Phase 1, Complete

I should have called this blog "Phase One, Abort, Abort! Revert to Plan B!" But lord knows what kind of crazy searches it would turn up in if I had "Abort, Abort!" and "Plan B" in the title. It's kind of like the time I was teaching an Intro to Physical Anthropology class and didn't have any photos of Homo erectus remains for my powerpoint presentation. So, genius that I am, I did a google image search for "homo erectus." Yeah, not so many fossils turned up.

Anyway, back to the sewing....This past week I started on my first project in the plan I made for myself. Initially, I wanted to work on the red embroidered cotton:


But I discovered as I was laying out the pattern that the embroidery does not go all the way to the edge of the fabric. In fact, you lose about 4 inches on either side because of it, so you have to change your layout. No matter what I did, there was no room for the sleeves. I may try it again with a flat layout, and see if that helps. Or the fabric may become something else. What a bummer, though. I was all ready to get started and....nope.

So I switched over to the orange linen blend:


This one was super-simple because I had already made a pink version of the jacket, so I knew what I needed to do in regards to fit, and intended to do a MUCH better job on the top-stitching this time.


I am not going to buy any more of this linen blend crap. It feels nice in the store, but it doesn't look crisp at all, no matter how much you press it. So my lapels are kind of jacked up, and that is after using a heavier-than-usual interfacing, and also flipping the pieces so the interfacing is on the public side of the garment.

This pattern does not call for a lining, so I added binding to the seams to keep it from raveling:


I also hand-stitched the hem, and the front and back princess seams are flat-felled. The pattern calls for topstitching, but just like in the last version, why topstitch when it looks the same if you flat-fell it? AND you can hide the raw edges. I suppose that one day I will HAVE to break down and get a serger. Let me learn how to fit pants first. And stay off Craig's List looking for old Singers (I missed a 401 for $30.00 by 2 hours!!).

Next up, the Chado dress:


It is currently on the cutting table, I have separated all the pieces that I do not need. For the first version, I will leave out the lining, not make my own hand-knotted buttons, or the macrame belt, or the hem facing, or any of the other stuff that is just going to get in the way of me figuring out the fit and how to put together this crazy dress. It is just too complex to take the whole thing on at once.

I probably won't get anything more done today than cutting it out. My niece and nephew are here this weekend, so the sewing room is taken over with Sadie's projects.

I Got Overwhelmed....

And had to leave the room.

I was totally inspired by Carolyn's blog about organizing her fabrics, and Amanda's blog about matching up all her fabrics with patterns, so I decided to try the same thing.

I had to stop. I couldn't make up my mind. And it was going to make me cry.

I did manage to split my fabrics into two big bins...one that I can sew now (the cheap stuff, I'll sew while I'm all chubby from my medication), and things I will sew later (heavy wools for winter, and the expensive stuff that I won't sew until I get back to a decent weight).

For the stuff that I will sew now, I tried to make plans for. But, I ended up setting aside ALL the pants fabric because I ordered Pants for Real People, Pants for Any Body, and Fit for Real People. I know, I know, I finally caved and bought a book. So, it's back to muslin for me until I get my fit issues figured out. So, all the denim...twill...suiting....back into the bin!

Which left me with fabric for shirts, dresses, skirts, and jackets. Here are my plans:

I would like to do another version of Butterick 5331. I was pleased with the way my pink version came out, and lately I am having a bit of an obsession with orange. So, I would like to make another jacket in linen, and I have a couple of fat quarters in an orange print to use for the binding:


Next, I have a black pique to make a 3/4 sleeve jacket. I love the little peplum on this. Because I want it to be breathable, I am leaving out the lining, and binding the seams instead. I have both a black and white print that I could use, or I could go all out and use a leopard print:


I also picked up a copy of McCalls 5860, a jean jacket. I am considering doing it in a white linen. I still have some of the eyelet left from my shirt, and was thinking of doing an overlay on the back panel. I'm not sure, though. I wonder if that will look too "Welcome to Chico's, where we sell art to wear!"


If I decide not to make the jean jacket from the linen, I will use it to make one of these two Vogues. I know it's not very creative to make it just like the pattern envelope, but I really like the looks of both. I think the DKNY would be better for my body shape...I worry about the boxy shape of the Badgley Mischka:


If the linen gets repurposed, I have an embroidered red stretch cotton that I can use for the jeans jacket. One of the women that I work with has a hot pink eyelet jean jacket, and for some reason the first time I saw her wear it, it made me think of this fabric:


I also still need to work on my pink dress with the ruffled neckline, and have some pink floral cotton that I can use for seam binding:


I have a retro apron pattern that I need to finish for my friend, Tee:


And finally, I want to make a muslin of this Chado Ralph Rucci shirt-dress. I have a lightweight black twill that I think would be perfect for it. It's a pretty complex pattern, made even more so with the creation of your own macrame belt, knotted fabric buttons, pleat underlays, full lining, topstitching, and god knows what else they throw into the mix. I'm going to make a version without the lining and with flat-felled seams to mimic the topstitching:


And then I could do no more and ran screaming from the room.

McCall 5815

Over the Memorial Day holiday I had grand plans to put the long weekend to good use. I really didn't get as much done as I had hoped! When I got home from work today, I finished McCall 5815, a short-sleeved jacket with pleated sleeves and an elaborate draped collar.


I had hoped that the collar wouldn't look too much like "I shop in my Grandmother's closet," and I am still on the fence as far as the jacket is concerned. I used a linen/cotton blend because I thought that it would be "drapey" enough for the collar, but ultimately it doesn't have enough body to make the jacket and sleeves look nice. It just doesn't press as well as I had wanted.

The jacket has princess seams as well as a front dart, which gives it a nice shape. But, I had to take out my standard two inches under each arm and re-cut the armscyes...just like always.


The collar came out well, and the instructions were clear as long as you went step-by-step and read through carefully before sewing. Also, make sure you keep your pattern pieces clearly labeled, because there are separate under collar, and upper collar pieces that look nearly identical. The collar also won't go together well unless you are really careful in making your markings. In the end though, it came together. Although in sewing the section of the lapel with the little band that goes around the bow, I switched to a zipper foot to be able to get around the huge mass of fabric.


I also left out the lining and just did a hong kong finish on the seams instead. I didn't want a lining because I wanted the jacket to be cool for summer. The huge mass of fabric on the collar is already like wearing a scarf, and in a humid St. Louis summer I might just pass out from the heat.


I also ended up taking off the pockets. I sewed them on and they just would not drape they way they did on the pattern photo. So, rather than leaving them poking out the way they were, I just took them off.


Overall, I am pleased with the way the jacket came out given my changes and alterations. I am trying to make some office-appropriate wear for the summer that is not a full suit. Now if I could just master pants.....

How To Make a Pattern Twice as Difficult as it Should Be...

Choose a sheer fabric that needs complete underlining, requiring a ridiculous amount of handsewing, and be sure not to check the fit until you are half-way through!!


I just finished McCall 5809, a blouse to augment my summer work wardrobe. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out, but there are a couple of things that I ran into that frustrated me.


First, there were some issues with the pattern drafting. There were notches on some pattern pieces that did not have corresponding notches on other pieces, and the drafting of the lower part of the shirt was not great...the pieces were quite a bit wider than the waistband...which because of the oddities with the notches it was hard to tell what was the top and what was the bottom.

Second, I added a center back seam, cutting out about two inches at the back neck and grading out towards the waist. Lately it seems that all the McCalls and Butterick patterns that I have been using are made for incredibly broad backs. I had the same issue with Butterick 5331 and had to take out a significant amount of fabric from under the arms.


Here you can see just how much I had to cut out of it, represented by the black line on the pattern piece:


Third, I lengthened the front and back pattern pieces by two inches. I decided on this based on flat pattern measurements, and found that I needed a lot more length to cover the "girls." I didn't do an FBA because there was already significant gathering at the shoulder and where the bodice meets the waistband, but my bust is lower than the pattern was drafted for.


Fourth, I changed the zipper to an invisible zipper. I finally found an invisible zipper foot for my Singer 401. I picked up a little plastic gadget from Coats and Clark. It worked just fine with the slant shank, but a hint....if you get this, you have to turn the presser foot pressure allllll the way down, otherwise it pushes the plastic foot forward and the needle won't go through the hole in the foot.


Finally, I left the ruffle off the sleeves. It was just a bit too precious for me. I also left off the "decorative buttons" in the original instructions...I think I will be able to survive without any artsy-fartsy crap sewn to my shirt.

Because the white eyelet (is it really an eyelet if it doesn't have holes? Is it just an embroidery?) was soooo sheer, I underlined the whole thing with white Sheermist lining. In order to hide the seams, I sort of did a combination of a standard lining and an underlining, you can see here where I put the zipper between the layers from the waist down:


Above the waist, I used bias strips made from the lining to bind the edges of the seams. I also bound the armscyes, and where the seams were visible used french seams. By the end, I had all the seams finished or hidden, even though I was kind of flying blind as far as how to assemble it. I would probably do a better job if I were to remake it, but overall I am happy with it.

In response to LaKaribane's questions below:

LaKaribane asked, 1) The lengthening you did. Did you lengthen for bust/torso length only or for a 2-in-1 with the FBA issues? Because you go on to say that the gathers eliminated the need for a FBA.If it's for length only, why not lengthen the midriff only?

I only lengthened the bust because I have a very low bust point. Probably about 2 inches below that of my dress form. For that reason, my dress form has one of my bras stitched to it, and padded out, so that the bubbies are where they should be. (But, let's face it, if my bust was where it should be, I wouldn't have to lower it on the dress form!). I didn't do a full bust adjustment because there were already plenty of gathers at the shoulder and at the under-bust seam, so it wasn't so much a matter of coverage that I was looking for, but to make sure that my bust was actually in the bodice, and not in the waistband.

I didn't make any alterations to the midriff or the peplum, because there I needed no extra length, I sliced the bodice just under the armscyes, and added the additional tissue to allow the waist seam to fall under the bust rather than cut across the bust. I then added the same ammount of length to the back, so the waist would be even all the way around.

2) The peplum width difference with the midriff. So you cut it down to fit the existing midriff or, a contrario, ajusted the midriff to fit the peplum? Was it the case for both front and back?I'm short so I guess the length will not be a problem. Rather the back width.

I didn't make any alterations to the peplum, but just stretched the fabric as much as I could while sewing. In re-examining the shirt, I think I may have actually attached the waistband upside down, and that is the reason that the peplum and waistband notches and length did not match. So, I think that if you mark clearly what is the top of the waistband and what is the bottom...you will not have any problems at all.

The back width is something that I SHOULD have fixed prior to cutting the shirt, and had I done a better job of flat pattern measurments, I would have known right away that the back was too wide.

Good luck on your version! I can't wait to see it on Pattern Review!!

--Michelle

Quest for Pants

Lately I have been on a quest for pants. Not as important as say, a quest for fire, but very nearly so! I am just trying to make a pair of pants that fit. I have had a lot of "meh" and a couple that I would really consider successful. Not necessarily perfect, but still successful. They certainly look AS good as any of the RTW pants that are in my closet.

I am still trying to come to terms with what the steroids I had to take along with my surgery have done to my weight. Seriously, how can you put on twenty pounds in two weeks? Clearly, the ability to gain weight is my super-power. I'd rather be invisible or have wolverine claws, though. I don't really see my super-power as being all that impressive.

But, like I said before, I can't just wait until I lose weight to sew anything. I'll just try to be frugal and sew with fabrics that aren't too dear. Plus, my body larger is still pretty much the same SHAPE as it is when it is smaller. I'm still pretty much an hourglass, just more of an hour-and-a-half. I still have a waist 12 inches smaller than my hips. So, working out the fit issues on these pants won't be for naught, because I can just grade the pattern down if I manage to lose the weight.

I have decided to leave Vogue 2907 alone for a while, and work with a pair that does not have such a low waist. I started with McCall 5592, a wide-legged jean.


I thought that this pant would be a little bit more "forgiving" than some of the other patterns available. I did end up making some pretty significant changes, though. First, I added 1 1/2 inches of height to the rear end, to cover the "junk in my trunk" (you can see the line drawn on the pattern tissue below) I also cut the rear seam in by about 1 inch, so it would curve over my bottom correctly, and continued this through the yoke as well. I also added a bit of tissue at the outer hip:


The second black line on the yoke shows the extent of the alterations:


I also added a significant amount of tissue to the pocket bags, because they were TINY. I also curved the outer edge in over the hip. For this pattern, I started with a 20, but graded down to an 18 in some places, and even as small as a 16 in some areas, like the waist. Here is the finished product:



I know that I still have some work to do on the back, but hey, I can't see that!! So I'm cool, right? Coming of the high of a near-success, I decided to embark on a pair with narrower legs. I used an OOP Michael Kors pattern, Vogue 2873. This pattern is a straight-leg pant with rear darts and a flat front.


I did make a few changes to the pattern. I did lengthen the crotch curve at the front and back to give a little more room in the thighs. I also made this pair from a gray stretch twill from FFC. It was REALLY stretchy, and because of that I decided not to line it. Because I did not line the pants, I did flat-felled seams and also just cut two waist band pieces from fashion fabric, not one from lining. I also left off the belt carriers, so I flipped the waist band extension so that it buttoned on the inside of the waistband, and not the outside:


Other than that, I made very few changes. I cut essentially a straight 18, making a few small changes to the crotch curve using the previous pair's pattern for a template. These pants do not have pockets, but one of the things that I am happiest about is that I have achieved a good enough fit that the side seam is pretty much vertical, rather than pulling to the rear:


Overall, I am very happy with the fit of the second pair. I think some minor "tweaks" and I will have a very well-fitted pair of pants:



My next goal is to fix that puckering in the back, but like I said...I don't see it, so it's not really there!!

My First BWOF and McCall 5592

Today I was home sick with the WORST spring cold that I have ever had. By about 11 a.m., I was completely bored with lying in bed watching the 45th hour of the Today Show, so I got up and decided to work on some projects that were in progress.

First up, I completed BWOF 04-2009-117, a cropped, 3/4 sleeve, yoked jacket. I made mine without the pockets and flaps, because I picked a pretty busy pattern, a poly suiting from Hancock Fabric on sale for about $4.50 a yard:


It sewed just fine, although it stretched a bit in the crosswise direction, meaning that the hem and the neckline gave me a little trouble. Other than that it sewed up just fine. I also replaced their recommended snaps with three buttons. It also gave me a chance to use my button hole attachment for the Singer 401, that makes perfect little buttonholes:


It's a noisy little thing!! But all you have to do is attach it to the machine and hit the pedal. It does all the work for you, even moving the fabric in an oval around the template. There are templates for both standard buttonholes and keyhole buttonholes. This little gadget is my nephew's favorite thing in the sewing room. If I let him, he'd sit at the machine and make a 100 buttonholes on scrap fabric. When he helps, his shirts that normally have 4 buttons end up with 7.


The BWOF pattern instructions did give me some trouble...not unexpected. I was completely on my own in assembling the collar and stand, and the sleeves. Some nice touches were the two-piece sleeves and the full lining...yet another item the instructions were a touch skimpy on. I also initially traced a 44 and added 1 inch to each side seam, because according to the size chart, I was a touch large for the pattern. But, after trying on the shell, I ended up just taking that 1 inch right back out, so the 44 would have been just fine. I also did not do an FBA, Burda generally drafts for a larger cup size, so I thought I would five it a try. I didn't want to make too many changes, since this was my first BWOF.

If I make it again, I will nip the waist in a bit more, add the pocket flaps, and perhaps lengthen the jacket slightly. I may also make it in denim and leave the lining out.

A second project that I finished was another attempt in my "Quest for Pants." I have continued to work on my Vogue 2907, but decided to give a higher waist pant a try. I made McCall 5592, a wide-leg jean. I left off the belt-carriers and the rear pockets to maintain a dressier look, but used a black cotton twill, and did flat-felled seams which still leaves them with a "jeans" look, so they are more versatile.

These pants have a cut-on fly, which was super-easy to assemble (after wrestling with the separate fly on Vogue 2907, I will just draw a fly on mine. My pattern bears no resemblance to the original pattern anymore, anyway). If I make another pair, I will add about 1 1/2 inches in height to the rear to cover the junk in my trunk.

After sewing the crotch seam and the inseams, I basted the rest of the seams together and discovered that I needed to take out about two inches from the rear of the pants. I did this by re-sewing the rear seam and tapering out to the original back seam about an inch below the yoke. This gave enough of a curve to the rear to cure the "gap-osis" that the pants were suffering from. I also added a back seam to the waist band, so that I could contour it more.


Overall, I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm not so happy with how chubby I am! But I can't just keep waiting to sew until I lose the weight (so, I'll just wait to sew with the "good" fabric until I lose some weight ;). I think I will also add a bit to the side seams at the hip to see if I can't get rid of those crotch smileys. Of course, they are there after I sit no matter what. Overall, the pants are really comfortable. I am pleased with how they turned out, and with how easy the zipper was to insert with the cut-on fly.

I Have Succumbed....

To the call of Burda World of Fashion....

Today I had to go to Barnes and Noble and took a quick turn through the magazines while I was there and there it was....right there....ready to jump into my hot little hands.

Really, I just couldn't justify the $100.00 subscription cost, but $12.00 for a copy...I could handle that!

And, I am HOOKED! I had to go directly to the fabric store where I found clearance wool suiting for $1.95. Let me say that again slowly....a dollar ninety-five. I took the whole bolt! I also got a black and white cotton pique for a summer blazer.

So here are my plans:


I am going to make this jacket in the black and white pique, with a black lining. I am going to leave off the pockets and the fakey pocket flaps up on top.


I am going to make this skirt in the black wool, and I am going to add a lining so it isn't all scratchy.

And finally:
These pants, also in black wool with a lining.

In the meantime, everything else in the sewing room is shoved to the side while I trace out these patterns. I'm going to HATE adding the seam allowances, though. That does kind of suck.

Bright Pink + Ruffles = Fashion Do?

In sewing clothing for myself, there are a couple of things that I worry about. I worry about ending up in a magazine with a black bar across my eyes. I also worry about looking "Becky Home-ecky" as Michael Kors would say on Project Runway. I also try to avoid anything that could be considered "art-to-wear." I really don't want anyone to mistake anything I have sewn for an item purchased at Chico's (no offense to you Chico's aficionados. It's just not my thing).

So in my most recent project planning...in which I intended to sew a wrap dress with a ruffle neckline out of magenta sateen, I immediately became concerned about the possibility of showing up as a fashion "don't" in some magazine. Not that I think that Glamour or Cosmo photographers are lurking the streets of St. Louis. There are WAY better places to be.

But, whenever making anything that might not be considered a "classic," I always do a little research ahead of time to make sure that there are other items similar to what I want to make available in a RTW form. And available someplace other than Chico's.

Here are my plans...I intend to use a length of magenta sateen that has been aging in my stash:


The dress I intend to make is Butterick 5320:


Given the combination of incredibly bright color, and huge neck ruffle...I definitely wanted to check ahead of time and make sure that I was not setting myself up for a giant fashion faux pas.

First, I started looking for dresses with ruffles...any ruffles...just to make sure that it was an actual trend and not a figment of my imagination:

Shoshanna, $318.00 at Nordstrom

Ann Taylor, $139.00

Eliza J, $168.00 at Nordstrom

Then I looked for bright pink:

Tadashi, $305.00

Rickie Freeman, $330.00 at Nieman Marcus

DVF, $365.00 at Nieman Marcus

Then I started looking for pink WITH ruffles:

Banana Republic, $89.00

Old Navy, $29.50

Kay Unger, $350.00 at Nordstrom

Ali Ro, $220.00

And then I hit the jackpot, at JCrew...pink...wrap dress...ruffled neckline!

JCrew, $268.00

The verdict? I will sew the dress! Now I just have to hurry before the "ruffle trend" passes and there I am in my ruffle-neck dress with a black bar over my eyes in Cosmo.

Edited to answer Dana's question:

To go find equivalents to what I want to sew, I generally have a few "old standbys" that I go to. When I DO shop for clothes, I tend to buy them at Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, JCrew, and Nordstrom. I usually don't actually buy clothes at Nieman Marcus, although will shop there for jewelry (my wedding rings came from Nieman's ) and will often lurk the DVF displays and see how things are put together, what kinds of silhouettes they are using, etc.

So, since those are my "go-to" places to buy clothes, I like the styles, and always find something I like, those tend to be where I do my "snoop shopping" when I am looking for something that will be a style I KNOW that I will wear, and will also fit in with the types of clothes that the people around me wear.

There are places like Net-a-Porter.com where you can see some amazing designer frocks, but I typically do not snoop there because if I made knock-offs of the clothing available there, it would be so different from what the people that I associate with wear, I would stick out like a sore thumb. For example, as striking as this Roland Mouret jacket is:


I don't know anyone who wears $2295.00 blazers. Nor do I know anyone who owns anything by Roland Mouret. Let's just say that that isn't the crowd that I run with. So, if I were to make a knock-off of this jacket, I would just end up feeling weird and silly because I don't hang with Victoria Beckham. No one else I know would be wearing anything similar. That is the reason that I tend to limit the sources where I will look for comparative material.

I hope that this answers your question!