SEWING A VENT

After much fear and trepidation, I have finally succeeded in sewing a vent extension without a hitch.

I sewed a dress from a pattern I drafted recently where the vent had to become a “design feature” to put it nicely, because the thing ended up like a box pleat. And the lining? Yes, it was put in as a box pleat in the back as well. Oh, the horror. To think that a lady who has sewn her own wedding gown that turned out magnificently had botched such a “beginner” skill. Guess what? It’s not! Vent extensions were not commonly used in household sewing until the 1930’s! Therefore, worry not, you can learn to sew a vent extension if you haven’t done one yet or have been reluctant to start sewing that pencil skirt because there is a vent in the back. It is scary, but it exists, so there must be a way to make it happen!

Take charge and watch these videos before you begin! Then, I shall explain the niceties of the vent.

FashionSewingBlogTV: Sewing lining to a Vent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV6dNTi6WvU

                                    Sewing a vent:               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLzya7hRUXY

ProfessorPincushion:     How to sew a Back Slit or Vent Extension: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66aq038eP5Y

Here are some things about sewing a vent that I figured out:

1) Do not finish edges of fashion fabric or lining when putting lining into dress. Do it later. The seams will be hidden by the lining anyway…

2) Work on the back of the dress/skirt first before sewing any side seams because it makes the process so much easier!

3) Some patterns have the curved underlap like Colleen shows in her video. Cut out the pieces as they are shown in your pattern for best results. I cut mine out both the same.

4) Fashion Fabric: You can baste the vent extension, clip the TOP LAYER and then press it to the RIGHT

            Then, you will do the same thing with the lining but press to the LEFT. Then TAKE OUT basting!

5) DO NOT SEW THE LINING VENT EXTENSION! Only sew the vent extension on the fashion fabric.

6) The DOT is all-powerful. Pay attention to the DOT. You will need it for EVERYTHING, so make sure you mark the DOT on the fashion and lining fabric on the wrong side of ALL PIECES.

7) The seam you will sew that encases the lining in the fashion fabric is ¼”, so you will need to stop sewing the vent extension on the fashion fabric ¼” from the edge. Don’t backstitch it so you can open up the seam edge and finagle it if needed.

Steps to sewing a vent:

1)     Take the back pieces of your pattern, sew in the darts and staystitch neckline and armholes.

2)     Line up the zipper you are using and decide if you are sewing an invisible zipper, All Purpose zipper, or a LAPPED zipper. Mark where the zip ends on fashion and lining fabric.

3)     Baste the 5/8” Seam allowance for the zipper from start to end. (Length 4, Tension 1-2)

4)     Stitch the area from end of zipper to the DOT with normal stitch (Length 2, Tension 3)

5)     Baste the area from DOT to HEM (Length 4, Tension 1-2) You may need to draw a straight line to make sure you sew with the same seam allowance throughout.

6)     On the FASHION FABRIC ONLY, stitch the VENT EXTENSION, or the part that slants DOWN away from the main body of the dress back. Make sure to stop stitching ¼” from the edge!

7)     CLIP the TOP layer of the seam allowance diagonal from the DOT, being very careful not to cut the stitching! A little notch will suffice. Do the same with the lining, even though you didn’t sew the vent extension yet.

8)     Fold the fashion fabric vent to the RIGHT and the lining fabric vent to the LEFT. Press along the basted line, then REMOVE BASTING from DOT to HEM.

9)     The name of the game now is to stay AWAY from the DOT. Do not catch it in your stitching for the next few steps.

10)  Take the TOP EDGES of the fashion fabric and the lining and match up the RIGHT SIDES, and pin along the edge. Get ALL excess fabric out of the way to avoid catching it. LOOK at the stitching of the vent extension on the fashion fabric. Line up your presser foot on the edge of the fabric for a ¼” seam. Manually turn the wheel while holding the threads. Go forward 3 stitches, back 3, then forward 3 again, then stitch down the line with the pedal.

11)  Take out the pins and trim threads, then do the same to the other side, but pin so that the seam is sewn from the hem to the DOT. Fashion fabric should be facing you again. Don’t catch excess fabric.

12)  Take out pins, trim threads, tack anywhere the stitching may be loose. The edges should line up perfectly in a little square between fashion fabric and lining.

13)  The Lining vent extension is not sewn yet. Put a pin in the DOT to avoid catching it. Then put 2 pins in the vent extension and line up the presser foot for a ¼” seam. Manually turn the wheel, backstitch, sew forward all the way to the edge without catching the fashion fabric, backstitch.

14)  Take out pins, Clip the lining on the other DOT edge, being careful not to trim the stitching line.

15)  The vent extension should now look like a V. Pull the lining up and look at the fashion fabric from the right side. The edges of the vent extension should overlap, Left over right. It should look perfect. Now you can decide whether you want to topstitch the vent extension. I chose not to because it looks nice and smooth just as it is. I may put in some invisible stitches to tack it down with white thread.

16)  BREATHE and PRESS the vent. YOU DID IT!!!

17)  Sew the side seams of the dress and lining, then put the lining into the dress!

18)  Viola! A lovely, professionally finished dress!

Why you should not share your designs unless you are selling them, and why you should make sure your designs do not fall into the wrong hands

Why you should not share your designs unless you are selling them, and why you should make sure your designs do not fall into the wrong hands

I will not share my designs unless someone wants me to hand-draft a copy of my pattern in one specific size and sell it to them for at least $32, because it takes at least 4 hours to properly size and draft a viable, usable pattern. It takes even longer to test it and make sure the fit is perfect, then adjustments must be made to the draft.

This being said, with all the work that goes into making your own designs and proudly showing the professional pictures you have taken of your work after you finish sewing your design, imagine how sickening it would be to find YOUR design, YOUR photos, on someone’s website, WATERMARKED AS THEIR OWN! That, my friends, is intellectual theft. People are evil enough to take screenshots or snips of designs shown on YouTube videos to use them on their websites, claiming that they can replicate the design shown. YOUR DESIGN! YOUR WORK! The best part is that once someone orders that product, the picture is no longer on their website just to make the site look good. It is now their responsibility to figure out how your pattern works, and the copycats will scramble to pull together a mediocre version of your design. This is not right, this is theft. It is ILLEGAL.

I advise upcoming designers to avoid sharing their designs, portfolios, or sketches with anyone, including potential employers or big pattern companies. Sure, Gertie got her patterns into the big leagues, but once they have your design, they OWN IT. It is NOT YOURS ANYMORE. This is especially sad since young designers work so hard, only to have their work ripped from them by a large corporation that specializes in replicating new trends. Then, they sell your pattern and design to the general public, who will appreciate what they see and what is available, but consumers will never know how much work goes into your craft.

This is why I cannot share any patterns, layouts, or sketches without a LOUD watermark that CANNOT be removed no matter how hard someone tries to photoshop it. This makes me sad, but at the same time, I will not stand for my work and my legacy being stolen from me. Only my daughters and granddaughters will have access to my designs unless purchased by consumers at a price that reflects the work I put into making the patterns and designs I have to offer. I am amazing, and my mind is overflowing with creativity. If someone wants to steal my ideas, they will have to pry them from my cold, dead brain.

Wedding gown photos upon completion

Pictures Of my completed Wedding Gown are here!

Wedding Gown Journey: Completed

Wedding dress progress underway!

The beaded panel was complete.
At this point, I decided that I needed flares on the sides of my dress that would hang down lower than the front and back. Very 1930's. Very pretty and twirly. Very tricky.

I drafted two rounded bottom triangles. They were the wrong size. I drafted two more and decided to leave off the rounded bottom because the bias would make the pieces sag lower anyways. I sewed them on. They were pretty. It required much steaming and pressing and fussing.

Next installment.... Sewing the beading onto the dress! (Insert scary violin music)

Wait!!! You didn't even make a lining yet! (I then drafted and pasted and cursed and cut and pasted some more and cut out the pattern that I had made, praying, and sewed the lining together the correct way. I even did a proper rolled hem with my rolled hem foot, which was perfect)

the lining sat for three weeks untouched. I ironed and pressed it twice but didn't bother to do anything. Laziness! Finally, I did something about it and pinned the lining on my dressform, where it remained for two more weeks until I decided that I had to sew it in. Finally, I could do the beading.

But I hadn't sewed the dress hem... so, I sewed it all by hand using an invisible catch stitch and it looks great!

To attach the beading to the dress, I used the same trusty beading needle and invisible thread. I pinned the design as best I could (grammar... at 1:30 am?) and after watching the entire tenth season of Grey's Anatomy and a few choice X-Files episodes on Netflix, It was finished.

But wait... something is not right.

The design was not centered. Yes, in my lack of sleep motivational speaking mode, I had pinned the whole design off center. Did I try to fix it? Perhaps... we won't divulge the lengths I went to.

I finished off the procrastination by deciding to attach an applique triangle to the dress by hand. Yes, with teeny hand stitches that resemble a serger's rolled hem setting. Crazy.

Then, I finally pinned and sewed the drapery parts on the skirt back. Let me tell you, there are thousands of billions of hand stitches on those things. Do not be fooled. The entire process took an entire month to complete. Insanity!

Later, I applied rows of beading over the applique triangle. And it looked like a satin diamond with the skirt back peeking from beneath the cascades, just like I wanted. And I was happy.

But then I had to go back to my dilemma of the off-centered beading. Oh, golly what to do.
I settled on squinching some more beads on top of the design to make it look more even and added rows of beads at the neckline. And some accent lace. And it is very pretty.

I noticed that I had not sewed in the lining for the shoulder seam properly, and foulmouthedness resulted. But, I finished it, and it looks good.

Then I had to finish the armhole edges, but I didn't trust my machine to do it. So, again, I sewed the edges by hand. All you do is wrap the needle around the fabric edge to roll it under and secure with stitches. Quite easy. Took 15 minutes for each side. Then came the satin binding. I used satin ribbon. I had to stitch down the edges by hand and cursed myself for staystitching and then overlocking the edges because they are so hard to hide.

After that was done, I knew that I needed to sew the peplums on still. That was not fun.
For this step, I had to try on the dress again. I realized that I had grown an entire four inches on my bustline. FOUR. INCHES!!!
You are possibly thinking 1) "Gosh, I'll take those four inches on my girls any day" 2) "Stress-eating will do that to you" 3) "She's totally pregnant".

So which option is correct? NONE! It was my darn blessed birth control that gave me all those lady hormones and resized my bustline to 200%.

So, now almost a D-cup, I have a dilemma. I'm filling out my C-cup bras with cleavage. I have never before experienced cleavage in my life!
One must always wear a brassiere with one's wedding gown. But mine has a sheer lace back. What to do... I have yet to try those silicone cups.

By the way, When I tried on my dress, I popped a stitch. Because of my boobs.

PEPLUMS.
I tried on the dress. The bias cut fabric did not want to sit properly over my tummy (I didn't go to the gym or run like I promised). I pinched and poked and pinned and poked myself and finally pinned the peplums and the dress into submission at the same time.

Then I sewed the right peplum on (but before that, sewed a ribbon on by hand) while wearing the dress. No one there to help me, just by my lonesome.
The left peplum was more fun. It was a carnival.
The zipper is on the left side of the dress. What did I have to do?

SNAPS! The snaps were even more fun than the right side pinching and poking. No... do not go gentle into that good night.... I was about to flee from the earth at this point. It was hellish. The fitting, that is.
Thankfully with some tugging and struggling, it managed to look all right.

Then, I had to strategically place (read: fuse 1/4" ribbon to dress and then hand stitch thinking it will remain straight, only to press it, revealing a whole mess of wrinkles that you can't fix) ribbons and do several rows of beading on the front V part. It looked a lot nicer after that.

It is finished. All done. Viola.
 Twirl, Twirl, Twirl.

Bridal Embroidery Complete

Here is the completed embroidery.

This took ages! It is not for the faint of heart!

I hope that you enjoyed the bit of eye candy. I do not have a tutorial covering the beading techniques. I looked all over Pinterest and the internet for examples of beading techniques, tore a hole in the tulle trying to use my tiny crochet hook for tambour, and decided to use invisible thread and a beading needle.

Again, this took AGES. I started in December 2014 and finished in February!

Sewing a 1924 party dress

I am sewing a 1924 party dress for New Years, as I have been invited to a "Grand Gatsby" party. Now, the thing is, I happen to dislike the new Great Gatsby movie. I think F. Scott Fitzgerald is rolling in his grave. There was very little if any semblance to the music and social aspects of the era, not to mention the cars (Gatsby's jalopy would not be seen until 1931) and the lack of historically accurate costuming. The 1920s was not all fringe an sequins. It was mostly rhinestones in fact. I asked my Great Grandmother a while back about what people really wore in the 20s. She said her mother and older sisters always wore simple, neat dresses with little ties and fancy collars, and evening dresses with pearls and skirts with sheer, floaty petals. They wore real silk stockings and shoes made up in silk brocade. Their makeup was light and peachy, with green eye shadow to bring out their eyes. They wore pink on their fingertips and lips, and their hair was done in marcel waves that they styled at home with water and flaxseed setting lotion. They lived a simple, regular life. 

So where in the new rendition of Great Gatsby was

Madeleine Vionnet's handkerchief dress? Jean Patou? Any of the Art Deco saque type beaded masterpieces? Nowhere to be found. Only jangly, dangly horrors and poorly depicted costuming. I swear that the movie industry 1) tried vainly to steal a suspension of disbelief factor from Moulin Rouge 2) incorrectly depicted costuming so that teenage fan girls could go crazy over "Gatsby Clothes" that the fashion industry was ready to cheaply manufacture. What a disappointment. So enough ranting. Here is my preliminary sketch:

This is very historically accurate. I may add godets to the skirt as well. 

Step 1: sew wrong sides together for front panel 

Size up the seams and pin the other side, see and trim straight. 

Pink the edges. 

Then move onto the skirt lining. Do a flat fell seam. Make sure the shiny side is counted as the wrong side. 

Iron, trim seam to 1/8", and press with raw edge on inside. Sew 1/2" seam. Turn right way round and stitch other side down. 

Assemble front panel with left and right bodice front. Sew shoulder seams of front to back. 

Attach skirt to bodice. 

Make drapery pleats with iron. Stitch onto side swag belt. 

Tack front and back onto waistline with small catch stitches. Tie swags in double knots at each side. Carefully pink an catch stitch all edges. 

Hem skirt with catch stitch. 

Sew sleeve seams and set in sleeves. 

All done!

And lastly, a photo with my Husband. 

Bridal Embroidery

Bridal Embroidery 

I decided to embroider a panel to place on the front of my bridal gown. After sewing the gown, I saw a need for a bit more front and center pizzaz. 

I chose a mirrored frame Art Nouveau design, which I resized and traced. I decided to place very fine size 11 glass beads around the design for some subtle shine. I played with tambour and the chain stitch, using only one thread on the hopes that it would be delicate. It was bad and I was about to give up and take the dang thing to a machine embroidery shop. It would have cost me $80 to get this little design done. So of course I ponied up and did the damn thing myself! I finally woke the hell up and used 4 threads instead of 1. I was not about to buy embroidery thread that I would have to sit and tangle by trying to separate the threads. So I saved money and used a big cone of white serger thread. Sure, it is my first ever embroidery project and it is by no means perfect in any way. But I tried. 

Here is what I have been working on.

Materials:

-Embroidery hoop large enough to hold your design

-Fine net Tulle (the finer the better!)

-Water soluble stabilizer tissue

-Fine straight hand needle or quilting sharp

-Tracing pencil (water soluble is best)

-White sewing thread (I used serger thread)

-Needle threader

The setup is quite simple. Create a design with the program of your choice and print or draw out your design on micrograph paper. Make sure that the design size is the same as the area of the garment where you plan to place it. Next, take a piece of water soluble backing stabilizer or red dot Swiss patternmaking tissue (never use fusible interfacing!) and cut it to fit into the embroidery hoop. Place the transparent tissue stabilizer over the drawing, pin down, and trace. Use a pencil or sharpie to do so. Next, cut a piece of tulle the same size as the stabilizer. Place the tulle over the stabilizer and place both over the bottom hoop. Secure in place with the top hoop, pulling the fabrics taut but being careful not to rip them. Place your needle on a needle threader. Pull a length of regular white sewing thread and fold in half. Place the first two inches of thread into the needle threader and pull the needle onto the thread. Tie the 4 ends of thread together with an overhand knot and snip off the tails as close to the knot as possible. 

Outline any continuous lines with a running stitch. Then go over the running stitch with satin stitch, which is just covering up the stitches so that any mistakes will be hidden!

If you see any black marks remaining, don't worry. You will rip away the stabilizer (carefully) after ALL embroidery has been finished. 

The satin stitch is very useful for stitching little five petal cherry blossom flowers. Just make sure that you leave a net diamond clear of the stitching in the center of each flower on the first petal so that you can go through the middle multiple times without getting stuck. 

After completing each flower separately, tuck the thread through the stitches on the wrong side of the work and snip the thread. Retie and start a new section. 

I recommend stitching all the flowers or repeating shapes first, and then doing the line work. You will feel much more accomplished if you do this. Have fun!

If there are any mistakes, cover them up with tiny beads! It will look so pretty and hopefully you will impress.