Couture shell...

Well I actually feel as if I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  LOL.  I have machine sewn the shell together around 3 sides; bottom w/scallops and the 2 back sides.  Since my shell is quite a bit different than the one in the Threads article, I'm kind of winging it.  I didn't feel confident enough to sew the scalloped edge by hand and have it turn out at all even.  Hence the half n' half couture lining. 

I've turned it and it took about an hour and a half to trim, clip and press the scalloped hem into shape.  I'm pretty picky and each seam needs to lie perfectly flat.  I've got a little bit more finessing to do on one or two of the scallops and I think I'll be satisfied.  Once that is complete, I'll start the handwork of closing up the neckline and armholes by hand.  

One thing I have to remark about and that's using the tracing paper.  My sewing has NEVER turned out this accurate before.  I'm really surprised at well every seam lined up just perfectly.  I may be using tracing paper more often... 

Here's a couple quick pictures of my progress.

The above picture shows the neckline and armholes towards the bottom of the picture.  The scallops are at the top.

 This photo shows the scallops at the bottom of the picture.

Pictures of my handwork will follow soon!

V8713 Done...Almost

This is a very easy Vogue pattern.  And I do think it's pretty easy...except for one thing.  You deal with a lot of bias edges.  I was very careful and I still had a few issues with stretch.  If you are careful, you'll do fine.  But if this was made by someone new to sewing, they could have lots of problems with pieces no longer fitting together because of the bias stretching.  That said, it's a nice vest.  And, here's another caveat - you need a waist dart in this vest if you are a C cup and up.  If you don't put one in, it looks like a bag hanging off your front.  LOL.  If you read my previous posts & looked at the pictures while muslin fitting the pattern, you'll agree with me.  It looks so much better with a little bit of shaping.  So here are a few pictures.

I have the front pinned closed.  I think it hangs and looks better this way.  I really hate floppy things.  LOL.  I walked around the house with it on and it just flapped all over.  So NOT going to happen with this girl.  LOL.  So the vest is done except for a finding the right button.  I'll probably run over to the Cloth Merchants and check out what they have available after I check out my stash.  

Here's the lining.  I got super lucky; JoAnn's had Ambiance lining in the 2 colors I was using and they matched!  Can you believe it?  It'll never happen again.  LOL.  If you look at the picture closer, you'll see I did a machine feather stitch to the grey lining edge.  I thought it looked nice.