An Orange Extravaganza for Summer

After the orange excitement of last week I had a forage through my fabric stash to see what else I could find. Surprisingly there was no shortage of orange fabrics. (I may also have bought a couple of extras just in case there is a sudden world fabric shortage.)

Instead of spending Sunday sewing I disappeared down the rabbit hole of creating an orange summer wardrobe. And here it is...

I wonder how much of this imagined summer wardrobe will see the light of day or is destined to be another random rambling.

The outerwear

Not true outerwear but a wool cardigan and loose fitting shirt in cotton canvas which for Summer will hopefully be more than enough for the outer layer. Although now I have started playing I really fancy an orange leather jacket!!!

A Marcia Derse fabric from the Art History 101 collection called Timeline in the Lecture colourway printed on cotton canvas from Marcy Tilton paired with Katherine Tilton's Butterick B6491 loose fitting shirt.

An orange aqua striped Italian wool knit from Stonemountain and Daughter paired with Papercut Patterns Fjord cardigan which I have previously lengthened to mid calf. Whilst the stripes will generally go around the body I would like to play with their orientation on some of the pattern pieces.

The dresses

I will invariably use my TNT dress pattern in some form or other but otherwise I haven't really decided which pattern to use for which fabric.

Clockwise from top left: Liberty Ganton Jersey in design Powell from The Fabric Store; Marcia Derse Treasure Hunt cotton fabric from Marcy Tilton; Liberty Argyll Swim in design Mayrose from The Fabric Store; Rebecca Taylor faux leather stretch woven; Plaid floral cotton; and Calvin Klein embroidered cotton. The bottom row are all from Silhouette Patterns.

And here is one I prepared earlier (not yet blogged) the Style Arc Toni Designer Dress in the Liberty Argyll swim fabric design Mike.

Two fabrics not included in the montage have patterns firmly associated with them.

This Rebecca Taylor silk viscose called Sunrise from Silhouette Patterns I see as a classic fit and flare dress using an oldie but a goody Vogue 9243, with added short sleeves.

The second fabric with firm ideas is this large Givenchy silk scarf panel from The Fabric Store. It was purchased to be a Named Kielo Wrap dress and that is still what it will become. Although I have two of these panels I suspect some creativity with pattern placement will be required, maybe even cut on the bias.

The tops

I am strangely indecisive about the tops - not at all sure which patterns I will use. Vogue 1415 by Tom and Linda Platt view A has been on my to sew list for some time just not seeing it in any of these fabrics. The Evelyn or the Josie blouse by the Experimental Space (a recent purchase) could be a contender, although highest on my list is the Rosalee dress made into a peplum top.

Clockwise from top left: Liberty tana lawn in design Johnathon from The Fabric Store; Etheric plaid an Italian viscose woven from Marcy Tilton; Liberty silk crepe de chine in design Firenze actually from Liberty; Art Gallery Fabrics Ice-cream Shop cotton knit; Windows French digital knit from Marcy Tilton; Cotton+Steel Rifle Paper Co Wildwood collection rayon in design Petite Garden Party from Stonemountain and Daughter; Orange stripe print French viscose knit from Elliott Berman Textiles; and Cotton+Steel Bespoke Ephemera in navy cotton double gauze from Stonemountain and Daughter.

These two Rebecca Taylor fabrics (left to right: sheer poly cotton knit; and textured ITY knit) will become Kendosa's top all from Silhouette Patterns. Need the ubiquitous black top to go with all this colour.

This Valori Wells Wrenly Voile (Bloom on the left and Ingrid on the right) has been in my stash for quite some time and I have always had trouble finding the ideal pattern. As soon as I started playing with orange I knew this wanted to be a Sewing Workshop Zayn top.

The trousers

Much as I love colour it may be necessary to add a black pair of trousers to this wardrobe in order to give the senses a rest. However black trousers were not my first thought when assembling this wardrobe collection.

I recently watched the Threads Magazine / Louise Cutting DVD Easy to Sew Pants and when I washed this silk over the weekend it gave a strong indication it wanted to become a pair of one seam pants. Although I have this pattern in my collection it has never been used so I will need to make a test pair before I cut into my Calvin Klein silk from Silhouette Patterns.

These Issey Miyake Vogue 2271 trousers were altered recently but there was a severe shortage of the chosen fabric and I could only make one leg. I have since managed to buy a second leg's worth of fabric but not yet made the trousers. Given the pattern cover features an orange suit it seemed appropriate that the pattern be used with this Cosmo Textiles of Japan fruit design cotton canvas fabric from Stonemountain and Daughter.

The found

Once I started I couldn't stop my quest for orange fabrics. It brought to mind a long ago linen skirt which was taken apart to be remade into something. With trepidation I went into the half finished / remake projects box and found some things that would look fabulous in an orange summer.

As you can see this fabric was cut out but never got further than that and is now probably too small. I think with the cut-out pieces plus the left over fabric I could make the Style Arc Charlotte dress lengthened to knee length and with short sleeves. It would be fun to try and feature different colours in each dress section, rather than the horizontal stripe.

For these three fabrics I am a bit undecided. On the left is a gorgeous cotton fabric from the Pacific Islands gifted to me by a friend. It got a bit too precious to use despite buying the orange embroidered organza (centre) and a silk crepe-de-chine (not pictured) from The Fabric Store to make a dress. The coloured linen print fabric on the right is the aforementioned skirt which I found difficult to wear as the natural background has a green hue and altered how it looked with coloured tops.

The thought of making these fabrics into something is exciting. I just need to decide what the something is. Imagined sewing adventures are so invigorating if only the clothes were made before the imagination flits off into another direction.

The accessories

I have to confess that the Camper sandals were a contributing factor to my sudden obsession with an orange wardrobe the brooch from the CODA museum wasn't the sole influence.

CODA Orange Paper brooch

Chloe Faye Cross Body Bag

Top: Camper Twins Red Orange Sandals; Bottom: Camper Twins Luis Gordillo Sneakers

Parting shot

For those that have read to the end of this post here are the Kaikoura Ranges in all their winter snow glory, a fitting counterpoint to all this talk of summer wardrobe planning.

This is also a reminder that I better finish my winter coat. Apparently a burst of bitterly cold weather is due here soon. Scientists are predicting a very cold spring due to a sudden stratospheric warming event above Antarctica which results in cold blasts of air attacking New Zealand. Not holding my breath though as this has only happened twice since the late 1950's (September 2002 and 2010). On the other hand the possibility of it happening may just be the incentive I need as it certainly hasn't been cold enough so far this winter for a toasty warm winter coat.

Silhouette Patterns Lana's Wildwood Jeans

These jeans were made for the Pattern Review match your shoes contest to go with a pair of Kate Spade Edina ballet flats. However the top I chose to sew the weekend before the contest finished: (a) didn't really go with the trousers or shoes despite having rabbits on it; and (b) was a fashion disaster. The top was reverse sewn, re-cut and resewn to become a wearable top but still not with these trousers.

That hasn't stopped these jeans taking up a useful place in my wardrobe. Whilst a bit quirky they are a basic charcoal grey so are easy enough to wear with any number of my plain tops.

The finished garment

Great fun to wear with orange tops. Makes for a playful work outfit that brings me joy.

The fabric

I thought this Cotton+Steel fabric by Rifle Paper Co came from Stonemountain and Daughter but maybe I bought it from Nancy's Stitch Studio here in New Zealand.  Regardless of where it came from this is a nice fabric to make trousers.

Stonemountain still have the fabric in stock in this grey as well as a green colourway. I love that the quilt fabric manufacturers (especially the Japanese ones) now produce their prints in different fabric compositions for garment sewing.

There was nearly a fabric shortage as it is only 45" wide and one directional. Even though I purchased 2 metres it was not possible to align the pattern across the legs. The print is busy enough for this not to matter. Once I started cutting out I noticed that the print is actually mirror imaged from the centre which made matching the back pockets tricky and I basically gave up for the front pockets, back yoke and waistband.

Wildwood Fable print in grey cotton linen canvas

The pattern

My trusty Silhouette Pattern #3300 Lana's jeans was used once again to produce these trousers.

The pattern alterations

As my waist and hips are expanding I altered my TNT Lana's jeans pattern to give extra width at these points. Ultimately I added too much width at the hips and ended up increasing the seam allowance for a better fit.

Left: too much circumference; right: extra removed

In Threads Magazine #204 September 2019 there is an article about skinny-fit trousers. They explain which parts of the anatomy to measure and have a section on diagnosing fit problems. Smiles = crotch depth too short; frowns = too big overall or crotch depth too long; smirks (horizontal lines) = circumference too small. Their advice for horizontal lines is not to worry too much as it is difficult with skinny trousers to get a snug fit over the seat without forming a few wrinkles under the buttocks. They also recommend only using stretch fabrics with 2% to 7% spandex. As my cotton linen canvas has zero stretch apart from the natural give of the fabric these fit pretty well.

My biggest problem is defining whether the wrinkles are a smile or a frown. I think the picture on the right is a slight frown. But then the one on the left could be considered a smile and much of it was resolved by taking in the side seams... Back we come to my problem of defining the wrinkles!

The other change I made was to create a new curved waistband partly for my expanded waist but also because curved waistbands fit my shape better.

The sewing

These trousers were sewn as per the pattern instructions. Except that the back was sewn in its entirety including the waistband and the same for the front before the inseam was sewn. This was done to accommodate my changing shape. Should I increase/decrease in circumference I can undo the side seam and alter the fit.

Jeans back assembled - can you spot the back pocket?

Jeans front assembled

As is normal for me now with trouser waistbands I removed ⅛" from the bottom edge of the inside waistband then sew on the binding with a ¼" seam allowance. The waistband can then be sewn down by stitching in the ditch from the right side which should be just above the binding on the wrong side.

My trusty Singer Featherweight did all the straight stitching and even made the buttonhole. I was going to get out the big modern Bernina machine to sew the buttonhole but it was too much effort. Instead I used the antique Singer buttonhole attachment. I do like how this attachment sews buttonholes you just need to have a button the right size. It is difficult to believe that this attachment actually makes the zigzag stitch. I go around the buttonhole twice to get a nice neat finish.

Sewing the buttonhole using the Singer buttonhole attachment on the Featherweight

Outfit of the day

I had an orange week at work featuring these trousers with a Moochi merino top on the left and a Moochi Lay tee on the right.  The second outfit is a Style Arc Toni Designer dress still to be blogged. The third outfit is a Moochi Promise dress with the black dot self-drafted leggings.   The cardigan is the Untouched World Ecopossum coat cardi in graphite. All outfits are worn with my United Nude Rockit Ace black and gold ankle boots.

A great finishing touch for the outfits is a brooch from the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. The museum speciality is contemporary jewellery design and visual arts on and from paper and cardboard. The brooch symbolises a folded piece of paper. This would be one of those fascinating museums I would love to have a look around in person one day.

This was a gift from a friend (originally from the Netherlands) that really complements this week's work wardrobe and my new to me handbag.

Kobayashi Squiggle Squares TNT Midi Dress

This dress is largely based on my TNT pattern. The difference this time is that I used the length, hem width and V-neckline of the Style Arc Toni Designer dress. As this dress is a mash up of patterns used before I wasn't going to bother with a blog post for it but then thought others might like to see how I take my TNT pattern and make it into something else.

I enjoyed the V-neck of the Toni dress and wanted a longer more pencil skirt shape for this dress to maximise fabric use. A fitted dress was also better suited to this robust cotton twill fabric.

The finished garment

This has been worn a lot since it was made. No matter which shoes I wear for the week this dress goes with them, especially these United Nude Zink Patch Mid Pop Mix boots.

The squiggle squares sort of match up across the body and sleeves.

Not sure why I have such a horizontal fold of fabric across my back in the photos because you don't notice it when I am wearing the dress in real life.

The squiggle squares are not a straight line which made matching them at the side seams pretty impossible. They sort of match on the left side but are way out on the right side.

Left: original V neckline; Right modified square neckline

The only thing that bothered me about the dress after it was made was the V-neckline. It didn't really suit the shape of the squiggle squares. It was a bit of a faff but it irritated me enough to make the change to a more square neckline. The plunge of the neckline is now deeper than I would normally choose and was dictated by the depth of the original V-neckline. I am just hoping that it can be worn with any bra as I hate clothes that require specific underwear.

The fabric

This fabric is a cotton twill from Japanese fabric manufacturer Kobayashi, purchased from Cutting Line Designs (SKU: FF-00865) and still available! Purchased after falling down the fabric rabbit hole instead of sticking to the pattern section.

The pattern

This dress is an amalgamation of three patterns. My TNT dress pattern is Silhouette Patterns Traditional Blouse view 2 blended into the 3-piece Yoga skirt. This incarnation is mixed up with the StyleArc Toni Designer dress.

The pattern alterations

As already mentioned my TNT dress pattern was adapted to mid-calf rather than knee length with a V-neckline. Having recently made the StlyeArc Toni Designer dress this was the pattern I chose for both the length, hem width and V-neckline.

Left: front pattern pieces; Right back pattern pieces

Hopefully you can see the dress pattern pieces overlaid on the Toni Designer dress (yes a PDF pattern I have actually taped together). The front pattern piece appears longer than the back because my TNT pattern has a bust dart and I needed to compensate for this so the side seam front and back would be the same length. I did add 1" to the length of the Toni dress because I wanted a deeper hem for this woven dress.

The other change I made was to create full size pattern pieces so that I could achieve good pattern placement of the squares on the dress.

I cut the pattern in both the outer and lining fabric for the front and back body pieces but only cut the sleeves from the squiggle squares fabric.

The sewing

This was a very quick project even though I effectively made two dresses.

The darts were sewn in both lining and outer fabric. For the waist darts they were pressed in opposite directions in the lining and outer fabrics to minimise bulk.

Both the dress and the lining were sewn separately on the overlocker at the shoulder and side seams. Then the outer and lining fabric were sewn at the neckline with right sides together, and the neckline under-stitched.

The sleeves were sewn in the round with french seams. So apart from the sleeve seam all the seams are enclosed.

The sleeve is machine hemmed but I hand catch-stitched the dress hem.

Today a few weeks after the dress was finished I unpicked the neckline (under-stitching and seam). Re-drew the neckline to be squarer at centre front, with a four-inch base curving back to the original shoulder neck edge. I then sewed a cream bias binding around the right-side of the neck edge, under-stitched it and folded it to the inside. Any minute now (or at least sometime this week before I wear it) I will hand-stitch it in place to the lining.

And here it is a week later with the binding stitched down and wrinkles fresh from the wash