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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Happy Friday + Retro Office Girl in Noir (with a little edge)

November 30, 2012

Happy Friday! There just aren’t enough hours in the day, especially now that December and Christmas are looming.

Here’s my creation for this week: an incredibly comfortable long sleeve knit dress in my most favorite-est color combination. And a wool houndstooth jacket with edgy faux leather elbow patches.

This is a great dress and wish I had bought more of the fabric because I would so make myself a top with it. It’s a no-frills dress, and I’m proud of the neck detailing in the front and back (see photos at bottom). Knits are not my friend, and I still have a hard time sewing them. The pattern is from this book.

Doesn’t she look like a little retro office girl, especially with the super cool vintage file case I found at the always fun Fremont Sunday Market? She also looks like a Parisienne, do you agree? By now, you know that I adore the color grey, but I am equally passionate about black and white. And I have a slight obsession with scarves. There will be many more scarves in future posts. Here she is stylishly tying the scarf up.

The jacket. I really really wanted to use the faux leather for the elbow patches, though I’m worried about washing it. I had some trouble with the pattern…it’s from my beloved pattern book, but I was not a happy camper with this one. The rounded collar is tricky – and I had to iron the thing to death to get all the puckering out. Next time, I’d like to get the pockets to line up better and try a bright plaid.

And don’t you love the black tights with sparkly gems? Crewcuts, of course. I always get a bunch of tights from the store whenever there’s a sale.

All in all, it wasn’t the most smooth sailing sewing adventure this week, but hey, K loves the outfit and I’m pretty pleased too.

We are ready for December! Bring it on!! I hope you all have a spectacular weekend, and see you on Monday.

Details, details…

Filed in: sewing • by sanae • 6 Comments

Comments

  1. robin

    November 30, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    so cool! 🙂 your neckline is perfect, woohoo! i always have such a hard time with those. i’ve heard wonder tape works wonders for those- have you tried it? (i still need to). and the jacket is awesome! have a lovely weekend yourself, sanae!

    Reply
    • sanae

      November 30, 2012 at 5:07 pm

      Hi Robin! I haven’t tried wonder tape, though the Japanese Pattern books keep referring to “nobi-dome tape” (translated, it’s something like “stretch-stop tape”) for knits, which I’ve also never used. Must be something similar. Sounds like something worth getting!

      Reply
  2. robin

    November 30, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    it might be stay-tape, not wonder tape… not sure. i’m going to try some stay-tape tonight on a knit i’m about to sew. i must say, i do like the name “nobi-dome” tape much better! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Lucinda

    December 1, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Yay – a book that I own! And even better, a dress that I’ve made (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24761454@N00/7317806872/in/photostream) – but of course, I like the stripes of yours better. I love the heathered texture of your knit! It’s such a comfy dress, I’m sure it will be worn often. And that jacket is fantastic! Perfect color for much of her wardrobe, though I can see why a bright plaid would be fun too. And the scarf styling – perfect way to pull it all together:) I’d say between the advent calendar and this outfit, you’ve been uber productive this week!

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 1, 2012 at 8:36 pm

      I love it in the red knit, Lucinda! And I got a chance to peruse your photos and your creations are fantastic – especially love the blue ice cream dress (with the polka dot tights)!

      Reply
      • Lucinda

        December 2, 2012 at 2:57 pm

        Thanks for looking! Flickr is about the extent of my ability to share at this point . . . perhaps a blog someday!

        Reply

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