The Influence Films have

To start of with: It's perfectly acceptable for me to think about selfish Me!-Me!-Me!-projects again. My mum actually bought a new coat. The fit is horrible. But it's much better than the last one. So I'm not going to complain (as long as you don't get me started on the princess seams that is). So there goes the CCP.

So what's the next selfish project? As you can tell from the post title it comes from a film. "Enchanted" to be precise. I got around to watching it. I know a lot of people consider it overly kitchy (why hasn't blogger spell-check heard of it?). I for one think the producers where mocking themselves with it. No? Well you don't have to believe me of course ^^. I will however stick to my hypothesis.

If you start from 4:44 you can see the dress I mean in action. As well as Giselle's "cutting layout". That shot actually made me smile. But not for the same reason as HE did. It's more like the seamstresses perspective  ;).

Anyone who knows me also knows how much I love dresses like that. The full skirt and the fitted bodice: Oh my! I do believe the bodice has a lot of boning, with the bones between the lining and the fashion fabric. The boning channels seem to be by sewing straight seams down the bodice. All in all it reminds me of stays.

So that's the dress I'd like to sew. Do you think it's prom worthy? I know I can neither pull of the colours nor the flowery print. I can't pull of prints in general. In the little flowery ones I look like a child in a nightgown. And quite frumpy too. In the large prints I tend to look like an overhung Christmas tree. Geometric and non-flowery prints work from time to time. But I don't think it would be formal enough. So maybe shiny, navy fabric? I wear a lot of navy as it is my favourite colour. So to spice it up maybe a bright pink petticoat?

Come to think of it, the first dress would probably suit me well too. And it reminds me of the Titanic swim dress. As a matter of fact I haven't seen Titanic yet. As far as I know there's no book that says you can't admire the costumes though.And know the music of by heart. I'm strange like that.

Project Christmas-Coat

So for my first post I'll be jumping right in ...

The project: A new coat for my mum.

The problem:
I want to sew this coat as a Christmas present so I'll have to work on it when she isn't there. That's a very limited amount of time. And she doesn't trust my sewing skills so she won't let me take her measurements.

The solution:
Mum is on a business trip in a few weeks, so I'll have to make sure I clear as much time as I can  during that period. I will "steal" her measurements from her clothing. As I do the laundry that won't be a problem. My biggest concern is the bust area. I know I'd have to do an FBA on any commercial patterns. But that's what bras are for - right? I'll also be making a sloper (that's a first for me). She'll probably figure it out when she has to put it on so I might just make it into a blouse. Discretion is my aim here!

Inspiration: 
My mum used to have a coat that looked ever so endearing. The best description I can come up with is a warm  baby doll with sleeves and a big Peter Pan Collar. Sadly she threw it away before I had a chance of tracing the pattern. Why would she do such an awful thing?

Mum looked youthful and in need of protection in that coat. However she wants to have people respect her and listen to her. Some people think her quite severe and aggressive, because of that. So I think I'll keep the big, rounded collar to make her appear sweeter. I'll add  princess seams, because they are timeless and lady-like and make everyone look good. The empire waistline and under bust band are also a keeper for all of those reasons.

More as soon as I have halfway presentable sketches. I'm of to the drawing board!