down and kill you’ if you succeed in creating this hairstyle during your first attempt!).

I liked this video as it addressed the issue of creating a Pin-up hair style if you already possess a rather dashing fringe (bangs, as US peops would prefer). (Worthy of note: her strange obsession with the quality of daylight, and the rose hair slide that keeps hanging down comically.)

Our hairstyling session went like this: (Worthy of note: the gin and tonic on the side, which was the first of many which culminated in me vowing (and so far actuating) a month-long self-imposed drinking ban).

The results:

Once you’ve uncovered your Pin-up alter ego, I think you’ll be hooked. Or should that be pinned?

Happy Birthday to Me !!!!!!!!!!

At the end of October I found myself in the unavoidable circumstance of turning thirty. The week and a half long celebrations culminated in a shebang that, never one to turn down the opportunity of a dressing up sesh, I decided to have a Pin-up girl/50’s Rockabilly themed dress code. Inspired by some incredible looking ladies I saw at the tattoo convention I recently attended, a good ol’ internet search helped with the further development of this theme.

Although not an obligatory dress code, most of my crew made a massive effort and looked AMAZING! Personally, I was pleased to sport a largely handmade outfit. I wore my blue and white stripe stretch top and Ruby red shorts, with the addition of a red belt purchased that day, tights and seriously ‘Pin-up’ heels.

So much fun was had through the entirety of Birthweek-and-a-half, and I’d like to thank everyone who made my entry into this new decade so memorable. I’d like to show my thanks to them, and to y’all who have taken the time to read by blog, by offering up for your enjoyment the funniest photo of me ever taken. Enjoy!