Luck be a lady

It’s finished!  The seam ripper was my best friend in this project, but creating the muslin mockup ahead of time really helped me in this process.  

I was a little worried about the ‘Advanced’ level of the pattern, but I followed along Gertie’s posts and was very thorough in going through the directions.  It was a great sew along, but I might try for a slightly easier one next time.

Another success from this process? My first official button hole! I scrounged up the instruction manual to my sewing machine and practiced the 4-step button process.  It worked great and I'm no longer going to have to use zippers to close all of my garments.

Here are some pictures from along the way...

Muslin in progress

Now onto the actual fabric...

Attaching pockets...

Fitting the back...

Attached the sleeves...

Back view

With the tie... I think I like it better without.

Lady Grey Muslin Update

The long awaited Lady Grey update.  

True, it’s just the muslin, but rest assured, this is just a sneak peek.  I’m making good progress on the jacket and plan on finishing the jacket this weekend.  Stay tuned!

Rainy days heat wave!

I have been determined to finish my Rainy Days coat this week and of course, a random heat wave hits the Bay Area.  Regardless, I finally decided how to proceed with my jacket and the plan of attack!  I was torn between buttons, a zipper, or just a tie closure.  I haven’t tackled buttons before and by the time I had started thinking about the closure, I realized I had already sealed the ‘button’ area and would have to do a bit of backtracking to put them in.  I like the ease of zippers, especially on a rainy day, so that route won the closure contest.

Pre-pocket.

Putting in the zipper was easy, but it was definitely the point where I needed to tape my presser foot.  The oil cloth was too sticky alone, but just a small piece of invisible tape on the presser foot worked wonders. 

I had also decided to do the pleated pocket. It comes with a top flap, but I actually liked the look without it.  I don’t know if it’s because that part of the pattern was hard to match up but I thought it looked fine without the top.  I did make it and put it to the side in case I decide that the functionality will be more important... I never really use pockets on my rain coats though I do like to have them.  I also made the sash but didn't think the coat needed it with the zipper.  Again, may change my mind, but for now decided to do with out.

So now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some rain.  Even a light drizzle would be nice; anything that would give me an excuse to go out in my new rain coat!

Lady Grey's Sew Along Update: Oilcloth

I followed the same steps as the lining and put together the oilcloth exterior of the raincoat.  I haven't had to use scotch tape on the presser foot yet as I've been working with the interior cloth, but I can tell I'll definitely need it when starting to hem everything and attach it all together.

In order to put together the oilcloth pieces without leaving holes from the pins, I used binder clips... it worked great!

After I attach the lining, I just need to add the pockets and and belt loops.  Oh... and button holes... but I'm nervous about that part.

Lady Grey’s Sew Along Update

Time for an update on my raincoat!  As one of my first posts mentioned, I didn’t have the Lady Grey pattern yet so I started with the Amy Butler Rainy Days raincoat.  The pattern has now arrived so I’ll start on that jacket after I finish the raincoat... which is progressing nicely!

I started with the lining. As I wasn’t doing a muslin version of this coat, I’ve been meticulous with my sewing and marking.  This has been a pretty easy pattern so far and apparel sewing is still new to me.  The hardest part was the sleeves but only because I’m not a fan of sewing gathered materials.  It wasn’t too painful - I just used a lot of pins!

I didn’t hem the length of anything yet (as you can see, the sleeves are a little long) as this is just the lining and I can cut back anything that is too long for the final jacket.  Aside from the length, I really like the fit.  I just put a little pin in front to get an idea of what it will look like closed.

I started stitching the oilcloth material.  I’ll be using binder clips and paper clips instead of pins to avoid any excessive puncture marks.  So far so good! Hopefully I’ll be done with the jacket in the next week.  I’m going to a dance workshop this weekend so anything I don’t finish in the next couple of days will have to wait until next week.  It’s been a quick sew so far, but I’m going to take my time putting the oilcloth together to avoid any scary mistakes.  More coming soon!

Whoooo you lookin' at?

You may not have noticed but I like to multi-task. Or multi-craft in this case.  At any one time, I usually have 4-5 projects going so I can pick them up as the mood suits me. In this case I’m currently working on:

1. Lady Grey’s raincoat/jacket sew along
2. My first cross-stitch project
3. A few knitting projects (which I’ll just count as one item)
4. My Halloween costume

Today, I’ll share a sneak peak at my in progress Halloween costume.  

This year I wanted to make my own costume so I spent some time surfing the web and flipping through the pages of pattern books.  No one costume called out to me until all of a sudden, I had the idea to be an owl.  I had seen an owl costume that was cute, but something about it was just.... too much. So I decided to tweak a few patterns and come up with my own.  The main focal point of this pattern would be the cape, which would be covered in owl feathers.  I used Simplicity pattern 2531 as my inspiration and for the feather pattern.  

Here’s a picture of the almost finished cape.  I’m going to add the feather trim to the top edge and the hood.  

I also made a brown dress and am working on a mask with the below pieces.  

Final product coming soon!

Rainy Days Here I Come...

I’m taking part in my first Sew Along: the Lady Grey jacket sew along.  I’m pretty new to the world of sewing my own clothing. I’ve dabbled in craft and accessories but until recently hadn’t attempted clothes.  As a Scottish Highland dancer, I’ve recently needed some new costumes which are custom and can be incredibly expensive.  Luckily I had help from family and friends, but it inspired me to work on this skill myself.  What better way to start than a ‘sew along’?

I ordered the pattern for the Colette Lady Grey coat, but I’ve also been wanting to make something out of oilcloth... in particular, a raincoat.  So I’m going to try the Amy Butler Rainy Days Hooded Raincoat. I picked up some nice oilcloth from Bobbin’s Nest in Santa Clara. I’m catching up with the group and cutting out the patterns and muslin tomorrow.  Because I’ll be working with oilcloth, I’m going to take this slow as the fabric isn’t very forgiving.  I’ll keep you posted as to the progress.  Here’s a picture of the oilcloth and the green lining.