Raglan Jacket with a Twist!

Following from the raglan dress I recently made for my friend, I explored this technique further by applying it to a longer sleeve and the result was a raglan jacket for myself.

The picture does not fully show the whole jacket as there was only a small part of my room bathed in the morning sunlight and this small part happened to be on my extremely cluttered table!

The pattern started off with the pleats on the raglan sleeve as this was the main feature. There is no seam connecting the front part of the sleeve and the back as this has been taken in by the pleats. I had to cut the pattern off at the elbow as the raglan sleeve was already more than a metre long. The middle line of this pattern is what was the seam from the front and back pieces.

I then started to draw the style line on the body and decided where the pocket was going. I also wanted the neckline to be on the top of my neck so I draped the pattern on a dummy to get the exact contour. 

My fabric options was either a tweedy wool or a felt type wool but I saw this remnant imperial wool fabric for sale with a texture like neoprene and I thought it would great to work with a new material. Seeing how well this material worked with the design, I am tempted to get more but found out that this type of wool is usually only sold to the Middle Eastern market.

I've also put in this post a picture of my bad luck-good results shirt. A wonderful shirt I made for myself which I managed to ruin by washing it with a pair of red trousers! After bleaching it white, I decided to colour it blue but with an ombre effect.

It worked quite well that the lining of the jacket above was done using the same technique but with tea as the dye. 

Suits You, Sir!

I finished my suit a while ago. Yes, the one that took me ages. I never had to chance to wear it until I went out for dinner with my friends a few days ago to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The pattern was drafted from my own measurements and it is of a slim fitting type. The fabric is a blue fine merino wool that was woven in UK. In terms of the sewing technique, I mixed in hand sewing techniques with machine sewing. I tried to emulate the bespoke techniques such as the shaping of the collar and lapel.

Another shot of me in my suit at St Pancras Station, kindly shot by Kim Law Photography (www.kimlawphotography.com).

Overall, this suit fits me pretty well and I am very happy with my first attempt in making a bespoke suit. I am going to try making a second suit but this time with a more denser material. And with mistakes learnt from this suit, I hope that my second attempt will be more finer and incorporate bespoke techniques such as hand canvasing.

Liberty Print Trouser

I'm ushering in the first day of the year of the Dragon with a huge BANG! Found this fabulous fabric on sale in Liberty a week ago and immediately fell in love with it. I was going through the fabrics and somehow laid this on my lap and I notice how this lovely print can be translated into a pair of trouser.

A close shot of the fabric. Luckily I have short legs so the metre remnant was just right for me. Although I did buy another piece just in case. Or if I needed another pair of shorts for summer (AGAIN!). However, the tana lawn from Liberty can be a bit thin so I backed it up with a black cotton fabric.

The pattern for this trousers is pretty simple as I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the print. So I used my slim fit trouser pattern but ommited the belt loops. I did sew in two straps at the each side so I can tie the waistband tighter in case if I lost inches from my waist (I highly doubt that). 

I hope that I have not scared the dragon away with this print but saying that, I am mustering the courage to wear this loud; Liberty print trouser. Maybe summer, when I can pair this with a plain white T-shirt and sandals. 

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers. Wishing you a prosperous new year!

It's Nearly Chinese New Year!

I recently made for my friend's daughter a cute dress to wear using a floral fabric I bought over the internet. It's a simple dress with ties on the shoulder and a waist belt so there is enough room for her to grow with the dress.

My friend was so pleased with the dress that she commissioned me to make one with the same print. Something that both of them could wear for Chinese New Year. I set off drawing sketches and the first one I completed is shown below.

It's a nice shift dress, simple enough to compliment the print. I immediately show it to my friend and she loved the shoulder detail but wanted something she could wear over and over again. Even during maternity. Wow! That was a big challenge for me. Something to wear even during maternity. So I revised the design and altered it to a dress with pleats above the waist.

This design got her seal of approval and off I went again to draw her pattern block and dressa pattern. I was deciding whether to drape the shoulder detail or attempt flat pattern cutting. But as she was significantly smaller than my dress model, I had to resort to flat pattern cutting. I have to admit that this process was extremely fun and exciting as I was thinking of all the ways to create the pleats on the should (even in my sleep). Eventually my brainstorming lead to a technique which worked pretty well to create a pattern.

The results of the patterns were translated onto the fabric with the following outcome.

Quite successful if I do say so myself. The raglan sleeve worked wonders and the pleats managed to stay put as well.

I'm so happy with the outcome that I'm off to deliver this dress to my friend.

Last One Before The New Year!

So it's 2012 tomorrow and I thought I'd post something after a long absence. Yes, Yes! I can hear my friends mumbling 'Finally'. So to wrap up this year, I made my mom a blouse for Chinese New Year. I've made her loads of dresses in the past but this time I thought of something elegant but easy to wear.

The pattern for this dress consist of a basic bodice with a shaped waist (but I removed the dart for a bit more ease), a puff sleeve (extended by a couple of inches to create the 'bellowing' effect) and a scarf for a collar that can be tied. I wanted to make something that is mature for my mom but also something I know my sister will steal to wear too. I'm sure mom had something like this in the past.

My initial fabric choice was a vintage cream cotton but the fabric shop I usually go to was closed so I ended up buying a wine red silk Habutai instead. It's light and comfortable enough to wear in hot weather (mom's in Malaysia) despite the long sleeve. I love how the lightness of the fabric wisps when the wind blows.

I also added lace as details on the collar and the cuff.

I tried playing with the collar and it also looks nice with just one knot and the rest dangling.

I really love the sleeve detail but had to hand stitch the lace to prevent it from moving away from the cuff.

I love the result and can't wait till mom wears it. The quality is good for a days work but I'm annoyed at the button holes. If I had more time, I would have done it by hand.

Anyway, to anyone who has been following my blog, have a great 2012. Leave the bad behind and bring the best of this year to 2012.

From Paper to Calico to Paper to Calico

One good habit I have learnt from my pattern cutting course is to be a perfectionist. I can still hear my tutor's going, 'Get everything together before you start making the cake! Get the fit and proportion right before you even start on the style!' And that is exactly what I am doing. 

I wanted to include a well made suit to my portfolio. After all, anyone can make a suit but not everyone can make one that is to die for. So I started with a block pattern, draped it on the stand and adjusted the fit. But alas, this has been going on for ages. I have forgotten how many times I have altered the pattern to make the fit absolutely perfect. And I'm not even there yet. My next toile will be my 3rd. I dare not even think about details such as the lapel style until I get my final toile done first.

I'm surprised why a coat only took me a couple of toile before I had the final pattern but a suit is taking me ages. Anyway, I shall persevere. After all, this pattern block will form the basis for any suit I intend to make in the future. Got to get everything ready before I make my cake!

Autumn in Holland Park

Saturday was a great day to go out to London. And what made it even better was that I managed to complete my wool coat in time too. It took me ages to get the fit right on paper and calico before I even started the pattern cutting. I used the techniques I learnt from my Innovative Pattern Cutting course I did in Central St Martins a while back and suffice to say, the course was well worth it's weight in gold. All the techniques and tricks came rushing back into my head and I finally managed to used some of the methods taught. I can confidently say that my sewing has improved as well.

Anyway, back to the coat. I used a thick navy wool fabric I got from the remnant basket in Cloth House and topped it up with a red wool fabric to create the contrasting pattern. The inspiration was from Napoleon with his navy coloured military jacket with contrasting red sash. But the jacket also somewhat gave a 70s vibe to it too. I do have to say that I didn't warmed up to the results at first but after I sewed the buttons on, it took away all my uncertainties. It's funny how one small item can change the whole look in an instant.

Front shot of the coat in Holland Park. I'm also wearing my piano silk shirt and my slim fit pants. 

This is another shot of my look for the day shot in Holland Park Mews. A big thanks goes to Kim Law for these amazing photographs. (To view Kim's website or commission him, click here)

I've also uploaded some pictures of my own (less artistic) showing how the coat looks like when buttoned up and how the back looks like as well.

The red wool fabric on the back to the collar is one piece, made so because I wanted to give some structure to the collar and allow it to stand upright. Useful for those cold windy days. I didn't have a shot of the lining but I used a quilted lining so that this coat can withstand any cold weather that's coming my way.

I can strike this coat of my to do list but am excited to move on to my next piece.