For North Americans, the UK term "fancy dress" translates as what we'd wear for a costume party. I remember when I first heard the term from English relatives, I incorrectly translated it in my head as "formal wear".
Have kept my first ever attempt at a medieval "icecream cone" headdress (an "atour", by the way, not a hennin). Discovered a stain on the fashion fabric, then discovered the fabric puckered when wet, so I'd have to wet the whole thing. That's when I discovered the structure in the foundation fabric was watersoluble starch which promptly went down the drain. Was left with a structure about as stiff as a paper tissue standing on its side. The original attempt lives in my stash as a decoration and reminder of my journey. Somehow the whole thing was just so hilarious it doesn't feel embarrassing, not much anyway..
16 year old you did really well for her first sewing project! My first two were in jersey, and while I feel I did quite well with minimal mistakes, jersey is also a nice forgiving material. My current non jersey project has been sitting in my UFO pile for over a year now lmao.
I made my first Ren Faire costume last year, and the hem of the shirt was TERRIBLE because I had never done something like that before, and you know what, I didnt care because it was tucked in, I was proud that I tried! and the second time I made that shirt, it was better! ADDITION: Can you make a video of sewing that dinosaur pattern???? Please???
Hey this is so entertaining thank you. Honestly, that poly satin is really hard to press and get any kind of crisp out of it so young you may have tried and been defeated by the fabric! I also LOVE that you chose orange, not pink or blue or purple. I award points for that ;-)
PS Your Bernina, gorgeous creature that it is (mine is a 1220 from the early 90s and I LOVEZ IT) would totally take a buttonhole foot. It's called a 3A, has a wee red slider that you use to set the size against the button, then you use it as a guide. I love Bernina buttonhole feet because they make it towards you not away from you like other brands. I've only ever used Berninas in the last 30+ yers and other brands give me the collywobbles hehehe.
What a nice video to show how far you've come! As a mostly self-taught hobby sewist I'm always a bit jealous when you talk about your training with teachers correcting you - on the other hand I am also quite proud of how far I've come on my own, one project at a time. :) I'm currently constructing a pattern for a costume and will be using your perfect sleeve tutorial for setting in the sleeves of the blouse. Wish me luck!
I think we took our GCSEs at around the same time (because I finished year 11 in 2008) and you describing the fabric buying experience is giving me PTST flashbacks to buying fabric for my own textiles project. I did the "east Asian inspired modern clothing" brief (because I was really into anime at the time) and I used a stencil to hand paint white (centre) to red (edge) ombre dragonflies all over my black fabric. Except once I was done, the edges were far more pink than red and did not match the red fabric I'd bought to use as the edging. So I travelled 15 miles (because I also lived in the countryside) to a fabric land to buy something more pink, but they just didn't have anything suitable. There was also a john Lewis a short walk away so me and my mum trudged off to look at their shockingly small selection of dressmaking fabric and somehow they actually had a cotton in the perfect shade. It was genuinely the only thing in the entire shop that was the right fabric and it was in the perfect shade. Also this was about a week before the deadline because I'd spent so much time painting dragonflies 😅 Also this video kinda makes me want to recreate my GCSE project now
Playing thread chicken with a sewing machine is one thing - doing it on your overlocker is another! You know your game of thread chicken is getting serious when youre going thru pulled thread cabbage for that last little amount to finish that last 30 cm. Thoughht I was the only one!
@@RetroClaude Snap girl - high five. I also re-use tacking threads, anything longer than 30 cm i end up keeping. Some say im just overcompensating for my hugely expensive fabric habit but when you realise how expensive quality threads are, they would never waste them either eh!
The owl video was one of the many videos RU-vid has been showing me. That outfit turned out so astoundingly adorable! I highly recommend everyone watching it!👑😁
at times I was all "Claude, be kind to yourself!" But you were, actually, in the end :) Adding to the chronological playlist that now has over 39 hours of Claude: ru-vid.com/group/PLfEU046kSCXbS0pOD-m3ApThqvyQpkSxi
You rocked that zipper! I, too, love that book. My mother taught me on an early electric Singer starting when I was 11. Ran into that book later, and it has never failed me when it came time to do rarely practiced techniques.
Lovely job on blouse and , for me, the sleeves look very, very lovely. (I just found your channel and subscribed). I used to see like this all the time and loved making my own clothes and also dresses and nightgowns for mum I’m. She loved me sewing and used to help with any hand work. Very happy days. When i was about 22 I bought my first electric sewing machine…….before this I had used mum’s old , hand wheel Singer. Yes, watching you sew brings happy memories to me. I still see, easy stuff like pillow cases and always do the running repairs:). The one thing I have NEVER done is put in a Zip!! It’s my New Year Resolution EVERY year but is a big FAIL!!! (At 76 and post stroke I think I’ll just carry on sewing and enjoy what I CAN do. Keep up your very good work❤️.
I sewed my very first lapel collar on a toile I’m working on today, and when it came time to press it I remembered your tip for rolling the seam between your fingers! I love your channel and I’ve learned so much from you. I’m really enjoying these compilations as well! ❤
I've still got my copy of The Complete Guide to Sewing too 😊 Mine is dated 1985 so not a first edition but it looks like the patterns are the same as in your edition. Blimey, they take me right back to the seventies. Berni Inn anyone? 😂
I know you won't be sewing as much anymore, but if you do feel better, can I make a request for Derek the Dinosaur? I need to see how that works out! 🤣 🦕🦖
I made a very similar shirt and utterly hated the weird way they wanted the camp collar done. Then I found a video by Lifting Pins and Needles showing where she made a one piece facing instead of the two the pattern called for and it looked much easier.
I had the exact same question. I just went over the comments from the video from 2 years ago to see if anyone else had asked this question already, and there would be an answer. I would love to see a pattern from this popcorn sweater 😍.
This was so much fun to watch again. I sort of wish I still had some of the outfits I made in high school, but then, they were dreadful. It was the 80s after all.😂
A very good job for a 16 year old sewing. I was lucky enough to have taken an old-school sewing class in high school. Our teacher taught us techniques that I’ve seen in higher end sewing videos. It’s so nice that you kept one of your first projects.
My first project more than 40 years ago, was a bikini from non stretchy cotton fabric. Great fabric choice. But at least I only needed a tiny piece of fabric.
wait. .why should buttonholes be vertical? Then the button will make the holes gaping at any kind of tension on them. Horisontal the button hooks into the end of the hole really nicely
It's very usual when you have a narrow button band down the front - as in a man's shirt. So if a blouse pattern has enough ease and a similar style the buttons will sit nicely in the band looking better. You are right on tops with less ease though - buttons horizontal to take the tension. Patterns in the 70s and 80s had a lot of room! Wide shoulders with pads and dropped shoulders - it certainly was a look 😂
I was wondering about the same thing. I‘ve had one since quite early in my sewing journey (it was a gift) and it‘s such a huge help! Although you may not need it now 😢
