There's magic in the web of it

'First rule, stick them with the pointy end.' Adventures in sewing, with a lot of literary and pop culture references thrown in for good measure.

[theresmagicinthewebofit]

I bought a vintage pattern book from Etsy from the excellent Borisbeka and got very excited about making a magyar-sleeve dress for summer, but couldn't find a light plaid fabric to match the vintage feels I was having. My answer was to make some up myself! I bought some soft cotton from Clegs in Elizabeth St and some Rit Dye (Petal Pink and Fuchsia) and set to painting my plaid on!

Painting fabric like this takes a very long time, 2m took me two full weekend days and a couple of evenings. I used a wide brush and painted on long stripes in a very weak Petal Pink. Then after it had dried completely (to prevent colour bleeding) I worked on the cross stripes, then repeated again using a smaller brush and a dark Fuchsia.

(Because I am very bad at blogging I didn't take more photos of the in between process and only have a finished shot after I had already worn it on a particularly hot day and not re-ironed before feeling a bit pathetic for not posting anything in such a long time.)

The pattern itself is one you draft yourself using your own measurements rather than set sizes, so this thing fits like a glove! It was a lot of fun to make but I would definitely suggest having a bit of experience before jumping in.

I wanted to make the plaid uneven and 'painterly' but the centre front looks a bit strange to me being not perfectly matched. I think next time I'll try drafting up the pattern pieces first then painting the pattern on.

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Tutorial: bound buttonholes

Buttonholes are some of my least favourite things to do, but bound buttonholes look so beautiful (like on my Swing Coat) that they are a necessary evil. They can be pretty complex and fiddly, but I find that sewing them by hand gives you much more control over the fabric.

First things first (I'm the realest), cut a thin strip of fabric to measure your button. Pin and measure the distance from the pin to the fold. Add 1/8 inch and that is the width of your buttonhole! On your fabric baste horizontally where your buttonhole will sit and vertically the width. Most patterns will mark where the buttonhole needs to begin, but if you're working without a pattern place the buttonhole so that the centre front is about 1/4 inch inside on the right. I'm using white thread for basting and pale blue thread for the permanent stitches so it's easier to see.

Next cut the welt that will form the buttonhole. Make this 2 inches by 1.5 inches longer than your buttonhole. I like to fold mine horizontally and use that as a guide for my horizontal basting. On the wrong side, place your interfacing. I use raw silk for my interfacing and stabilising, I prefer it over iron-on which I can never use without melting glue on my iron. Sew a rectangle with the left and right edges at your basted buttonhole widths. The thickness of your rectangle will depend on how big your button is, the thickness of your fabric, and also the style you want. I use a backstitch on this to make sure it's very strong. Clip down the middle and snip little notches into the corners (but not too close).

Push the welt through the hole from the right side to the wrong side. Then working from the the wrong side, fold one half of your welt up so it covers the opening. Fold it back down again so that half of the opening is covered. I find that if I match up the edge of the welt with the little clipped edge of the opening it's usually a bit easier. Pin in place and do the same on the other side.

Turn back over to work on the right side and use stab stitch along the seam of the welt. This is going to hold the welt in place. Do the same for the other side. Grab the little triangle notches and give them a sharp tug, this gets any fabric out of the way of the welt. Stitch the notch to the welt. I like to use an overcast stitch for extra strength.

Finally, stitch the sides of the welt together to hold them in place and trim around the welt to make it an oval shape. Press the buttonhole and you are done!

I hope this helps anyone having trouble or wanting to see a hand-sewn version rather than machine sewn. Good luck!

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It's been a cold couple of weeks in Melbourne, but thankfully I just finished my new swing coat! The fabric is a wool/cashmere blend from Clegs, I managed to nab the last three metres of this gorgeous bright purple.

The pattern is based on Burda Style 10/2011 # 134, the original is plus-sized but I scaled down to fit me. I adjusted the sleeves to a bracelet length ending just above the wrist bone.It has two welt pockets on the front and three bound buttonholes on the inside facing.

It took me about two weeks to finish and is sewn entirely by hand. Coming soon I'll write up a tutorial for bound buttonholes, they're fiddly but when you make them by hand you have much more control than using a machine.

I forgot to take pictures of the inside before I put the lining in, but I didn't worry about finishing the seams as the allowances are quite wide and the fabric doesn't unravel much. As the arms and body are cut in one piece, I wanted to stabilise the corner at the underarm seam. I cut some patches of raw silk (my favourite interfacing and stabiliser) and stitched them into the seam allowance.

The pattern has a lovely vintage 40's feel and the fabric is so soft and cuddly. It's also very warm and I'm looking forward to wearing it for many years!

[theresmagicinthewebofit]

The Embrace Octopus sweater is coming along very nicely! 

For the wool I chose Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic yarn in Periwinkle and Dark Plum. A trick I learned for picking contrasting colours is to take a black and white photo of the yarn colours you're thinking of using. In the photo if the greys look too similar then they won't contrast as well together in your finished piece.

Because I want to be able to wear this trans-seasonally and we can get pretty mild winters in Australia I'm only using one strand instead of the suggested two. To get close to the gauge I'm using 4mm needles for the ribbing and 5.5mm for the body and a little looser tension than is my normal. 

Because my gauge is smaller and I can't modify the pattern to adjust for a greater number of stitches, I figured that the safest bet would be to work from the Large and block out anywhere that isn't shaped how I want it.

The pattern is worked in the round, but because of the colour work working the chart up in the round would mean that you're pulling extra wool behind which can easily distort your knitting. My solution to this was to knit up the MC in the round until the start of the chart, then I split and started working both sides. I've explained how I did this in my Colour Work Tutorial (coming soon!).

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It is always freezing cold in my office so I tend to wear a uniform of sweaters and pencil skirts. They're comfy and easy to wear and look good and I can switch them up easily so they've become my main go-tos.

The problem is they are so boring! I want some quirky and fun options so I don't feel like I'm settling into a uniform. I hit 25 and realised that an 'appropriate corporate' appearance didn't suit me - I got my septum pierced and have started a bit of a rebellious phase.

Luckily I found this pattern! It's called Embrace Octopus Sweater and is made by Maia who loves cephalopods as much as I do! 

What I love most about this pattern is how the design carries organically around the sweater - the tentacle coiled around the arm is such a great idea.

The pattern itself looks like it will be just enough of a challenge to keep me interested - I get pretty bored knitting whole sweaters in one colour stocking stitch and give up half way through and dump them in the 'do later' wool basket. 

I'm really looking forward to making this, I'll be posting my progress and some final shots of him in action.

Pattern can be found here at Etsy or on Ravelry

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Tutorial: Slipstitch

Slipstitch is worked from the right side and is perfect for side and waist seams, particularly those with unusual shapes or gathering.

Mark the seamlines on your fabric. For thicker fabric I would thread trace the seamlines, but I'm using chalk on this voile because it's thin enough for me to see the markings on both sides. Piece i will be the lower piece (on my Titania costume this is the gathered skirt) and piece ii the upper.

Use a fine short needle and an arm's length of thread. Any longer and you run the risk of tangles and knots (I get nightmares about these). Tie a double knot in the end.

Fold piece ii along the seamline and match it to the seamline on piece i. Pin all along the seam. For a simple straight seam like this, I've pinned every 1/2 inch, but for more complicated seams, like the gathering on Titania, I'd use double the pins. 

To anchor the thread: insert the needle in piece ii right up at the foldline. Bring the needle up through piece i directly above it, then back down into piece ii a millimetre or so away from the knot to create a loop.

To begin the stitch: bring the needle back up through piece i. Immediately below that point, insert the needle into piece ii through and along just the folded edge, then back up. You're only picking up the fabric of piece ii, not going through. I make these stitches a bit shorter than 1/8 inch because the fabric is so fine. For thicker fabric you can make them a bit longer. 

Directly above where the needle comes out of piece ii, pick up one or two threads from piece i to complete the stitch. For smooth stitches pull the thread through with each stitch, don't make a few and then pull. This will take a long time, the waist and side seam on Titania took me almost the entire length of Die Another Day.

This stitch is pretty much invisible, even on fine fabric like this voile, and is much better for controlling fabric than sewing a seam with the right sides together. It takes a helluva lot longer, but the outcome is definitely worth it.

[theresmagicinthewebofit]

Now that it's finally the weekend, I have some time to post some tutorials! I'll be doing some quick photo tutorials for the couture techniques I'm using in whatever project I'm working on. 

To start off with I'll do a quick one on slipstitching. Stay tuned!

[theresmagicinthewebofit]

The look for this Titania is a very organic, garden-style fairy. The bottom hem of the dress is left unfinished so that it frays and the threads look like spiderwebs. The voile is very sheer but I like the way that adds to the natural feeling. The wings are going to be like a butterfly, with the outer shape and wing veins made from wire and covered in cellophane.

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For the gathering on the skirt I used two rows of 4mm machine stitches. My hand gathering is very wonky so I prefer to use the machine. 

The seams and all other sewing on this dress will be by hand using couture techniques. I swear by Claire Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques.

Working from the right side, I pinned the pieces together and then slipstitched along the waist and up the side seam. The stitches are tiny, barely 1/8" and are almost entirely invisible. 

[theresmagicinthewebofit]

This is the full-length Titania dress. It's 2m of cotton voile and I was originally going to have a row of gathers at the natural waist and one at the empire waist but that was so unflattering, so I took out the empire gathers and cut out the front scoop neck shape to insert the cowl.

Thor approves of the change.

The bottom hem and along the cowl will be left unfinished, but I'll use white organza ribbon to create a bound edge on the armscyes and back neckline to tie at the shoulders.

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Titania Wakes by bluefooted on Deviant Art

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A Midsummer Night's Dream party

It’s my 25th birthday coming up and in an attempt to regress as much as I can to avoid growing up, I’m having a Midsummer Night’s Dream party. It’s my excuse to dress up like a fairy (Titania) and eat fairy bread but also get drunk – best mix of both worlds! Of course that means that I have to make a Titania costume *throws confetti*!

 After (many) hours of Pinterest-surfing for inspiration, I’ve decided on a classical look – long sheer white dress, loose flowing curls and butterfly wings. A little something like this:

I'm going to make the dress out of voile or cheesecloth to get that lovely airy look.