Bad sewing news

I’m afraid I won’t be able to sew for some time, it seems my sewing machine has to be repaired… Unless we can find a transformer so that I can use my japanese machine in the meantime. I’m really frustrated.

Spooky mailday!

I had the pleasure to find a package waiting for me tonight in my mailbox. A spooky package I couldn’t wait to receive. ^_^

I gave in and placed my first fabric order on Etsy at the beginning of the month. It was also the first time for me to order fabric from an american designer company, after admiring a lot of them on the Internet. I fell in love with this fabric the first time I saw it, in a preview post on True Up. As I always do with the american fabrics I like,  I let the expense frighten me and I thought I would wait, I would order it someday, later… But then I had a project idea, and I looked for the fabric online, and realized it was almost sold-out. I couldn’t let it pass, so I ordered some before it disappeared completely.

I have to say I’m really happy I did. I love it! Look at those witches! Aren’t they great? And this haunted house! Halloween fabrics are not always to my taste (at least to use for garments), they have a tendency to look very costumey. But this one is perfect! Okay maybe most people will think this is costumey also, but I hope I can make something nice and wearable from it. Be careful if you like it and haven’t seen it for real, the print is really big.

I also got those nice brass buttons, which I like a lot also. They’re even nicer on person than they were on the pictures. And I like their slightly heavy weight.

Now I have to get to work, I don’t have much time left before the end of the month…

Menasse necklace, part 2

When I finally got some time to myself this Saturday, I decided to turn to a project that had been delayed for too long: the makeover of my Menasse necklace. Has you might remember I wasn’t so happy with it. It was cute but I felt I wouldn’t wear it much. I was right, so I designed another version of it, this time in the form of a very long necklace.

Problem is: I’m still not 100% happy with it… ^^; That’s why I didn’t cut the leftover cord at the top of the necklace. I had a really precise image in mind, and this doesn’t fit perfectly. It’s nice, but some part have an annoying behavior. The tiny pearls are made of wood, and the yo-yo is of course made of fabric, so the bottom of the necklace is very lightweight. Since the blue cord I used isn’t very strong either, and there’s no real weight at the bottom to stretch it, it has a tendency to get a life of its own, and take strange angles. It’s getting a little better with time since it’s losing its factory folds though. The other problem I have is with the ring connecting the cord to the pendants. It’s not metal as I thought but some lightweight grey material. I don’t know why but it’s constently turning to the side when it shouldn’t, so that the yo-yo also turns. So much so that it spends more time showing it’s side or back than its front! Here is a picture of the necklace worn, where the yo-yo is okay but you can see that the ring is turning.

I guess I’ll have to improve this and design a third version… What do you think of it at this stage? Do you like the longer version? I’m not sure if I’ll try to keep the cord and try to arrange things with the connecting ring or just forget it and try with a metal chain…

Material:blue cord, light colored pearl, ring @La Droguerie Paris ; yo-yo made of Liberty Menasse bought at Shaukat ; dark colored wooden pearl bought at Loisirs & Création ; other things bought in Japan.

Vintage inspiration: 1953 Simplicity Sewing Book clothes pictures

Here is my first post around the Simplicity sewing book I talked about last week. I’m starting with the few outfit pictures you can find in the book. If you click on the picture you’ll go to their Flickr page where you can view them in bigger size.

The cover

A really cute outfit

Variation on the previous blouse

A simple yet elegant skirt

Have a nice autumn!