Kate in Olympian Blue

Kate wore a Stella McCartney’s in what seemed to be a brighter version of Olympian Blue, one of Pantone’s colours for Fall 2012, on a visit to the National Portrait Gallery. The colour cannot be any more apt as she is the official ambassador for the London 2012 Games.

For those who admire her style, adore simple dresses, and would love to own a similar number, it is essentially slightly modified from the basic bodice and skirt block. The natural waist is brought higher, busts darts discarded/transfered to the waist and the usually concealed dart is now visible on the outside. When I first practiced sewing on my own as a newbie, I made this mistake of sewing inside out. Look what happened: it is now a designer detail on Stella McCartney!

Lesson of the day: never be afraid to make mistakes!

(Images from whatkatewore)

Veh hot ah!

The weather has been incredibly unkind in SG: hitting a whopping high of 31degC today. I blame the humidity for making everything unbearable. C’est très chaud et humide! While planning for the subsequent sewing projects, I realized I need to plan for my working wardrobe. For next year this time, I definitely need some teacher-friendly summer clothes. I am not sure if I will embrace the idea of wearing pants. I am not a pants person. Thought it can be convenient, I do not like the idea of suffocating my legs! I think I will wear lots of dresses and skirt-blouse ensemble. Yes I need to continue to work on Project MNS!

For such weather, cotton, french dior (sidoll included) and peach skin are the best materials to work with. They do not need to be lined. If the outer fabric is sheer, material for the lining should be breathable. While most cotton and acetate are ideal, there are some that sticks to your body when it comes in contact with moisture (perspiration in this case).

Here are some of my favourite patterns:

• Multi-pattern shift dress. Shift dresses are must haves! They are basic and easy to wear.
• Anda from Burdastyle. This is one of the most versatile pattern, in both fitted and loose versions. The best part of the pattern is the dropped sleeves – you save a step of drawing and attaching the sleeves, yet you can still cover a wee bit of the arms. I have redrawn Anda in my own measurements to suit my Asian fit.
• Parisienne from Burdastyle. This is another pattern with very clean lines, and goes well with both solids or patterned prints. I am going to try this pattern soon!
• Sorbetto from Colette. This is a basic with a twist. You can manipulate the design and add decoratives easily. Mena from SewWeekly has made 7 varied pieces over 7 days. If you have a bodice block, you can turn it into Sorbetto easily.
• B.A.T from Project X. Another of my favourite shape – a basic U-neck bodice with a rectangle skirt – works best with prints!

Burdastyle has also consolidated a post of dresses for the summer. I’m definitely drawing some inspirations from there. It will be a slow-and-steady-on-going project. Let’s see how it all works out!

Pussy-Bow;

Pussy-bow silk-satin top from Chloé, £499.34 (SGD 983.67)

Houndstooth Dress seen on karla’scloset

Hazel from Victory Patterns, $10.00 CAD (SGD 12.55)

Dress #1 from Intermediate class, ~SGD 10

I shall re-attempt the pussy-bow pattern during the holidays or when Sew Weekly calls for when I have the time.

Super pattern;

After submitting a handful of assignments this week, I think I deserve a break. A break to catch up with my sewing! I realised that one of the reasons for my backlogs of sewing projects is drafting. Unless I am reusing my old patterns, I need to draft the pattern for every new piece. It could take up a good 30mins if I need to figure out where to cut in, how low the neckline should be, how much allowance to give etc. Here’s what I thought of to solve this “problem”: to draft a multi-design basic block! I figured out some measurements, which are based on past experiences (in class and Project X) and basic mathematics, that worked for me and combine them into one single pattern. I made a normal and princess-cutting version with both bodice and dress block in them.

Let’s see how it all turns out!