The Model

On time at last!  Here it is, a Burda 8281 skirt (view a) completed by Beltane just before midnight:

Burda 8281(a) skirt in lightweight denim

The hem is only tacked at the moment, so am I cheating by defining it as a finished garment? Probably. I did have time to finish it last night within my deadline. But I'm swithering about what colour thread to use and how many rows of stitching (I was thinking two rows, Mr K suggested three). I figured attempting a handsewn invisible hem on denim could get a bit ugly so it will only take a minute on the machine once I've made up my mind.

At some point, I'll add a picture of the skirt as modelled by a real human. It doesn't seem to matter how I adjust my trusty dress form, I can't present finished garments well on it. In spite of the perky conical boobs (unlike any I've seen on a human) it has been a handy item for dressmaking over the years. It was an 18th birthday present and back then, it was set 1" up from the narrowest waist setting to 25". Twenty odd years and a baby later, I've had to crank it up to 28". I had a look at the new version - the fabric's a different colour and the bust doesn't look quite so pointy (maybe that's the illusion of a different colour). I think I'll get a few more years out of my old dummy. 

Supafit dress form

Once, I decided not to bother with the dummy and its pointiness when, two days before my wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to adjust one of the bust seams of my dress. With an 8" mirror tile as the only reflective opportunity in my flat, no one to help or advise on what I was doing, and a pointy-breasted dummy seemingly mocking me in the corner of the room, this turned out to be a really-not-good-idea at all. After hours of a tacking-sewing-unpicking routine and trying to angle that tiny mirror to get a proper view I gave up. Somehow, either the power of the Force or sewing elves working through the night sorted it out while I slept. Whichever way it was solved, it looked fine in the end.

I made such an arse of the last skirt, so I'm relieved that this one has turned out ok. I like the fit. I'd like to do a few more of these, possibly a couple of centimetres longer and with some applique or embroidery on them. It's a quick and easy make (when I can actually get near the sewing machine).

Snazzy Lightning vintage zips

Last time I was at the sewing shop I picked up a few vintage Lightning zips. I don't usually go for metal ones but the packet promised "permanently coloured teeth" with money back guarantee and charmful packaging offering a special offer booklet from their Publicity Dept. for 6p in stamps (bit late for that one). There was a whole box full of them in bright colours. I thought 3 was quite a restrained purchase, but now I know they're there, I'll probably "have" to go back for some more...


In other activities, we have been doing a lot of speedy racing in the dining room. It can get perilous where small cars and busy patterned carpet meet, and there have been a few unfortunate crunches underfoot. So far the Lamborghinis and Porsche have escaped any damage. So we have now introduced a parking system: