Escaping to Edinburgh

Unfortunately there has been little blog-worthy news over the last week or so. Dealing with the house, estate agent and solicitors took up most of my time, although I can finally report that we have exchanged contracts and are due to get the keys later this week. The way things have gone, I'll only believe it once the keys are in our hands!

To get away from the stress of it all, we decided to go away for the weekend and had a very relaxing time in Edinburgh. Given it was a very short break, we treated ourselves to a boutique hotel with a rooftop garden. It was so beautiful and peaceful! This is me in the rooftop garden with Calton Hill in the background.

There were very few fibre-related pursuits to report, we did go to a Tartan mill although there wasn't much to see - more of a glorified shop! Instead we wandered the streets of the Old Town, took in a Whisky heritage tour and tasting, and spent the evening at Jongleurs comedy club (Laughter is definitely the best stress reliever!)

Mum and I went to Abakhan last week to choose some yarn and a pattern for a summer cardigan (she purchased the yarn and the pattern and has handed them over to me for the actual knitting part!) so I managed to make a start on it as we drove up to Scotland. She hinted she'd like to wear it for a wedding in three weeks so I need to knit it fast!!

Why its good to sew - reason no. 4,812

Just one day after I posted about the Indian sweatshops supplying our garment industry, the BBC news posted a story suggesting that one side effect of the current economic climate is that the cost of RTW clothing is likely to go up. Farmers are switching away from cotton cultivation, in favour of more lucrative crops such as soy beans, corn and wheat, while the rising cost of energy means factories can't produce the garments quite so cheaply.

Like never before, I'm so glad I can sew and that I enjoy creating my own garments. This week I had itchy fingers big style and couldn't wait to come home from work to get to the sewing machine. My local fabric store is only open late night on Thursdays so I had to wait to go shopping or sew something completely from my stash.

This is the end result. Yes - I couldn't wait to get started. Yes - both the fabric and pattern were in my stash!! (Although I did have to go buy dress lining on Thursday).

The pattern was New Look 6057 which I'm guessing has been discontinued for ages as I bought it in Montreal so that means at least 6 years ago! I'd also cut the pattern out a few years ago when I was a size smaller so had to do a little grading as I cut. I cut View D which is for border-print fabric and used satin ribbons for the ties instead of making fabric ones. I did an FBA and I lengthened the skirt by a good 4 inches at least to make it below-knee length. When I tried it on I realised I'd need to add a split at the back seam for walking ease. Because of the off-the-cuff alterations I did, it's hard to comment on the pattern sizing, but I would say that the neckline scoops down lower in front and back than I anticipated and I had to shorten the straps to prevent them falling off my shoulders.

The fabric is a lightweight broderie anglaise with scalloped edges along both selvedges. I placed the scalloped edge along the bottom of the skirt. I really wanted to skip the lining but the fabric wasn't quite opaque enough so I bought some cheap satin and lined the dress completely. I managed to grab this shot with the last bit of evening sunshine although the finished garment looks more fitted on me as Athena is a little skinnier!

Blood, Sweat and T-shirts

While channel-surfing last night, I found a really interesting tv show - “Blood, Sweat and T-shirts” - about 6 British fashion addicts who went over to India to see the other side of the garment industry. They were put to work on the production line for a large factory, sewing clothes for Calvin Klein, Zara and many other high street lines. After a series of sewing tests, those who failed were sent to the finishing room where they were expected to iron 60 shirts an hour. Those who passed and were assigned to a sewing machine on a production line didn’t have it any easier – they were assigned one task per garment (sewing cuffs, collars or seams) and had to sew at the same speed and standard as their Indian counterparts – in some cases handling two garments a minute! And all this for the equivalent of £1.50 a day - barely a living wage.

It was pretty eye-opening..... And that was one of the good factories! If the Brits thought they had it tough in that place, they were not prepared for their second job – working at a sweatshop which supplies some of the cheaper end stores in the UK and USA. Rather than perfecting and repeating one section of the task, employees sewed the garment from start to finish, while the lights flickered and the electricity went on and off. They were expected to complete over 30 garments a day in these poor conditions. And if that meant working late into the night and sleeping on the floor under their sewing table, so be it.

It definitely made me think twice about the cut-price fashions on today's high street. Yes - a £5 shirt is great for my budget - but where did it come from? And how many underpaid workers' hands did that garment pass through. Is it worth the larger ethical price?

If you can get BBC 3 and are interested in the global implications of the fashion industry, next week's episode (Tuesday BBC 3, 9pm) will follow the Brits as they experience the sweatshop firsthand. If you can't get BBC 3, there are clips from last night's episode posted on Youtube already

The show notes and video highlights are here on the BBC website while Thread magazine – the online magazine abut ethical eco-fashion which accompanies the series– can be read here

That time of year again...

Well it's officially Spring - even if the weather doesn't feel like it - and as wedding season starts, the invites begin to arrive. Thankfully I'm a bridesmaid at one event, so my dress was chosen and ordered by the bride. But I do need an outfit for an August wedding. So of course my thoughts are turning to wedding sewing!

Although I have been dress-shopping with my mum in anticipation of a few summer weddings this year, I've found myself sketching ideas rather than trying on any RTW garments. Before summer is out I definitely want to sew something with this combination of fabrics - embroidered eyelet linen with a coral silk lining. You can't tell on this pic but the linen has a shaped edging along both selvedges which may restrict my pattern choices somewhat. I've spent most of the weekend searching the online pattern catalogues to find something that matches the ideas in my head!

So far I'm considering a bodice/skirt combo - very straight lines and quite fitted - a little like New Look 9466 but with a knee-length skirt rather than the full length version. I also really like New Look 6699 (the photographed garment, straight bodice and skirt, ruched midriff) but I'm not sure how to make my fabric work with the ruched midriff? unless I can find some plain linen to coordinate?

Hmm - too many decisions...

So I'm turning to you. What do you think I should make with this fabric? And what are you planning on sewing for summer parties this year?

Burdastyle: Sidonie skirt

So I’m a full week into my new job and so far things are going fine. There will definitely be some challenges but there are some benefits. For the first time in my life, I have an hour’s lunch break – a whole hour to get away from my desk and read sewing magazines and plan projects!! Plus the shorter commute means I can enjoy longer evenings to sew all the projects I’m planning.

But as with any new job, the first week is tiring so it was the weekend before I could pull out my sewing machine. After spending all day Saturday browsing the local posh dress shops for potential mother-of-the-bride outfits for Mum (while she tried stuff on, I sketched ideas and thought about fabric!), I was ready to get sewing on my first free day - Sunday!

I only have half a hem left to do on my Vogue skirt – but I have the attention span of a gnat at the moment so of course I pulled out a new piece of fabric and pattern to start on something new! The “something new” was the Sidonie skirt from Burdastyle. I’ve been a member of the site for ages and can’t believe this is the first garment I’ve made. But it was a quick "instant gratification" project which I love.
I printed and assembled the pattern (adding about 3 inches in length), cut the fabric and sewed the skirt from start to finish on Sunday afternoon,finishing the hem just before bedtime! I did change the construction a little - I skipped the lining, eliminated the centre back seam and then rotated the zipper into the side seam. The pattern was a breeze to sew up and it makes a great basic skirt for work.
The skirt took around 1m50cm using the layout I needed in order to cut both front and back on the bias. The fabric is a black cord embroidered with red and yellow threads and embellished with red sequins. It was a bit of a bargain (T P Textiles, costing approx £3.50/m). I'm not sure how it will hold up to repeated washings - hence the reason I knocked up a quick little skirt - but it adds a bit of sparkle to my daily wardrobe for now!

Finished the Missoni-esque cardigan!

I completed this jacket on Sunday afternoon - unfortunately after the lovely sunshine on Saturday, we were greeted with hail and snow on Sunday! Not ideal for outdoor photoshoots!! So I finally managed to grab a photo when I got home from work today.

The pattern is Sirdar 8739 and was knitted in Sirdar Blur. I used 3 balls of the main colour and one each of the contrast colours so it wasn't an expensive garment to knit.

Although it was initially quite fun to see the stripes develop, I did get a bit bored knitting the 1x1 rib on the shawl collar and the belt. For that reason, and because of the distinctiveness of the design, I don't think I'll be making this again. The fluffiness of the mohair yarn did also make the garment a little difficult to sew up (another reason why this took me so long to complete) but there are some lovely colourways in Sirdar Blur if you wanted to make this design your own. A purple-orange-brown or maybe a pink-purple-cream combo??

My Cherie Amour, lovely as a summer day....

I had that song in my head the whole time I was knitting this! So it was lucky the sun shone today so I could get outside for a good photo shoot! Despite the cold, the sky was bright and clear and very Spring-like! So the details:

The pattern is Cherie Amour from Knitty. I knitted a small and it fits fine (I would usually knit a 36B) as the yarn/pattern combo does have some stretch. We'll see how it holds up after a few washes... The body is knitted in the round which was a new one for me! I got a little confused when decreasing for the v-neck but there was tons of good advice on Ravelry. As advised, I ignored the pattern, knitting in lace pattern 2 and decreasing on every RS row until I had the required number of stitches.

The yarn is James C Brett Marble Chunky which is available in Abakhan for £3.70/200g. I used two balls for this top, making it £7.40 total! What a bargain! The colourway is MC5 which is a mix of brown, rust and olive.

Unfortunately the bug I had last week really knocked me out. Moving house when you have a fever is not fun - and I spent most of last week recuperating. I didn't even have the energy to pick up any needles - sewing or knitting - so I haven't been as productive as I hoped. The solicitors originally hoped we'd complete on our new house in 3 weeks, but we are in a long chain and the current state of the housing/mortgage market in the UK is slowing things down. We'll just have to see how long my mum is willing to put up with my sewing machine in her nice tidy lounge!! As much as it is fun to be home again, I'm hoping I don't outstay my welcome!