Simplicity 40s movie

Sewing: "Pattern for Smartness" 1948 Simplicity: http://youtu.be/-E1j9DxEEUw

Custom work #1

The last weeks I've been working on some garments for two lovely ladies.
The first one is a Chanel insipired suit that changed a lot during the process but at the end was exactly what the lady wanted.

And here is a detail of the buttons on the sleeve.

The second job was two identical dresses for a lady that wanted to copy an old dress and make two of it: one for her and one for the daughter.

Colette Sorbetto

Finally I've finished my Sorbetto top, a freebie from Colette Patterns!

I found the pattern really easy to make up but it's really short (well. at least for me...I'm a tall girl) so I add 3 inches to the hem.

The only part a little bit "tedious" was the bias binding on the edges ( I used the tutorial from Liola Designs). I love how it comes out but it's really time consuming.

My next accessory to buy is a bias binding foot for my sewing machine: I love to finish the edges with bias binding but stitching it in place is long.

What do you think? 

Birmingham fabric shopping

Last Tuesday I’ve been in Birmingham visiting some friends and I managed to spare some times for some shopping.

Before the trip I googled and asked about fabric and haberdashery shops and everybody suggest me the Rag Market area near the Bullring.

What can I say? It’s great and full of good priced fabric and lot of haberdashery.

First, the Rag Market. It’s a covered market (with an uncovered section) where you can find fabric and haberdashery, dog food, lingerie, ethnic and halal food, phone accessories and so on. The fabric and haberdashery stalls are a lot, some of the them specialized in curtains and upholstery fabric, some in cotton, some in fancy fabric, some having a little of everything, but the common line is the cheap price: starting from £1 per metre you can easily grab a bargain.

Just outside the Rag Market there is another massive fabric store, the Fancy Silk Store. Four floors of fabric, from curtains to cotton, to exquisite lace. Great selection but not as cheap as the stalls in the market, good for when a reliable fabric is needed for some special project (don’t tell this to my husband if not he will remind about that suit I promised to make for him…)

I missed another big shop just next to the market, Barry’s, next time I will make sure not to miss it.

And here’s what I’ve bought: a teal stretchy lace in the Rag Market for £3 a metre, a beautiful lace £4 a metre (this stall is outside the covered market and has a massive selection of lace and trims), 08 spools of Moon thread, £0,60 each, a real bargain and good quality thread.

Sorbetto Sew-Along

Here we are! Fron an idea in the Facebook Group My Home Made Wardrobe I'm proud to introduce you to the Sorbetto Sew-Along! It's starting next week and we'll work on the Colette Sorbetto pattern.
I've downloaded the pattern last summer, bought the fabric and then...well, I have no printer and I always forgot about it when I've been to the library.
This is the perfect occasion for finally working on this top.
The fabric I bought is from Fabricland and is a cream light-medium cotton with tiny red dots.

Let's get started!