Simple, not Stupid: Linton Blue 1

Thank you so very much encouraging me to sew with your lovely comments on the kilt. I think you all secretly, or not so secretly, long for one and truly I would encourage you to make one for yourself: that swish at the back is hard to beat and actually changes how I walk. I do believe I have re-discovered the hip sway.

Moving on with sewing with Linton Tweed, I’m coming towards the end of my purchases and am now in the blue colour range. Pink here and here and green here and here.

This Internet sewing community we all share has provided so many opportunities and contacts for me and this coat is not an exception. I met Wendy a few years ago while she was visiting her sister who lives in Donegal. Now, Wendy lives in Colorado, so this was something special: she found me via this blog and we arranged a day out. I admired her clothes and especially her coat; she admired my clothes back. We had so much in common, it was like meeting ourselves: we ordered the same thing for lunch, same wine, and after eating we both pulled out the same lipstick! Uncanny.

We were supposed to meet again this year but sadly things just didn’t work out, however, Wendy very kindly gifted me the pattern for her coat, which by the way, she designed herself and has produced as a paper pattern [see below]. Wendy has been working in wardrobe consulting, custom design and teaching as well as producing ready-to-wear collections for years now, as well as sewing exquisite made to measure items for her clients.

The pattern is called ‘Simple Coat’ and technically, I suppose it is but do not be deceived – you can make this as easy or as complicated as you like – it’s that versatile – and gorgeous, I may add. Unlined, lined, any fabric you have, any closure you want, full length sleeves, 3/4 length sleeves, patch pockets, welt pockets, collar up or down – add, subtract, change at will to adapt to suit your sewing skills, allocated time, seasonal requirements, fabric restraints and personal taste. Who doesn’t love a pattern like that? Yeah, I went for the complicated in winter……

This coat has no seams! Well, a couple at the shoulders but that’s it. It has a vintage inspired shape, reminiscent of the 1920s and the 1960s. The first thing DH said when he saw me wearing this was ” That’s lovely.” I can assure you that he was not around in 1920 but he was in 1960 and he hardly ever comments on my attire.

Enough of the build up….. I give you The Simple Coat. The uneven hem edges are due to me sticking my hands into the patch pockets….the hem edges line up perfectly when I’m not wearing the coat

Mine is a lined version with added ‘special’ lined pockets [see below], co-ordinating facings, turned back sleeve cuffs and edge to edge closures. So let’s get to the details.

I used the blue/grey herringbone tweed for the coat to co-ordinate with the blue check fabric. The blue check has a stripe of burnt orange running through it and that’s what I focused on. I just thought that too much blue/grey would be dull. The lining I chose is a paisley orange/red/yellow blend which I am in all honesty in two minds about but it’s in now and will stay there. I added width to the facings with the blue check and faced the hem too. The sleeves I’ll cover next…

As you, hopefully can see, I have the sleeves turned back. I cut the full length sleeves but changed the lining thereof.

I replaced 8″ (20cms) of lining with the co-ordinating blue check wool. The cuff edge of this ‘lining’ was then sewn to the sleeve edge.

Turn the whole thing right side out and you have a proper sleeve, already lined, with the option of contrasting turned back cuffs, should you desire. And my reason for doing this is the trousers (and skirt, yet to be sewn): so now I have An Outfit.

On to the pockets then…. I opted for patch ones. Can you see them?

I have two full-hand pockets on either side with a little more secure inset pocket just on the left. This was a practice version of a lined patch pocket which I put to good use…

Next decision was how to close, or not, the coat. I opted for edge to edge closures with tabs and statement buttons. This sorta makes my coat a wee bit more like a 1960’s duffle coat rather than a high end couture version – but heck, it’s lovely and I’ll wear it for years with all the planned co-ordinating items as well as jeans, black and anything and everything else I can pair with it.

If you would like your own pattern for this very versatile, any season and easy to sew coat, you can email Wendy for your own wendykarnish@comcast.net pattern. I strongly recommend it, even if you only keep it in your pattern stash for that single moment when you think – I need an easy coat pattern.… We’ve all been there…..

Trousers and skirt to follow….

Thank you so much Wendy – a true classic pattern that will be in constant rotation season by season, year by year and never out of date.

Until next time……….are you sewing for Christmas or for yourself?

When I go Internet shopping I tend to put one thing in the basket for them and one for me…….

Linton Green 1

Here we are at the next set of Linton tweeds: green this time and I’ve got my head back.

I am truly happy with my Linton Pinks but I have a few more Linton’s to sew and hopefully transfer their meticulous weaving  into wearable garments.

I have wanted a herringbone wool jacket for ages and ages that I could wear with jeans and skirts and really and truly just be a good wardrobe staple that will see the years and fashion trends into oblivion.

This is a really great little jacket pattern V8887 that I’m sorry to say is OOPS and probably for many years now but is a little gem that allows you to sew as is (as I have) or you can have the option of adding tailoring, couture variations at will. I choose to tailor the collar and sleeve heads but otherwise I left it alone. It’s a perfect jacket pattern for those entering the tailoring journey : you can select what to spend time and effort on and what not. Previously I’ve made this twice before – flowery cotton and blue fleece.

Makes for a more relaxed jacket that will soften with wear and with the leftovers, I managed to sew up a skirt. So now I have a suit that was not planned. Nice. The skirt is a simple straight A line but I added welt pockets – just because.

Then I had the green check to coordinate/match with the brown olive greenish herringbone. I think went for the most complicated – a kilt skirt without a pattern.

Truly, this this probably the most simplistest of garment ever if we followed the traditional version – a long length of woollen fabric wrapped around the waist and held up with a belt, but a kilt is a male’s garment, a kilt skirt is a female’s, and we all know that there is a distinct difference between waist and hip ratio in the genders.

I watched a lot of online videos on how to make a kilt: I read books and researched it in depth; in the end I just did what felt right….I think I’ll leave this for another post entirely because I’ve a lot to show and tell.

Going back to what I actually made though …. I had enough fabric to make a dress too

McCalls 2401-  always a good staple with so many variations all in one envelope. Reach for the pattern and all will be well. I have used this pattern many, many times and it has become my go to dress for Christmas and beyond when you only have a metre or so to use.

As I was using whatever fabric I had left over from the kilt thing, I didn’t really care at this point if the checks matched…….I’ve seen worse in RTW.   And so have you.

This is not my usual standard I’ll have ye know but fabric dictates the limitations…

It didn’t help that I inadvertently reversed the pieces because the inside and outside of this fabric looks the same. I did get patch pockets though and used the selvedge as trim around the armholes, frayed the hem and pockets too.

Anyway, I sewed the jacket I’ve always wanted and got a skirt to match. Then I sewed a kilt and got a dress out of the bargain too… so by my reckoning, two free items. Two metres of herringbone got me a jacket and a skirt: 3 metres of green check got me a voluptuous kilt and a dress.

 

 

 

 

 

Linton Pink – 2

This was not a good day for taking photographs – I’ve apparently lost my head!

However, I do have a matching skirt for my Linton checked tweed coat from Vogue’s 1527 Paco Peralta’s suit. I’ve bought the silk for the blouse, so that’s on the to do list if I can muster the courage to cut into it.

The skirt was underlined in cotton at the back only and fully lined.

The front split is indeed a split!

Worn together the length of both are exactly the same.

With the little scraps of leftovers, I patched together a scarf….

…..and a wonky scrap boy ….

He’s a scrap boy because he’s filled with strips and strips of leftover fabrics.

Just to prove that I do actually have a head, here’s a little preview of my next Linton project – Green.

Holiday Legacy 2 – Suit V1467

Take someone else’s pattern and someone else’s fabric and you can sew a suit, not just an ordinary skirt and jacket suit but a designer version and what’s better than a “designer” suit? Vogue 1467. And even better than that is they all once belonged to my friend, ReAnn. 

I’m not entirely sure of the benefits of writing about OOP patterns: I suppose if you really like it you could search the Interweb for a copy. However, I have a few insights and thoughts about this suit, hardly unsurprising. I suppose this pattern would fall into the category of an evening or special occasion suit with the long skirt with thigh high split.

Nowadays we tend to think of hi-lo hems as being trendy, modern and current – yeah- think again, this one comes from Lauren Sara (1994) and has a hi-lo hem that knocks the modern renditions out of the water. The front of the jacket and blouse sit just shy of the waist while the back falls all the way to top thighs. I am reminded a little of gentlemen’s tailcoats.

Some gorgeous chocolate brown stretch gabardine and a co-ordinating silk chiffon were kindly provided by my bestest ever sewing mate ReAnn which produced a composite of skirt, jacket and blouse.

The jacket is unlined, so every seam had to be finished neatly. I completed some version or other of Hong Kong seams using satin bias binding but used some leftover silk as the hem finish. I quite like the contrast of the plain and sober outside with the bright and patterned hem. And it does bear a passing resemblance to the silk chiffon blouse.

And I did the same treatment on the skirt hem because after all, this is a suit and the bits should match each other… I made a little off-centre split and made use of the selvedge edges.

ReAnn didn’t buy enough of the gabardine for me to make the trousers nor the skirt true to the pattern, so I modified the design to what I had. The skirt became knee length instead of floor and was patched along the hemline to make it mid length eventually.  The most obvious ‘design’ feature of this designer pattern is that the stupid sewer used the wrong side of the gabardine for the main body of the skirt and then reversed the fabric to use the right side for the hemline patch!

To summarise, the jacket and skirt hem are from one side of the fabric and the skirt is the other. Damn fabrics that look the same on both sides until you sew them together….

However, there’s no crying in sewing (Coco) so I have a day suit not an evening one and my lifestyle definitely favours the day. If anyone wants to invite me to a black tie event then I shall make an evening version.

The jacket has wide flared sleeves which feel decadent and luxurious. I am having a bit of trouble inserting decent sleeves at the moment in my sewing repertoire. Either too confident or lost the knack, I don’t know but I’ll have to go back to basics for the next time. The gabardine had a bit of stretch so in this case, I’m blaming the materials and not the skills LOL.

The skirt is high waisted but not so high as to be a corset, the blouse should cut just along the top. I’d like to wear the blouse with other things so I lengthened it quite considerably at the front and when worn untucked, I like the break it provides in the head to knee solid brown.

Can’t waste silk chiffon. A scarf was made from the left overs.

I found the blouse to be very loose (big) and because it’s chiffon, I will always have to wear a cami underneath. But you can see clearly the dramatic hemline. The blouse should mirror the jacket, sleeves and hem. The blouse neckline is a simple scoop while the jacket has a smart mandarin collar.

You can clearly see the change in tone of the skirt’s fabric in the following photos. Remember that ‘design feature’?

A new term has started with all the fresh faced students all eager and keen. My job is trying to keep that enthusiasm going until next June. I’m taking advantage of some lovely sunshine to take these pics, although the temperature does not match it. This suit is finished just in time for autumnal weather and intimidation in the classroom.

Thank you one and all who provided ideas on what to sew with the Linton tweeds in my previous post. You’ve given me a lot to think about and research – you’re the best!

In fact, you gave me so much to think about that I just had to go back to Linton and buy another colour way, just in case I had too many ideas and not enough fabric. That makes a pink, a green and now a blue, all with coordinating herringbones.

……So lots to plan and think about and cut and sew and hopefully, eventually, wear.

 

Second Home (Mexico)

Get a cup of tea…..

There are many things I’ve never done in my life so far – I  have never travelled beyond the equator; been to the continents of Africa, Australia, Eurasia; nor even across the Atlantic Ocean. This summer I managed to accomplish one of those nevers: at the ripe old age of middle I managed to cross the Atlantic and for the very first time in my life set foot on USA soil, albeit for a few hours stop over in Atlanta airport on my way to Leon, Mexico.

Leaving Mexico

I haven’t been beyond UK borders for years. For 10 years or so as a family we took many holidays all over mainland Europe but generally speaking that’s just like being at home except for a different language and warmer weather; travelling to Mexico is culturally unique. I feel a trifle guilty showing you my suitcase because I did not sew everything I packed.

There are occasions in our lives when you have to make decisions and sometimes buying holiday-one-off clothes makes a lot more sense. My suitcase compromised a mix of RTW and sewn. I cannot foresee some of my Mexican wardrobe ever being worn in the very near future – I mean temperatures of 26 degrees and above are relatively unknown in my part of the world – and so I truly wasn’t prepared to spend money, time and effort on sewing things when I could buy them in the summer sales. This one of the reasons that I never signed up for 100% 12 months of sewing my own wardrobe. You never know what life will throw at you, offer you or knock you sideways.

In May this year I was diagnosed with yet another malignant melanoma – good grief, it’s my third! If not identified and cut out, this is a 80% death sentence. Wear the sunscreen people!! A temporary, damaging sun tan is not worth it. Take it from a bottle if it’s that important to you. My gratitude to our British National Health Service cannot be expressed enough. Obviously……

Proudly displaying my newest “I’m still alive” scar

So when I received an invitation from ReAnn to visit Mexico my first thoughts concerned my life, health, skin, potential sunburn and subsequently the consequences. I have typical Irish, Northern European skin – pale, freckly and my delicious blood is a gourmet meal for every flying insect

 

Decisions to travel were – Yes, then No it’s too risky – life’s short and all that sun is dangerous:  then YES! Life is really and truly too short so take all and every opportunity whenever they present themselves.

Thankfully when the husband was asked if he wanted to come too he gave the right answer – No!

So off I went solo.

 

Packing philosophy

Choose a base/primary colour and add co-ordinating colours to ring the changes.

My base colour was royal blue, it is surprising how many colours coordinate with this principal colour and the co-ordinating ones were neutrals of white and natural linen. I had a little bit of space left in the case so in went one black and a couple of patterned items.  Mostly my clothes were solid colours but I did add these few patterns for variation.

I bought two items while I was there – an expensive designer linen step-in skirt (a perfect opportunity for another blog post) and some khaki shorts from the tenguies (market) simply because I didn’t own a pair of shorts.

Merchant and Mills Bantam vest in lime green rib

I packed two pair of shoes – flip flops for pool and early mornings, one pair of blue flat sandals and I wore the leather lace-up shoes for travelling because I don’t like moving through heavily populated areas such as airports and underground stations with my toes exposed in case of back-stomping and trampling.

You will excuse me, I’m sure, that I do not model the entire suitcase. Everything that I packed was worn and most pieces at least twice, although I had the advantage of having a washing machine. Some items of clothing are very old and have been blogged before and it was ultimately very beneficial and gratifying that I had already spent the time making them, just waiting for their day in the sun. The olds include:

Donna Karan wrap dress

See the lotion on my pale Irish legs? (Emm delicious). This photo was taken last year after the Donegal midges attacked. The DK dress was worn at dinner one night and turned out to be a ‘signature’ look – see below….. I had a posh meal out at the Insitutio while a world renowned classical guitarist played and who happened to know I was from Ireland and played a little ditty with Latin influences. God bless him.

Self drafted T-shirt dress with beading

This self-drafted, beaded neckline dress was  worn for dancing the night away to what else but ‘the blues’. I went dancing with Jan to a Blues night uniquely sung in Spanish with the most adorable lead guitarist. I even got asked to dance.

Sateen patterned cotton trousers, so old now that I cannot rightly remember when these were made. The new additions were a hybrid Alabama Chanin/ CfPD Bias top in white cotton jersey.

Location is someone’s exquisite bathroom….

The white cotton CfPD Spiral Top with a little waist tie detail and needs an ironing…..

 

 

My version of Monsoon blue and white striped cotton trousers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A homemade copy of Oska summer linen dress, made in a fine checked natural linen and the base pattern was StyleArc’s Toni.

 

 

Another modification of the Toni was the black muslin over-dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a few plain white T-shirts, a swimsuit, a cover-up. I didn’t pack enough loose tops even though I’d made them, such was the temperature. Lesson learned.

At least now I have stuff that will travel the world with me wherever I go in the future- I have a wardrobe for all seasons and all temperatures.

 

 

 

 

So anyway, poor ReAnn felt a little under the weather one day and I set off to visit Canada de la Virgen (ancient pyramids) all on my own.

On the bus to the archaeological site this couple asked me if I had had dinner at a place the night before and that they remembered me because of my lovely blue dress (the DK). They then ‘looked after’ me for the rest of the day.

See – sewing has many unknown and undocumented advantages!

 

 

 

 

Then one other day as I was sitting by a fountain and waiting for ReAnne who was having her hair cut some American ladies walked by and commented that I should have a photograph taken. I gave them my phone and this is it. We met them again later that day.

On another day ReAnn and I had a fabulous day tour around Guanajuato.

I wore my black muslin over-dress with white cotton shift and white linen trousers and she wore a plain black dress too, both of us in total contrast to the colourful houses – we must have looked like two devotees of some religious sect together. Apparently Guanajuato was the backdrop for some Disney animation film recently but my days of watching such genre has become temporarily dormant.

One evening we went to a really bad fashion show which I would not have missed for all the tea in China or all the Tequila in Mexico – it was so bad it was good!

On Tuesday morning I shopped at the local market and had the best meal of the entire visit – a whole fried fish, crispy on the outside and creamy white on the inside. We were the only gringos at the long table. Perfect.

I had tequila. Salt and limes included.

I helped ReAnn fit and finish her Vogue 1442 dress.

I advised and assisted Kathy with fitting and understanding the instructions for her very complicated Vogue 1424

For which she very kindly gifted me the best present ever – a cactus pincushion.

And within an hour of unpacking, my cactus had fruit, just like the real thing.

I regularly sent home pictures of Car of The Day from San Miguel.

There was art, churches, markets, eating, walking, talking, cooking class (thanks to ReAnn for the following photos), characters, sunshine, scenery, mountains,

When I had 30 mosquito bites, I stopped counting!

I didn’t have altitude sickness (6000ft), I didn’t suffer jet-lag, I didn’t get sunburn, so a few irritating insect bites were a small price to pay.

Believe me, I saturated myself with insect repellent, Avon’s Skin So Soft – you name it, I lathered it on and the wee sh*tes still found the areas that I hadn’t covered – between toes, fingertips, thumb.

Other wildlife included Silence of the Lambs sized butterflies (moths) in the bedroom.

Amazing hummingbirds….honestly, can you ever imagine an Attenborough thingy visiting your garden???

 

 

 

 

I had an absolutely brilliant time in Mexico – a unique lifetime experience for which I wholly and truly have to thank ReAnn and will probably never have ample opportunity to repay ….and of course, sewing which was our initial reason for contact.

I have henceforth decided on a new acronym: AFS = away from sewing machine! What was the first thing I did on my return home??? You guessed it.

Suitcase still packed and I hit the sewing room………there was no time to suffer jet-lag.

Take life’s opportunities NOW.

Do not wait until next year, next week, next month, tomorrow……..and if ever anyone says to you that sewing is a solitary, isolated activity – here’s absolute proof that it is not and if anyone ever offers you anything – take it!