Fall Photo Contest Entry

I finished it!  Well, mostly.

My entry for Emily's Vintage Visions Fall Photo Contest:

The timing of the contest was perfect!  I already had the blouse and trousers in the works.  While I didn't get the trousers I wanted to completed, I already had these ones.  The blouse is from the Smooth Sailing pattern.  The print has flowers and bees in perfect fall colours.  Maybe bees aren't autumnal...?

The jacket is a gift from my Dad.  I've always felt it has a little 1940s feel to it so it was a great addition to this outfit.  I panicked a little because it's been so darn cold the past week.  I though for sure I wouldn't be able to find a tree with any leaves left, but I did!  Huzzah!

The brooch is something near to my heart.  Not because it's heart, but because I got it from the first real costuming job I had.  I moved across the country to work at Fort Edmonton Park, and when I started working in costume one day a week I bought this beauty to wear with my 1884 bustle dress.

And now for the hat.  I had my outfit all planned out until I remembered I don't have an appropriate hat!  Ack!  But then Jill of Adeline's Attic posted this little number for sale.  Don't mind if I do!

I made the mistake of following the directions, which I sure won't do again.  The hat has a bit more personality than I anticipated.  Such is life.

All in all I'm quite happy with this adventure.  It's such a joy to participate in contests like these.  I love getting to see all the entries in the Facebook page.  I do hope this is a yearly thing!

Up next:
I have no idea.  Maybe I'll finish my winter coat before the snow?

Fall Photo Contest Outfit

Have you heard of Emily's Vintage Visions Fall Photo Contest?  Because you should really check it out:

Emily's Vintage Visions

Even if you don't enter do enjoy the vintage clothing descriptions.  Such detail!

I do plan to enter and I'm quite excited about it.  I'll save the final photos until I get my entry together next week, but here's a little teaser description to pique your interest:

- Blouse - lovely slate blue with a floral print.
- Trousers - grey-ish brown wool
- Velvet hat & matching purse - my Grandmother instilled the necessity that one's purse should always match one's hat and shoes.  How can I go against such sound advice?
- Jacket - a Christmas present from my Dad with a distinctly 1940s feel.  
- Shoes - purchased from ModCloth.  And yes, they match my hat and purse!

I'll be making everything but the jacket and shoes.  The blouse is done.  Victory!  Now to make the rest...

The blouse and trousers are part of the Smooth Sailing pattern set from Wearing History.  Since I already had the pattern and corresponding fabric it just seemed to fit with the project.  And ensure I get the damn things done this season!

The hat pattern I can you.

I snapped it up last weekend from Adeline's Attic.  If you haven't checked out her Etsy shop here you should!  She's based in Edmonton so I have the advantage of meeting her in person to shop her attic.  This little pattern was too cute to pass up!  I've wanted a beret style hat for awhile, but wanted something with a bit more structure.  I found it! I'll be making it up in a berry-red velveteen to match the little red flowers in my blouse.  And my shoes and bag (see above).

No idea how I'm doing the bag yet.  I know I want a shell shape, and I probably want some beading, but unless I have yet another sleepless week I should probably scale it back.

And now, back to the sewing machine!  I have a lot of work to get done in a week.  Eep!

~M

Winter Coat: Butterick 5824 - Prep

As I finally catch my breath after September's flurry of activity, I'm focusing just a little bit on sewing for me.

My new winter coat, which has been in the works for  two years (!), is finally cut and serged.  This is not a feat to go unacknowledged!  I've had my lovely turquoise wool for almost two years.  When my favourite fabric store was going out of business (RIP Estee's) I snapped it up at a rather reduced price.  The downside, of course, being there was only 4 meters of it.  At time I hadn't picked a pattern and thought surely it would be enough fabric.

Enter Butterick 5824:

A divine 1950's swing coat with an opulent shawl collar.  What else could I ask for?  

More fabric :( 

The pattern takes 5.2 meters.  Of course!  

I knew I would be short fabric, but thought with a tad bit of creative cutting and a contrast collar I could make it work.  As I laid out my patterns pieces Sunday afternoon it was clearly not going to happen.  After a panicked trip to Fabricland to discover there was no suitable alternative, I returned home to brainstorm.  Lovely B even offered to drive to Calgary next weekend to find an alternate fabric at my new favourite fabric spot.  Note: marry someone who will drive 3 hours each way to get you the right fabric!  

As we stood in line at Sunterra buying too much, as always, I realized I had two options.  Cut the length significantly (um, nope!) or use contrast for the hem band as well as the collar.  The more I thought about a black velvet hem band the more I liked it.  Done!

I hacked 8" of the bottom of each skirt pattern piece and tried my luck again.  When I laid out the pattern pieces this time I actually had extra fabric.  VICTORY!!!  

I laid out my wool, double-layered, then added my wind-breaker fabric on top.  Again, double-layered.  These are layers 1 and 2.

The layers are as follows:

1. Turquoise wool.

2. Wind breaker fabric.  I actually have no idea what it's really called, but that's what I call it.  Comment below if you know it's name.

3. Wool interlining.  YOU GUYS.  Do you know how hard it is to find lambswool interlining?!?  Ugh.  I'm using wool quilt batting.  Fingers crossed.

4. Silver Kasha back lining.  

I'm debating on lining the coat at layer 2, then making the kasha back and wool interlining a removable layer.  That will give me a more versatile coat plus give me the option to increase the interlining if it's not warm enough.  I'm pretty sure it will be though.

Why am I not using the thinsulate stuff they sell at Fabricland, you ask?  Because I hate that stuff.  It doesn't breath properly and it makes a crinkle noise.  I do not like to crinkle when I move.  

The lady at the quilt store gave me a disapproving look for wanting to add wool batting to a coat until I explained I plan to quilt it to the lining in a matching turquoise.  Then she was on board.  Related note, I LOVE Johnson's Sewing Centre and Quilter's Dream.  So nice and friendly.  And they saved me money!  

But I digress.  Moving on.

The collar, 8" of the skirt hem, and 4" of the sleeve hem will be black velvet.  It will be a lavish swing coat that will probably cause me to twirl all the way to work.  Meh, it's Jasper Ave.  Unlikely the weirdest thing to happen on my route.

~M

1810 Friendship Dress

Finally, a completed project post!  Whew! 

I've been so busy sewing things for others that I've completely neglected the blog.  My bad.

Behold!  My 1810 Friendship dress...

Challenge #9: Brown
What I call my friendship dress...
Fabric: brown synthetic shot with burgundy flower pattern. 
Pattern: Laughing Moon 126
Year: 1810-ish
Notions: thread and two straight pins
Accuracy: pattern is based on extant examples. Fabric pattern and style is appropriate, but it is a synthetic. Maybe 70%? 
Hours: about 8 
First worn: photo shoot on Sept 26, 2015
Total cost: $0! 

One day, a lovely friend brought this fabric to me and said, it's just so Meg.  You must wear it!  And so, I did.  As cheesy as it sounds, I feel truly blessed to have people in my life that sacrifice fabric in my honour.  Ok, maybe that was too cheesy...

In preparation for the Regency Sewing Guild's dressmaking class I figured maybe I should make the dress I was going to be teaching.  Probably a good call.  I completed this dress in under 8 hours.  I'm getting faster and more accurate.  Huzzah!

It's made from the Laughing Moon pattern #126, which I absolutely adore!  My heart belongs to Laughing Moon anyway, but this dress pattern is just divine!  It cuts and sews beautifully.  I also discovered that I am exactly a LM size 14.  No adjustments needed.  First time for everything.

I'm pleased to say it was ready in time for my photo shoot with the lovely Natalie D'Aoust photography.  We work together in our 9-5 lives, but have connected through our own creative endeavours.  She agreed to take photos of my outfits!  Yay!

A sneak peak:

How great is it that she travels with a step stool? 

Once the photos are done, I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I do.  Can't wait to share!

~M

The To Do List

Since I'm home sick with a cold I think today is an excellent day to take stock.  Between commissions and personal projects I have some many things to do!

I have four regency gowns on the go, with a fifth coming this weekend.  What fun!  I love building dresses for each client to suit their personality and use.

I'm also making some rompers and baby things for a local photographer.  Totally new market, but so nice to try something different!

And did I mention I'm coordinating and designing a friend's wedding?  Yeah, super fun!  A Frozen theme is the best way to start the holiday season.

For me, well...

- Net overlay for my gold silk ball gown.  Beaded, of course, because I can't make my life easy.
- Wool winter coat.
- Miss Fisher trousers
- 1780s Robe a l'Anglaise

That's doable, right?  Right...?

I'm also involved with the newly formed Regency Sewing Guild.  Beginning on October 16th you can join us for Regency stay-making classes complete with tea and scones.  Details here.  The fee includes all the materials and pattern so you just show up, sew, and eat scones.  Did I mention scones...?

Catching my Breath

The past few months have been complete chaos.  Good chaos, but still.

I opened my website mid-July, which took considerable time considering I have so few proper pictures of things I want to showcase.  Check it out at NutmegSews.com!

Have I mentioned how great Instagram is?  It takes wonderful photos!  I know it's just a social media app, but truly the filters make my amateur photography skills look good.  I have professional photos scheduled for September so Instagram will have to do for now.

Now that the site is mostly up and running, I can refocus on my blog.  Oh wait, no, because I have so many new clients!  I'm terribly pleased to be working with some lovely ladies to make a total of 5 Regency gowns.  I took a week off work to try and catch up, though I'm not entirely sure I did.  I have 1.5 dresses done and two projects for me done.  I'm also 2/3 done my friend's wedding favours.   And almost done B's 1932 housecoat.

Yesterday I came home with 20.5m of fabric and I didn't spend a single cent!  Not that you can spend a cent in Canada anymore...

Behold!

I bartered time helping friends for ALL THE FABRIC!  Victory is mine!

August is another super busy month for me.  I'm working a second job as a production assistant, which is terribly exciting, but of course takes time.  As I mentioned, I still have custom work to do.  And of course trying to get as many things as I can into my Etsy shop.  Oh, and did I mention there's another ball coming up?  Details here: Regency Encounters.  So many exciting things!

Clearly writing 'what's next' at the end of my blog posts has nothing to do with which project I actually post next.  I have no idea what I'm finishing next, but it likely won't be for me.  For the September ball I will wear my gold 1811 silk gown.  I've decided to make an open robe to go over top, but who knows if I'll actually finish it.  I also have to fix B's breeches as they were a tad big.  And make myself garters.  And a spencer.  Oi!

I should probably get sewing before I hyperventilate.

Cheers,
~M

Overdue Post and Lost Stays

It's been so long I hardly know what to write!

So many things have happened in the last few months.  First, Regency Encounters was kind enough to host a ball in Calgary.  As you've seen I made an outfit for B to attend with me.  He decided to be more Darcy than Bingley and sit pridefully looking on from the corner.  He did look dashing if I do say so myself.

I finished sewing all our garments on the way to Calgary.  On four hours sleep.  Not my brightest move, but necessary.

Sewing-wise things were quiet for a few months after that until last week I was asked to participate in a promotional photo shoot for an upcoming Regency event: a Promenade and Tea!  How exciting!  That's when I discovered my stays did not come home from Calgary.  They 'stayed' too long at the ball.  (necessary pun)

I already needed a day dress for the Tea, but now I needed stays too.  Somehow I managed to get my new stays and day dress done in 4 days in time for the photo shoot.  Go me!  I still want to add some Van Dyke trim to jazz it up a bit, but I'm quite happy with the stripes.

Photo by Bryan Young/St Albert Gazette

The St Albert Gazette did a wonderful job on the photos and article!  See the whole article here:
http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20150711/SAG0302/307119981/-1/sag/regency-tea-party-brings-style-to-st-albert

The dress was based around my new bonnet. It was made completely of stash materials, which I'm super happy with.  I recycled some sketchy interfacing, repurposed some satin, and used up the last of the random ribbon I bought for my wedding.  I'm quite pleased with the results.

Up next, a new stove pipe hat and Van Dyke trim.

~M