Spring(field)/Summer '09

Score! A big fat fabric score, to be more precise. A friend who works for the Springfield clothing label, based here in bcn, was having a clearout at work and belled me up to let me know some fabric pieces were going begging. I was there at her offices with an empty suitcase almost before she had put the phone down. Their leftover bulk fabric samples from their Spring/Summer '09 range is now forming the basis for my own personal S/S '09 garment creation offensive!

Behold the results of the first assailment:

I used this pattern gleened from Burda World of Fashion 07/2008 magazine:
It's come out pretty big, in fact you don't even need to undo the back zip to get it on and off, but I'm pretty happy with the results when worn with tight jeans:

The fabric is feels super-nice, and I love the print. It's got in seam side pockets, for which the BWOF instructions were rubbish, so I turned to this Burdastyle How-To for assistance. I added a front ruffle/bib type affair to accentuate the curved yolk:

The overall style of this top combined with the fabric print reminds me of garments by the Danish clothing brand nümph, of whom I am a big fan. Onwards, to the next assault......

Pattern Crush

I'd like to admit to sometimes having pattern crushes. Once I've seen a wantable creation online, or sometimes multiple creations using the same domestic pattern, then I'm unable to rest until I have it in my possession. In theory I should be able to recreate the pattern myself from scratch, but a combination of distrust of my skills and laziness invariably makes me reach for ebay, rather than the pattern cutting paper and set square. But purchasing the pattern is just the first step to developing the crush. I will then use the pattern a squillion times, varying the fabrics and making style/fit modifications, until I fear that, despite these changes, people will start to notice that my wardrobe effectively consists of only one generic garment.

I wrote here about my Built By Wendy #3835 crush. To date I have made four variations of that pattern. Another long standing pattern crush is with the Simplicity #4589:

The first two interpretations I made were given to friends without documentation. However, I would like to share with you the second two. Both were made from small pieces of fabric aquired for 50p from a bargain bin in a shop on Goldhawk Road, whilst fabric hunting with my gal Michelle and some other random crew from the Sewing Group I used to organise in London. The first version I lengthed to be more of a tunic. I think the simplicity (excuse the pun) of this garment provides a good foundation to show off the beautiful floral print. The back of the garment uses the plain part of this sheer fabric. The whole thing is pretty foxy and a tad revealing:

I was in a rush making this garment, and subsequently must give props to my mum for hand-binding the armholes with self fabric for me:

Then second is a flutter sleeved affair, that has already seen a fair few outings so far despite being only a month old. The fabric is some sort of amazing glazed cotton (?) that feels super-slinky:

This time it was I who got to work hand-binding the armhole, using a blind technique taught to me by Mumma Edwards (she's the last word in hand-binding, it would appear):

These tops were quick to sew, mainly because of the lack of fastenings, and super-wearable, mainly for the pretty loose fit. But I know what you're thinking: all well and good showing us them on some mannequin Zo, but we want to see how these things fly in real life. Well here's my main girl Vic modelling the floral number when she came to visit in February: