Lovely Ladies in London!!

I left my house this morning to meet a bunch of strangers off the Internet.... 
Sounds like the beginning of  a bad made for TV movie that doesn't end well doesn't it?

Well, I never! Did Miss J come out from behind her sewing machine and socialise with the sewing community!??

Oh yes she did.
Today I went to the fabric shopping and social meet up organised by Lauren of Lladybird http://lladybird.com/

Turns out to have been a good day! Met ladies with fabulous sewing/patternmaking skills who's blogs I follow so I recognised them from the Internet (obviously Lauren) and also Sally which in a way was a bit weird, but good weird, kinda like meeting a celeb!  Of course nobody had a bloody clue who I was, but that's what you expect from never posting your picture on your blog!

Met some very talented, friendly, interesting women today. Some of them have great eye for fabric
 (very dangerous to go fabric shopping with them as they notice all the hot fabrics - you know who you are!) Amazed at some of the garms they had made not just in sewing but other crafts also. Some are sewing vets and some are just starting out, just a shame I didn't get to speak with everyone.

Got lost in all the talk about Renfrews and Collett patterns etc. but as I've been on a major pattern fast and spending untold time trying to draft my own, it all seems like another language to me! Will have to lurk these Indie patterns to know what the hell everyone is on about!
 
Believe I've made some new friends,  looking forward to future meet ups and keeping in touch and comparing what we've made!


 
Today has taught me:

1. It's good to meet up with like minded folks

2. Miss J, please sew something that is weather appropriate!! You don't live in Southern California so what's with all the floral dresses and pencil skirts?! Please sew a pair of trousers and a jacket so you coulda had something to wear to a Winter meet up to show peeps you can actually string a needle.

3. Close the purse sooner.  Do you really need to add to that fabric stash? You're a metre of cotton away from being declared a hoarder.

4. I'm an antisocial luddite.  Must get on this Pinterest/ Instagram/ Twitter stuff.


Here's what I bought.  Very conservative colours for me, seems like this Autumn/Winter thing might be kicking in!

-X-

Books, Bloggers and You Tube to the Rescue!!

I line most of my items because I like the way it makes the garments feel a bit more expensive and well made. It even makes them easier to iron, the VPL doesn't show through and I like the idea that the inside of the garment can be as cute as you like!

 BUT lining vented skirts was something that I just couldn't get.  I went to a class where it was demonstrated and it just seemed like some form of magic that I wouldn't ever be able to get.   I just didn't get it and I wasn't even sure about drafting the pattern for the lining. I'm okay with drafting the pattern for the skirt itself.

Now, I could have just left the linings free hanging like this dress I bought from Marks and Spencer, but I wasn't feeling it, I mean I'm trying to get skills here!

The lining on the back of this vented dress ain't sayin' nothing!

Now Connie Long's Easy Guide to Sewing linings is a great book which I used as a basis for cutting the pattern for lining my pencil skirt but even then I was still being a bit thick on the mechanics of actually sewing the thing together.   Thanks "A Fashionable Stitch" and "Fashion SewingBlog" your clear descriptions and diagrams were the final piece of the puzzle in explaining the conundrum of how to line a vented skirt! If you need help with lining vented skirts see here for Sunni's great tutorial.
http://www.afashionablestitch.com/2010/sewalongs/pencil-skirt-lesson-3-back-vent-tutorial-part-ii/ and see http://www.fashionsewingblog.com.Colleen's excellent video explains it all.  Thanks guys.

Now, I've got a thing about pencil skirts.  They go with so much, lend themselves to all kinds of fabrics, patterned or plain. I hope to make more, here are my two lined, vented creations.


Memo to self - cotton linings and opaque tights are not really friends.  The skirt seems to want to ride up. Very annoying! I'll try the smooth viscose lining for my winter skirts. 

Pencil skirt with invisible zip through waistband

The lining, made with viscose material that bad colour run on the test wash and then an even worse dye job to repair, but waste not, want not eh?

Yeahhhh!!! No more shop bought pencil skirts that are too big in the waist and too tight in the hip. No more compromise on the length,  now I can have vents in the back, side or front of my skirt if I want!

Love it!!!!

Pencil skirt made with scraps of mustard cotton with a decorative pleated waistband,
poppers closure with belt loops and lapped zip. Lining is polycotton.