My Sewing Room

Home from Egypt

2008-03-21T10:39:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone.

I returned March 5 from a fabulous trip. We managed to get in a visit (more like an expedition) to a local fabric market. I thought you might like to see the pictures, and I've written fairly descriptive captions.

Click the picture below.

Fabric Market Egypt 08

There, I think you'll have a choice as to the size of image you want to view.

Click here for the rest of my Egyptian pictures.

I've been a long time getting back to sewing, but I did make 2 skirts for my trip, then took neither one of them with me. My grandchildren are now looking for clothes for their webkinz, so maybe that will get me going again.

Update

2008-02-10T11:36:00.000-04:00

Thanks Nancy for your comment today,

I am doing quite well, I think, though my energy level and brain function still leave much to be desired.

I have done a bit of sewing in the past month: made the silk noile skirt with a horrible-to-handle habutai bias lining that still awaits hemming; also I am in the middle of a pink denim A-line skirt, still needing hem and buttons down the front; I finished a Hot Patterns Pussycat blouse that was cut out before Steve passed away. It was an interesting challenge, but I messed up on the fitting of the sleeve somehow, so it is not terribly comfortable. (I think I allowed some extra width in the bodice and didnt allow it in the sleeve. Something at the cutting stage got forgotten in the intervening weeks.) I also finished a couple of other UFO shirts. Nothing has been overly satisfying, however....I think that's just the space I am in.

I am leaving on Monday with my sister and a friend for a trip to Egypt. Most of my sewing and wardrobe planning have been devoted to that, but the wardrobe has not come together well. You'd think after SWAP I would be able to plan 2 weeks worth of clothes, but it didn't happen. The trip was conceived several months ago, but all the planning had to be done in December and January. I didn't really need the extra stress, but I think the time away will make it worthwhile. My daughter lives in Cairo, and I have been there once before. I'm actually getting very excited in spite of the wardrobe crisis, and it sure will be nice to get away from all this SNOW and into some predictable sunshine. You can be sure that visiting the fabric markets is high on the "To Do" list. I'll be blogging when I can about the trip at http://bfleet.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for your interest. I am amazed at the "reality" of the online community, even though I do not participate very much. I hope all is well with you,and others who have extended their thoughts and prayers to us.

Happy sewing to all.

Betty

Thank you all for your kind comments

2008-01-12T22:25:00.000-04:00

Since my last post, I have finally started to sew again, a silk noile skirt for an upcoming trip to Egypt. It's going slowly, when I feel in the mood, but I am back to problem-solving -- bias skirt, should the lining be bias also?

This is a good sign that I am on the way to returning to my normal energy level. I would like to thank those who took the trouble to send a few sentences of support. It feels like you are all good friends; most certainly you are all of a good heart, and your words have been so well-chosen and appropriate. Thank you so much, each one.

Betty.

Laying Low

2007-12-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

I appreciate that some of you still visit my blog, and may be wondering why nothing has been posted lately. Sadly, we lost our son, aged 31, on Nov 27, 2007 due to complications of surgery. Nothing has quite got back to normal since then...most especially my sewing passion.

Hopefully, once the holiday season is past and we can try to move on to another definition of "normal" I will get back to my machines and my various projects. Until then, thanks for your interest in my musings.

Betty

ThisWeek

2007-10-20T07:58:00.003-04:00

This beautiful fall weather has interfered with my sewing week. I actually got a sunburn sitting on the deck one afternoon. Today it is raining. We had a wild weather night, and one of my carefully piled woodpiles fell totally over in the wind. I guess wood-piling is not my strong suit.

T-shirts: Yesterday I managed to finish the two Jalie T-shirts and a skirt that had been waiting for hems. Knits still elude me, and the fit on these Jalie shirts is not perfect. I blogged about these fitting issues earlier.

Knit skirt: The skirt looks ok, but it has a wide (3.5" or more) contoured waistband at the top which I have decided is not flattering on me. The T-shirt stops about an inch above the band, drawing attention to the 'line' created near the hips. Still, it's nice to have a shirt and top that are the same -- a dress in effect.

New Project: Earlier in the week I cut out a 'test pattern' for Simplicity 3789, a princess seamed shirt, the view with the cross over front.

This is my first Simplicity B-C-D pattern. The fabric is from my stash, and is an ivory pashmina-type fabric whose composition I forget -- includes some rayon I think. I washed it, even though it says dry clean only. It's very soft, but seems to cling to itself, and will be a pain to work with as it tends to stretch every which-way. I spent a long time with the pattern making the required adjustments, hoping to turn this into a TNT shirt pattern, as there are several styles in the envelope. Mostly I just want to check the fit.

Donna Karan Cape: My package from "The Sewing Place" came with the grosgrain I ordered for the Donna Karan cape. The color is not a perfect blend, and I am still on the fence about using it. Originally I thought navy would be best, but then figured it was too much contrast, so I ordered a burgundy color that I hoped would work. I need to consult someone with a better color sense than mine. At the moment I am leaning toward omitting the grosgrain completely. I still have not solved the problem of the arm opening, but I spent quite awhile experimenting with various options. I think I need to make this decision and get on with it.

Decision Made: I consulted with my husband, who has a great eye for color, and the grosgrain simply won't do. It has an orange cast to it, whereas the fuchsia wool has a definite blue cast. Navy ribbon looks great with it, so now my decision is whether to re-order grosgrain and wait for another 10 days to get it, or to forget the grosgrain completely. I guess my decision is NOT made after all.

Reflections on a Sewing Plan #2

2007-10-14T07:37:00.000-04:00

Speaking of reflections:

The last post has generated a bit of interest, so I thought I should round it out with a couple of previous points that have come to me since I started sewing again. In the past year-and-a-half I've learned and re-learned a mountain of stuff, and have tried to make planning part of my sewing passion.....not altogether successfully, I might add.

The following points, however I hope I have taken to heart:

Reflection #6: Stifle thyself. There will always be more fabric. There will always be another sale. I remember vividly my first visit to Fabricville after at least 20 years of not sewing. I was overwhelmed by the selection, and afraid the sale would end before I could make up my mind. At the same time, it hit me that all this variety, in its continuous seasonal rotations, had been here for the past 20 years while I was away. Even though I cannot resist sometimes, I now tend to wait a bit before I rush into a purchase with no immediate purpose.

Reflection #7: If you must stash, stash wearable colors. I am a "winter" by complexion, and I love bright colors. In the fabric shop, however, I tend to neutrals, which are safe and flexible, but which don't make the most of my coloring. Neutrals will always be available, but my favorite bright royal blue may not. The current fashion season seems to be very neutral. I wish I had some stashed prints in jewel tones. Even prints with the bright fuchsia's and turquoises that I am looking for also feature beige, yellow or orange, all of which make me look awful.

Reflection #7B: Don't buy orphans. This means a great piece of fabric must sometimes acquire a companion before leaving the store....unless it already has one waiting patiently in the 3rd suitcase under the spare bed. Mostly this idea just slows down the fabric addiction chemicals in the brain to a point where logic can prevail once more.

Orphans that other people give you are ok. You can use them as an excuse to go shopping for siblings for them.

Reflections on a Sewing Plan

2007-10-12T18:03:00.000-04:00

Today I read a post about layering on Marcy Tilton's website. Three garments were suggested whose necklines fit together so that a shirt, vest, and jacket could be worn on top of one another (and presumably removed as temperatures dictate.) I've never been much for layering other than bringing a sweater if I think it's going to be cool, such as in air conditioned restaurants when traveling in the summer heat.

It's fall here now, and raining today. We heat our house with wood, and the fire has been on all night and all day for the first time this year. It's very hot in here, and I started my day in a long-sleeved t-shirt, a treasured gift from a friend who lives far away.

As I prepared supper, and sat later in front of the stove, I realized that a long-sleeved shirt is not routine apparel for me in the winter...at least not when I am at home. Then I realized that of all the shirts I have made in the past year or so, most have been long sleeved. I've only worn them when going out, or in the case of cotton shirts, as an over-shirt for cool days or unknown weather conditions.

Reflective Lesson #1: Sew what you will wear. Since I am home much of the time, I should sew what I will wear around the house, ie: short sleeved shirts, sleeveless shirts and tank tops.

Reflective Lesson #2: Think of layering. I should choose patterns that can be worn over the shirts above, as you would wear a sweater. Long sleeves with uncomplicated necklines and coordinating colors. There's a bit of opportunity here for some neat styles, and embellishments.

Referring back to Lesson #1, I think we all spend more time sewing what we won't wear much than what we will wear often. The challenge of more complex garments I suppose is a factor. Having made the Burda Cape/jacket, and I am considering making another. Does a person need more than one of these, especially when she is also making another cape by Vogue? A cape has a life-span of what? -- 3 years maybe, before the fashion police snatch it away.

More than one person has suggested red wool crepe would make a fabulous version of the Burda Cape. My sister, who is much more practical thinks one is enough...but then, she does not wear red.

As I was reflecting on all of this, I was stretching my legs and feeling glad I had on my taupe stretch cords, made for SWAP last year. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I really love these pants, and also the brown ones I bought from Northern Reflections, and will probably also love the green ones waiting for hems and a 5-lb weight loss:

Reflective Lesson #3: Sew what you will wear. I like stretch cords. Therefore, make more. I could/should make them in every pattern and color I can find. Make them in NAVY for heaven's sake. My potential SWAP has a navy base -- make it work. Good grief, if I can find the fabric, I could make them in fuchsia and see if I have the nerve to wear them. Other stretch fabrics might be just as great!

Yesterday and today I worked on 2 Jalie T-shirts, trying to get the pattern adjusted for a good fit. Knits frustrate me, and I mostly still don't get them right. On the first round, the fit was tight because the fabric did not have quite enough stretch. I knew that would be the case, but figured my daughter could wear it. It was the sleeves that surprised me....so high, and so tight,...and so uncomfortable.

Rather than give up in despair (after I had already made copious notes about what to change on the shoulders and bustline) I impulsively chopped off the sleeves very short. Well! Now the shirt fits half-decently, the shoulders are not off nearly as much as I thought, and if I make that 5-lb weight loss, my daughter will not be getting a new shirt.

I enlarged the sleeves and lowered the armholes on the pattern by using the armscye of a larger size. It was moderately successful, but the forward shoulder adjustment still results in a strangely twisted sleeve. If you are still with me, I am getting to my reflection. It happened when I came upstairs to get out of the long sleeved too-hot shirt. An old black T-shirt from Reitman's was on the bed, and I put it on. It is made with a ribbed knit, a bit stretchier than the fabrics I have been using, but it fits perfectly -- even in the shoulders -- which is saying a lot because my shoulder seams are always too far back.

Reflective Lesson #4: If you have an old perfectly fitting shirt, take a pattern off it instead of fighting with alterations on other people's patterns. Duh.

Reitman's still carries this fabric and style of shirt, but they have changed their sizing, or perhaps the stretchiness of the fabric has changed. I have several of the old version. Best get to work tracing them off.

I should never have accumulated a stash. Now it takes forever weighing options about what to do with this or that. I read a post by Kathryn showing a princess style dupioni shirt. I decided to use my green dupioni for a similar pattern......decisions: short sleeve or long? muslin first or not? Is this really what I want for this dupioni? OK. Better make a muslin since you will have to do some alterations for sure, even though this is a Simplicity B-C-D cup pattern. Around we go again. What to use for the muslin? Junk fabric, decent cotton -- what will go with the potential SWAP. This is nice, but there are 2 whole meters. Never mind, use it anyway. Do I really want a short-sleeved shirt from this beautiful Asian cotton?........around and around.

Reflective Lesson #5: Sometimes you have to just do it. I muddle too much. There are no right answers, maybe not even any best answers. Pick a fabric. Pick a pattern.

Reflective Lesson #5A: If there is something #5 will go with, made or unmade, carry on. Use crappy stuff for a minimal fitting muslin and quickly get on with the fashion fabric that you really want to work with.

So there you have it, a rainy day's ramblings, and maybe some focus to very unstructured sewing of late. I hope this helps my progress.

Jacket/Cape - Burda WOF - Aug 07, #111B

2007-10-09T21:49:00.000-04:00

A late-summer sewing splurge found me enchanted with the cape/vest from the August Burda WOF. It's a very avant-garde fashion statement for me, but needed a change and a challenge.

The picture below shows the result, though I can now see it needs a good pressing!!

My original intention was to make the jacket from red wool crepe, purchased for last year's SWAP, but never used. This green one was supposed to be a wearable muslin, to check out the sizing, then it became a major project in itself.

This garment was fun to sew, but has a bazillion little details that can be a thrill or a pain. The underlying vest is very comfortable, and suggests being used as the base for a jacket, adding sleeves from another pattern.

Process: I traced and pin-fit the pattern, and decided to sew it without any alterations. Usually I would lower the bust and lengthen the torso, but the bust seemed to fit well (besides, it's essentially behind the cape, isn't it?) and I was not too sure about how to lengthen the curved pieces of the cape. In retrospect, I should have stifled my urge to get going and thought this problem through.

So off I went, working with a piece of green faux suede, also bought for my last SWAP and not used. I only had about 1.5m of this stuff, not enough to make the unlined version with wide front facings, so I made the lined option, using a length of quilting cotton I had bought for a shirt. I decided it was too heavy for a comfortable shirt, but it had the exact green in it to match the Fashion Fabric. Killing two stash pieces in one fell swoop!

The faux suede, which I had not sewn with before, was wonderful to work with, and of course, the cotton was no problem.

The Design: The pattern is essentially a princess seamed vest and the cape portion is seamed into the princess seam at the front.

No project would be complete without a litany of lessons learned and errors made:

Being long-waisted, I really should have lengthened the whole thing. The belt is designed to come round slightly above the waist, and for me it is several inches above, so not all that comfortable. Lengthening the cape would required some thought, as a drop of 2" would increase the circumference quite a bit. It would be necessary to decide whether to do that, or to change the curve.
Speaking of the belt: I made it too short (one should always actually measure the part around which the belt goes, then add for what will extend through the buckle). I also used a stiff woven interfacing in the belt. Not sure it was the best idea. I ended up having to add a piece to the center of the belt so it is not a fashion statement in any way. Fortunately it is not visible as it sits under the cape back. Nevertheless, a new belt is in order. Unfortunately, I do not have any fabric left. Every scrap was used.
There is a lot of topstitching, and for the bit around the hem (the lining is seamed at the edge of the hemline) it might have been wise to baste rather than pin, or use a fusible tape to keep one layer from creeping more than the other around the curve. Since all the topstitching is not done at the same time, keeping track of stitch lengths and width from edge, and thread color is important.
Working carefully: At the front where the cape joins the front pieces there is a very short of seaming below the slit for the belt. So there is absolutely no room for error in the hem or the placement of the belt slit. Personally, I would have left a bit more there for safety's sake. I had to pick out some stitching there and raise the belt slit a bit to make everything come out neatly. The belt slit starts exactly at the topstitching line around the hem edge. I am not sure what happens here if in the unlined version where the hem is turned up, but you have to leave room for it.
There are a number of places in this construction where the mind has to conceive things inside out, upside down and backwards. My mind does not do this well. In particular, getting the lining installed was laughable as I struggled to figure out where to sew, what sides together, etc. I believe this is called "bagging" a lining, where the lining is constructed separately from the garment then all sewed in together, turned inside out by hauling through a shoulder seam or someplace equally narrow and inaccessible. There was a lot of scrunching up during this process, but it came out well in the end.

One thing I did right was to leave the final lining seam open until I was sure everything else was properly placed and I did not have to get back inside for anything. (In fact, the final side seam is still open, as I forgot to sew it up when doing the final touches today.)
Interfacing: Without pretesting on a scrap, I interfaced the collar, epaulets and pocket welts with a lightweight woven fusible. The result was pieces that resembled cardboard in their flexibility. (This was part but by no means the most critical factor in ruining the collar.) I was able to redo the shoulder decorations with a thin knit interfacing that left some movement. Otherwise they would not have bent enough to sew them down. I used the welts as they were since they did not require any movement once in place. (You must remember here that I was seriously out of fabric at this point.)
I ruined the collar at the beginning. No need to go into details, just not paying attention and also using a too-stiff interfacing. I did not have enough fabric to make another, so my collar now matches the lining. This is not a particularly bad thing, just annoying.
The neckline where the collar attaches is bulky. Both vest and cape join at the collar, so there is a lot of bulk there to deal with. This is in part due to the bulk of the chosen fabrics and collar interfacing. In another incarnation, I would be more careful about clipping and really ponder over the construction methods and fabric choices to try to reduce this.
Lining with cotton: I chose the cotton lining for its color match to the suede. It is a bit heavy and un-slippery for a lining. I made this choice when I was still viewing this an an experimental garment. For best effect, I think this jacket should be made with collar and lapels made of the main fashion fabric. On the other hand, the cotton adds warmth, and it certainly adds an interesting element to the design.
I messed up the buttonholes: Buttonholes are not my strong suit. This front has 6 large buttons in a double-breasted style. There are some other little details around the button layout, but I was again not as careful as necessary and misplaced the center buttonhole by 1/4", leaving insufficient space for equally spaced buttons at the top. Though I do not expect to wear this garment with the top closed up to the neck, it would have been nice to have done it right. I need to get over my fear of getting the buttonholes looking good and properly placed. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Donna Karan Cape - Day 3

2007-10-08T12:11:00.000-04:00

The back of the cape is completed:

This morning I worked on the back of the cape, as it is the only bit that can be done without making a decision about the armhole openings in the front. I think I'm doing a bit of overkill on this project, considering it was an impulsive pattern purchase. Apart from the color, the fabric is only so-so. Fabricville $24.99/m on sale for half price last week.

I pressed the darts, basted the organza in place, and after much-much-much experimenting with needle size, tension and presser foot pressure, finally got my machine to stitch reasonably well through the 2 thick interlined pieces of fabric. I'm still not happy with how my machine is sewing, even after a tune-up last week. It is possible, I suppose that it is my problem and not a technical one. There's a lot I don't know about both organza and sewing heavy fabric.

Photo shows the back seam edges, ready to be joined. That seam is now sewn, pressed and awaits a binding of some sort. I did not topstitch, as I need to be sure it will look right, and will have to experiment further, perhaps with some heavier thread.

Part of the Grosgrain decision is made:
I received a helpful email from Susan in my sewing group, enlightening me about the difference between grosgrain and Petersham.

"There are 2 types of Grosgrain ribbon. The one that you can buy in Saint John has a straight edge and I expect that the one you need has the little picots and will shape around curves (also called Petersham). "

Of course, Petersham is what I need, and of course, it is not available locally. Nonetheless I have decided to trust the designer's design, and use this trim down the front edges, collar and pocket flaps. (The pattern instructions refer to it as "grosgrain." I am so pleased to know there is more than one version of this.) I had seen grosgrain in a multitude of colors at The Sewing Place website, and sure enough, it specifically explains that it is Petersham. Hopefully the color I ordered will work. Waiting for this to arrive will give me a good reason not to become obsessed about getting this garment finished, and to tackle a couple of other in-progress items.

Armholes still on hold:
Having decided on the grosgrain trim, and on not having raw edges anywhere, still leaves the arm openings undecided. I quote the dilemma from an (edited) post I made to the Stitcher's forum a few days ago.

"The part that confuses me is the arm openings in the front.

Grosgrain ribbon is stitched along left and right sides of the slash line on the right side of the front fashion fabric. (edges of ribbon line up with slash line). The FF is then slashed.

A separate elongated oval piece of FF, called the "applique" piece is laid on top and a narrow rectangle is stitched along the edges of the slit and across the 2 ends through the ribbon and the front. The applique piece is then slashed down the middle of this narrow rectangle. The (raw) outer edges of the oval are then stitched down. There are no instructions to finish the slash edges in any way.

So we have, from the underneath up: front FF, slashed with raw edge; grosgrain on top of each side of slash; applique FF on top with raw edges slashed and unfinished outside edges of the oval stitched down.

In the pattern photo the grosgrain is clearly visible in the arm opening. I am at a loss to fathom how it becomes visible from underneath the applique piece. There is a traditionally constructed welt pocket elsewhere on the cape. I wondered why the arm openings were not similarly designed....but then, I'm not the famous designer, am I. It seems to me if the applique were turned to the wrong side before stitching it down, the opening would be finished (similar to the welt for the pocket and the grosgrain would be visible. This is what the photo looks like, but the technical drawings show the applique on the right side.

I usually get into trouble when I try to change pattern instructions that I think are inadequate, so I am trying to be more careful to do as I am told in the hopes of getting a better and/or easier result."

I already tried a sample flipping the applique piece to the back, as in a welt, but my FF is too heavy for that.. It would work, I think, using a lighter weight fabric for the welt. Something will pop up in my mind, or someone else's sooner or later.

Next steps will be to

baste the organza on the other cape pieces,
look for a suitable lining fabric. The pattern is not lined, so there may be some creative design required around the facing to make the lining fit correctly and still allow access to the arm opening.
find a fabric of a lighter weight but the same color (good luck to me) for the front facings. I think my fabric is too heavy for a facing, creating too much bulk at the collar and at the hem.

I think one of my lessons from this garment is to only use the recommended fabrics.....then you can actually follow the directions as given. Ah well, what fun would there be in that?

Donna Karan Cape -- Day 2

2007-10-07T16:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my daughter-in-law (who is preparing our Thanksgiving Dinner) I have been able to spend much of this day sewing. The cape is cut out and well meditated over. The pattern called for 2 meters, but I have enough leftover for a slightly A-line, knee-length skirt if I piece the belt for the cape. How great is that!

I tried some very soft knit fusible interfacing on a sample, and vetoed that idea. Even though it was very light, it made the wool much too stiff. Also, the fusing process is just too iffy...potential for bubbles, twists, and a flattening of the nap on the 'right' side due to too much steam and heat.

Instead, I decided to interline with silk organza. At this point the organza is cut and pinned onto the cape pieces. Now I have never done this before, and I don't even know if it is an appropriate use of silk organza, but on the back cape piece it seems to add a bit of body to the garment without changing the nature of the face of the fabric. I think it will also add a layer of warmth. It's not pretty, so I'm still looking for a suitable lining.

Dinner is being served at my dining room table, so I had to finally stop the sewing and clear things away for what promises to be a magnificent supper.

I have not solved the issue of the arm hole slits and their "applique" piece. I did a quick sample done as a bound buttonhole, and my fabric is too thick to do that well. The binding would have to be something less weighty.

I am pondering using a fabric that will allow raw edges. Perhaps ultra-suede, though I've never even seen it. I have also not resolved the grosgrain edge and button hole trim. I have none to play with, so that will be for another day.

Tomorrow I will hand baste the organza onto the back pieces, decide on an inside seam finish (maybe none since it will be lined) and sew up the back seam, topstitching on both sides of the seam line. I tested that and it looks great. I will also eventually do the shoulder/side seams the same way.

This is a thick fabric, so I am a bit worried about bulk at the collar/neckline...but that will come in its own due time.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians.

Donna Karan Cape Vogue 2924 - Beginning

2007-10-06T22:56:00.000-04:00

Tonight I checked out the pattern and laid it on the fabric.

The fuchsia wool is a blend, including some acrylic and something else which I temporarily forget. I pre-treated it with Eucalan, which softened it quite a bit. It drapes nicely, but seems to have the potential to stretch out of shape. for this reason, I think I will interface all the pieces with a soft knit interfacing, and line the cape with silk. This will make a totally luxurious cape, which should hold its shape well. Silk should add some warmth, and it will be wonderful to slip on. So I'll have to find some silk somewhere, hopefully in a navy/fuchsia print.

I now have to make some other decisions to make:

Exposed Raw Edges: The pattern is intended to be made with melton, which I presume can handle raw edges. The instructions are a strange blend of seam edges finished with bias tape and raw edges top-stitched down on the outside. These raw edges include the shoulder/side seams and the collar/neck seam. This does not appeal to me, so I will sew the seams in a conventional manner, possibly top-stitching on the outside.

Similarly, the armhole slits are unfinished, and an "applique" piece surrounding the slit is topstitched onto the right side, with exposed raw edges. This seems totally tacky to me, and I think the slit should be created similarly to a bound buttonhole.
Grosgrain trim: The front edges, collar edges , armhole slit and pocket flap are trimmed with grosgrain ribbon, which is applied in an interesting fashion which needs some practice pieces before a final decision about whether to apply it or not. Doing so depends on acquiring grosgrain in a suitable color. It would have to be either fuchsia or navy. Not sure I can find it locally, so I will have to check out sources for 5/8" grosgrain.

I've never used grosgrain, so I'm not sure if it will look cheap. My reading of the instruction pictures the grosgrain sandwiched between the front and the facing, and extending out about 1.4". The grosgrain is attached to both the outer and under collar, so there are 2 bits extending at the top edge of the collar. I am not sure why this should be the case, but it is. It would be interesting to follow the directions and see the outcome. Unfortunately, there is no changing the mind after the fact without a lot of ripping out. The options would be no edge treatment, a bias binding using the lining fabric or a sturdy plain fabric, or stitching on a piping. Piping would require a hem facing I think.
The buttonholes of this pattern are also trimmed with grosgrain, then a raw-edged rectangle of Fashion fabric is stitched on either side of each buttonhole. I rather like the effect, but I'm not sure about the sewn-on bits of fabric, and I'm not sure that without them the grosgrain will look classy enough for the design of this cape. Leather would look terrific, but I've never used leather, and would likely ruin the whole thing. So perhaps no special buttonhole trim would be in order. Maybe make bound buttonholes and select some special buttons.
The bottom edge: The bottom edge of the cape is also unfinished...just cut with pinking shears. I have to say, this was the first thing I noticed when I read the pattern directions, and I was disappointed as I thought a Donna Karan design would have some classy finishing. At the very least, I expected that the pattern would offer options for fabrics that would not take well to a pinked edge. I have decided to add 5/8" to the bottom edge, and to do a HongKong finish on the hem.

So that's it for now. Tomorrow I will cut the pieces and interface.

SWAP 2008 - To Sew or Not to Sew, that is the Question

2007-10-06T14:20:00.001-04:00

I see the excitement building on the Stitcher's Forum around the latest version of Timmel's SWAP contest. SWAP was a great learning experience for me last year, but toward the end, I was not very happy with myself working under the stress of a time limit. At that time, I vowed not to participate next time......then I began reading posts, and, well.........

I'm still undecided, but I have, as is outlined in my previous post, been working toward coordinated clothing items. I have almost enough for a SWAP in my NAVY category, and one garment is already made, and one is almost finished. The disadvantage is that I have my "print" as a bottom. The navy with small silver stripes looks great as a skirt and pants, but may not take well to a print top, leaving me in a more difficult planning position than if I had chosen a print top.

Somewhere I read that to look stunning, dress in all one color, including hose, shoes and purse, and wear a jacket of another color. Sounds good to me, so I'm going with that theme as I move into this navy/grey wardrobe. At this point it does not fulfill SWAP criteria particularly, but if I can get these bits working, I'll have enough to make a SWAP out if the result.

My "stunning" jacket will be a fuchsia wool cape, (Donna Karan - Vogue 2924) designed for outdoor wear, so there will also be a scarf of a similar color, or another light-weight jacket to set off the outfits when worn indoors.

This pattern will be a challenge as there are some very unusual directions, such as raw edges where the collar joins the neck edge, which I will have to work through to my satisfaction. I hope to document the garment as I cannot find it reviewed anywhere.

The navy and blue-grey show up decently here, but the white in the background is actually more grey than it looks, and the blue on the right goes better than it looks with the navy. In between the 2 silver stripes, there is a line of a lighter blue. The fuchsia would not photograph well, but you get the idea perhaps.

So my 2 monochrome outfits to contrast with the fuchsia cape are:

Navy/silver stripe pants and skirt; navy light-weight knit short sleeve top or tank style; navy cuddly knit long sleeve top. This skirt is already made.
Heathery blue-grey knit pants and skirt; same fabric top so it looks like a dress when worn together. The skirt is underway, the top is cut out, but I think it is too small a size, so I will make it up for my daughter, and try again.

These 3 tops, along with a light grey sparkle knit all go with both sets of bottoms.

I also plan a white fitted shirt (first try at a Simplicity 3684 B-C-D pattern) to wear with the navy bottoms, and a chiffon shirt in a grey/white/blue print to wear with the blue-grey bottoms.

None of this includes a purchase from Julie, and I am thinking of the blue wool denim as a possible 'indoor' jacket to pair with both, but I have lost my swatch, and need to track it down before making that decision.

Last time I spent far too much time with planning and re-planning the fabrics and colors. This time, should I decide to take up the challenge, I will stick with my first instincts as much as possible and get on with it.

One lesson I learned, however, is that the styles and fabrics have to work together in all combinatons, so there can't easily be a combo of dressy and sporty. I think I am working toward a mid-range -- clothing for shopping, travelling and visiting. Using the same fabric for pants and skirt introduces a bit of boredom, but also some versatility to dress up a bit when required.

Wardrobe Review - Thinking of the Top Ten

2007-09-17T07:31:00.000-04:00

Summer interfered with my sewing, but now that fall weather is returning, I am more inspired to check out the latest fashions and try to reduce my stash.

I finished the turquoise sleeveless shirt, and I finished the bias tank top mentioned previously. I tried the tank pattern on a piece of strange white cotton with something imprinted on it, but it was far too stiff for the pattern, so will likely not be completed.

I am still waiting to complete the buttons and hems on the Athena blouse and a pair of green stretch cords that were sewn early in the summer. Hot weather did not inpire completion of those, but they will make nice additions to the fall wardrobe.

I need a nice ivory or olive top to wear under the Athena, a tank or a short sleeved T-shirt in a very thin knit, as the shirt is long-sleeved and quite a heavy cotton. I am usually too warm, so I need to be able to take it off.

TOP TEN

Why the red print, you ask? There is a thread on Stitchers which is of interest to me in organizing my wardrobe:

Ten items to make your wardrobe flexible has members working out what they need to enhance their current wardrobe What a great idea! In spite of a completed SWAP, I still find myself with orphans -- shirts with no bottoms, bottoms with no tops, and occasions with no suitable attire.

The first post on this thread lists Tim Gunn's 10 essential wardrobe components as best remembered by those watching his new TV show.

So as I go through my planning and dreaming, I want to keep this in mind. I have only been sewing for about a year and a half, and I think I have a pretty extensive stash....though not like that of many people whose blogs and posts I read. In my stash are inheritances from my daughter who sewed for college 10 years ago, a few quilting cottons bought on sale to make shirts (some of which are too heavy for shirts I have discovered -- and too wrinkly for skirts), assorted knits for t-shirts, a few nice fabrics bought (mostly from Timmel's) just because I liked them, and a collection of 7 or 8 pieces of silk bought randomly when I was inspired to try silk.

I would like to reduce this stash, but a careful review finds me short on coordinating pieces. So that's my goal now...to use up as much as I can of what is here, and only purchase what is needed to bring the whole stash to life. The planning is underway, but gets very fuzzy.

1. The Olive/Ivory Collection: I started stash-reduction with the Athena blouse (in ivory and green print) and the olive green pants. The corduroy was purchased in preparation for my SWAP, but not used The print was a wild piece from my daughter. The pants go with a few of my SWAP items, so there's a real bonus there. To round this out, as I mentioned above, I need a matching olive (or ivory) T-shirt or tank to wear under the shirt.

For my SWAP I also purchased some green faux suede, which I have now combined with one of my quilting cottons into a lovely cape/jacket from the August Burda WOF. A delightful project which I will document (hopefully) one day soon.

Unfortunately, the greens of the pants and the cape don't go together well, but I have fabric on hand to make taupe pants to coordinate with the cape, and if I make an ivory or olive turtle-neck, it will go with both. (My friend Wendy will be cringing here, as she is trying desperately get me into more "winter" colors -- which I love the best, but seem to end up more earthy in spite of myself)

I found in my stash a great length of drapy olive knit that matches the cape perfectly. It's rather ugly I think, a Wazoodle impulse purchase. However, it just might make a decent dress or skirt & top if I make it on the crosswise so the stripes are vertical.

2. The Navy/Grey Collection: In a new direction, I used a dark navy with silvery stripes to make a pencil skirt from the sloper we made in my sewing group. It turned out beautifully so far -- just needs hem and waistband. The fabric was from my daughter's stash. Looks like wool but acts like polyester. I interlined it, for some reason thinking this would be easier than making a lining. Where was my brain? Nonetheless, I think it's going to be a nice-looking addition to the wardrobe. I never liked 'straight' skirts, but maybe I just never had one that fit.

There is a lot of this fabric left, so I will make navy striped pants (and line them conventionally) to take advantage of the collection of coordinating tops.

For the proposed tops, I purchased some nice knits on sale at that: a blue-grey jersey that I think is polyester. It feels wonderful and keeps its shape. I took a chance and did not pre-wash it, so I could be in for a disappointment down the road. (I have had such bad experiences with knits in the washing machine that I decided to take a risk. This may come back to haunt me -- meanwhile I will have lovely looking garments till they need washing)

Last night I cut out a flared skirt and a T-shirt from this jersey. This will give the effect of a DRESS which is surely a Top-Ten Item in anybody's list, but which I do not own at the moment.
Also purchased was a thick cuddly navy knit for a long-sleeved cozy shirt to match the pants, and a light weight, sparkly knit in a very light grey for some sort of T-shirt top. As a remnant, I picked up a navy, very thin knit, suitable for some sort of top, just not sure what yet. The two navy tops should be ok with the jersey skirt.

I have other navy-related items in my stash, and also a grey for pants -- not sure how it will all coordinate, but another cape-jacket in denim comes to mind if the colors match.

3. The Brown Collection

This will be for later.

Vogue 2875 - Bias Garments

2007-07-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

I've been spending time with summer photos of our lovely wildflowers and waterways, hence sewing time is a bit less than usual. I think I am up to 4 or 5 summer UFO's now. Waiting for buttons in some cases, and inspiration in others.

I did finish one item though -- a tank top from Vogue 2875 by ADRI. It was designed on the bias, and I must say, I think I am now convinced all such woven tops should be bias. The drape is lovely and just feels good. My top is a wearable muslin of bargain wall probably-polyester print.

This is a wardrobe pattern (tank, jackets, skirt and pants) which was featured in the Vogue summer magazine. The envelope itself is totally uninspiring, (even less so than the online picture above) and I would not have given it a second glance if not for the magazine feature. The jacket and skirt are also a bias cut, and I am excited to see how the bias affects the way the jacket hangs.

It's a loose fitting pattern, and so breezy and comfortable for summer. The armholes and neckline are meant to be faced with bias strips, but I cut a one-piece shaped facing for the front and one for the back -- an experiment to learn how to line the top in "reversible" fashion. My next version of this will be silk chiffon, underlined lined with something really thin, -- batiste or light silk lining and I will try the bias binding on the armholes and neck edges.

I needed a number of alterations, but the tank top was a simple place to experiment with an FBA, moving darts and taking in the front neckline. I think I've finally figured out what is required for these alterations on other patterns.

Things I learned:

The bias garment tends to stretch a bit in the wearing, slightly lowering the neckline which is barely above the cleavage. For the sake of modesty and a pre-existing tan line, I will raise the neckline just a bit next time.
The pattern is quite short, and I needed to add a bit more than usual to have it long enough at the waist.
Angled darts (from just above the waist) are much more attractive and comfortable than horizontal ones.
The original pattern has no darts, but the FBA resulted in a substantial dart. I drafted a version with no darts, following directions here (thanks to Julie Culshaw for the reference) but based upon paper-fitting, I don't think it will hang comfortably, but I might give it a try anyway if I can find the right remnant.

Balancing comfort and style:

I'm not sure about the style. It is incredibly comfortable to wear, but does not really have any definition at the waist. Thus, it covers various rolls very well, but really does not look too chic.

Caught in the Call of Summer

2007-06-29T11:13:00.001-04:00

I've not stopped sewing since SWAP, but other summer activities have got in the way of blogging. At the end of the season I think I will make up a collage of all my projects, and make the comments in one fell swoop.

So far I have completed, or almost completed several items, many from stashed fabric. This is not to say I have not added to the stash. A local quilt shop had their annual sale, and I bought 8 pieces of garment size -- lovely cotton prints, hopefully for summer wear. Then there was the Wazoodle order, though I must learn that from them you get what you pay for, and stop buying bargain priced stuff. And of course, Fabricville is having their 3 for 1 sale which resulted in some nice soft swiss dot which is becoming a sleeveless blouse today or tomorrow.

And I visited Silver Silk in Halifax for a couple of lovely pieces for my pending silk spree, which has not yet started. First off will be some nice One-Seams I think, in a blue between navy and royal. I re-measured and re-cut my pattern, and did a muslin in cotton. For the silk, I want a perfect fit, or as near as possible. I put French seams in my muslin, and it seemed to work fine.

The summer so far:

the olive corduroy pants previously posted Burda WOF #120 April 07
ivory fleece Saf-T-Pockets Rochelle jacket (no pockets though) completed, started during SWAP as a muslin
navy/purple linen pants Burda WOF #120 May 07?
One-Seam pants from a blue-green-plum batik cotton
Athena blouse from olive/ivory far-out print
blue linen empire waist tunic top with embroidery around the neck. NL?
cotton print empire waist top - not a great fit. Decided I don't like empire waist styles so will not further modify the pattern.
pink knit sleeveless top - nice pattern but cheap material - don't like knit styles with facings, at least not with V-neck. May investigate this further for possible double front to avoid facings.

Sooner or later I'll post some pictures, and get the pattern numbers looked up. Meanwhile, I must plan more carefully so that some of these garments actually go together. Not much SWAPping in the collection so far.

Post-SWAP: Where Do We Go From Here?

2007-04-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

Post SWAP update: April 18, 23, 26, 27.

[For the SWAP click here]

It's April 18. What's been happening since SWAP?

It's been a while since I posted. I have done a little sewing, but mostly I've been doing some planning for the next phase.

I have ruined one attempted top of ivory panne velour. It turned out too small. Not enough stretch for the pattern. No great loss.

I have completed the unfinished muslin jacket of ivory Malden Mills fleece. It still needs pockets, or some sort of embellishment, but it is wearable. I used bathing suit lining for the binding, but I didn't do a great job of it. It's cuddly stuff -- the fleece, not the binding -- and feels good on these cold damp April days we're having here. Good enough for around the house, or walking in the evenings. I made it to have something visible for walking at night.

I also started some of the touch-ups required on my SWAP garments:

The One-Seams got taken in, and I did that yesterday. They were too low in the crotch, and the legs too full. The fabric is quite heavy. I took in about an inch all the way up the leg seam on both sides.
The red shirt cuffs do not feel right, so I'm taking them off and putting a facing on the outside of the sleeve bottom instead, and
the pockets of my reversible jacket really should be removed, and get binding all around instead of having the bottom edge turned under. An oversight at the time while rushing. None of these things interferes with wearing the clothes, but I will feel better when they're done.

I want to start working with silk and I have quite a collection gathered. I still have no idea, however, about what patterns to use. Mostly I will have to make muslins I presume to get everything in order before starting on a silk version. The April Burda WOF has some possibilities. The Stitchers Guild has a silk thread on the go, as well as a Chanel-type jacket thread. Both interesting possibilities, though I don't think I would have occasion to wear the jacket.

Meanwhile, I think I will work toward some SWAP complimentary pieces until I get a new color scheme worked out. I have lots of fabric purchased for SWAP that was not included for various reasons, but which will go with some of the SWAP pieces nicely.

Red Wool Crepe (2m)
Olive Stretch Corduroy (2+m)
Olive Faux Suede (1.5m or maybe less)
Green/Ivory cotton far out print (2m or so)
Ivory bamboo knit (3m)
Gold dupioni with bees on it (1.5m)
Green dupioni (2m)
Sage green polyester (1.5m) junky stuff from Walmart, probably won't use it.
Taupe stretch corduroy matching SWAP pants (1m or so)
AND I really need a nice pair of black pants in a summer weight - no fabric on hand for that.

It's April 23: fixes and new stuff

Just before our weekend road trip I fixed the cuffs on the red shirt, and partially cut out green stretch corduroy pants using April 07 BWOF #120. I compared the pattern with the one I used for my taupe pants, and they were close enough to be twins. These are billed as "narrow" but in fact they are about half an inch wider in the leg than the ones already made. I wanted a new pattern to avoid the V-shaped yoke in the back that unnecessarily emphasizes my butt. Hopefully later today, I'll get to work on those pants.

I learned that stretch cord can be marked with a tracing wheel and no paper. The marks don't stay on forever, but its better than getting all that chalk all over the place.

I also learned that rubbing alcohol will remove interfacing glue from my iron. I fully 'fused' a piece of interfacing wrong way up. There are other products mentioned on the forum in response to my question posed there.

On our trip to Nova Scotia we found an off-the-beaten-track sheep farm with delicious yarns, and a few other interesting items, like hand-made wooden knitting needles. I'm not a knitter, but I bought some roving and felting needles to experiment with on the ivory fleece jacket. Another new thing to try.

It's April 26-27: Green stretch cords underway

I've been working exclusively on the green cords (except for buying 6 Simplicity patterns on sale -- not sure how they will work as they will all need a bust and back length adjustment. These are to help me work away my stash of silks and knits)

The pants are going well, but this pattern is weird, weird, weird. The front of the pants from fly to pocket is higher than the rest of the pant pieces, (ie no waistband in that part). The waistband is fitted into the remaining front and continues around to center back, then a facing is sewed to the top of the whole thing and turned under.

Sounds simple except that the waistband is attached where the pocket opening starts, which means there are already several layers (pocket facing, pocket yoke) to contend with, and now the waistband, and at the top, the facing. This is stretch corduroy and the thickness is quite unmanageable, especially considering this is supposed to be topstitched close to the top edge. I also think the seam joining the front to the waistband should be turned onto the waistband, and not onto the front as suggested in the pattern directions. This would add 2 more layers in that lump that has to be folded over when the facing is turned back.

But that's not the biggest challenge. Burda directions for installing a fly are impossible to understand -- not the first time I fell back on an easy, fly attachment with no underflap. Also, the directions for applying the facing at the fly area are initially incomprehensible, so I spent a long time muttering and mumbling to myself about how to get the top edge looking good.

The zipper does not go to the top. It stops at a mysterious "mark" 1.25" from the top edge and there is supposed to be a button-hole at the top. Interesting concept, but there seems to be nothing to attach the button to. Possibly, if I had installed the fly underflap, it would extend under the fly in such a way as to accomodate a button, but it would also have added another bunch of bulk right at the center front.

I finally figured out how to do the facing/fly attachment, which was quite logical after all, and it looks pretty good. Great on the front, ok on the inside.

I decided to just let the zipper come up to within a quarter inch of the top and put a hook there,maybe sewing on a button for show. Still, the zipper just "stops" with nothing to cover the top edge of it. I must have missed something there.I think this would be the case regardless of how I finished to facing or the underflap.

I've enjoyed the challenge of figuring this out (or rather, not figuring it out). I knew these pants would fit, and the pocket installation is flatter and simpler than in my SWAP stretch pants, whose pockets never did lie flat -- my fault most likely.

I think these pants would have been very difficult if alterations were required. The design of the top does not lend easily to basting and re-fitting. The curved partial waistband, and curved fitted facing do not have a side seam, and thus would not be happy getting their sizes changed, and matched again to each other.

There is supposed to be topstitching at the top of the waistband, through the facing. I topstitched first then turned the facing under. No way it would look good sunk through all those layers, especially in corduroy, which probably should not have been topstitched in the first place. The bottom of the band is also topstitched, and this I did through the facing to hold it down. Because of the design, there are no lumps to stitch through there.

Next round

I would draft a waistband for the entire top of the pants, possibly giving it side seams to allow for adjustments later, or elastic in the back if they stretch out.
The fly and zipper would be traditionally installed, with a button at the top. I need to study up on how the top fasteners work on pants. You would think a person who has worn pants for almost 60 years would know that, wouldn't you.
I would make the pocket facings and the waistband facing from a stretch poplin or other lighter material, especially if using corduroy or similar weight fashion fabric

SWAP Voting: Having Your Say

2007-04-25T17:29:00.000-04:00

It's time to vote for your favorite SWAP! To vote, join Artisan's Square here. To see the 31 SWAPs go here. Vote for your top 3, in order, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and email your vote to Julie. You'll find the email address on the home page for Timmel Fabrics. You have until April 28 to cast your ballot.

THE VOTING DILEMMA: Everyone has created a wardrobe appropriate to their skills and clothing needs. It seems intrusive to make a judgement in the light of all that hard work. The hard part for me has been to find a way to decide upon my 'favorite.' I came up with some criteria, and tried to put point values on various aspects such as color coordination..construction difficulty, fit, variety of styles and ultimate 'looks'. First place was easy, but second and third were tough. It was especially hard to decide the dress SWAPs, as I rarely wear dresses and really can't relate.

Philosophical questions arose: Is a 99% fantastic SWAP which includes a purchased item better than a 95% fantastic SWAP with all items sewn by the SWAPper; is a technically magnificent SWAP, with garments I don't really like, better than a SWAP I love which is made up of simpler garments? Eventually, I found my judgements were based upon the technical complexity of each wardrobe, as well as the variety of "looks" each wardrobe afforded the wearer.

I think it boils down to the fact that "there are no right answers." It's interesting that there are no voting criteria that I am aware of, so the diversity of our group will be seen in the outcome of the voting.

The Whole Shebang!!

2007-04-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

Finished. Done.
All that remains are the last 2 pictures, and the list of pattern numbers. Wow, what a feeling. Like childbirth, the pain is all but forgotten.

Here's the whole shebang.

Making pictures

2007-04-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

I've taken a lot of pictures during this SWAP. Not many of them have been terrific ones, and I suppose it doesn't really matter. For the past few days I have been thinking of which pictures to take for Julie's site, and how to present my wardrobe. I've been hoping for some warm weather to take advantage of the natural light, but that is not to be according to the forecast.

To entertain myself, and re-visit some rusty skills, I created a collage of some of the details in my collection. Hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow, and SWAP will be behind me.

On to the next challenges.

Dissecting Frogs

2007-04-06T19:55:00.000-04:00

(edited April 7)

It's been an interesting day. I decided to put frogs on my stippled jacket, but locally there were only 3 useable frogs in the entire city. (I'll admit to being a little fussy.)

Good Friday being a day for meditative pursuits, I chose the quiet and refreshing activity of inventing how to make frogs. I had a magazine article, and a couple of online links, but I could not find the frogs I wanted.

Below you will see the penultimate steps to Creating the "button" side of the frogs. Above, I have shown a more civilized presentation of the loop end. With luck, more details will follow if Photoshop agrees to cooperate.

Here's what I did, briefly. You will need to determine the measurements based upon your application.

1. Make 2 side-by side coils.
Light cording, ironed flat, and melted with a candle at both ends to seal, (6.5" long after sealing. Mark with a long pin in the middle and tightly coil one end to the pin. Stick the pin horizontally through all the layers of cording, and coil the other end in the opposite direction- like a sideways S. When it meets the first coil, take out the pin and put it through the whole shebang.)

2. Steam-a-Seam the back to hold everything in place. This is not absolutely necessary, but helps with the first few until you get the feel of how everything goes together. A whole lot of pins will accomplish the same thing.

3. Make the 3rd coil and the knot. One side of the frog gets a knot, the other gets a loop. For my application, the distance from the edge of the frog to end end of the knot is 5/8". It is necessary to check these measurements against the garment to be sure things end up where you want them.

Use a piece of cording about 13" long. Tie a bulky knot a couple of inches from the end. Measure 5/8" from the knot on the long end and mark with a pin. Measure 3.25" from the pin, cut and seal the end. Coil from the end to the pin. Insert the pin through all the layers of cording.

4. Make the 3rd coil and the loop.
Use a 7" piece of cord. Seal one end and measure 3.25" and place a pin. Coil the sealed end to the pin, and place the pin through the coil as previously. Fold the remaining end into a loop of the required length, ending where the pin is inserted. Carefully remove the pin, and replace it to include the outer side of the loop.

5.Sew the 2 parts together - Ball Side.
Using matching thread, sew randomly through the double coil to secure it, especially at the center where the 2 coils join. Similarly secure the single coil, then center the single coil beside the other two, with the ball string sandwiched between. Stitch the 3 coils together. Fold the loose end of the ball string to the back and stitch the two strands together so they lie flat. Fasten the string at the back near the middle of the top coil. Use a bit of Fray-Check if you think it's necessary.

Loop Side - see picture at the top.
Proceed as above. Pin the loop coil to the other coils and secure the tail end at the back of the frog, ending in the middle of the upper coil as above. Be sure to test the loop length before making the whole set of frogs.
Please note: In the illustration Step 4 is confusing. After replacing the pin, so the end pierces the outside strand of the loop, I turned the frog over so I could attach it on the right side of the 2-coil piece. If you apply it to the left of the 2-coil piece, you don't have to turn it over in step 4. We learn with experience.

That's all folks. Back now to finish those frogs.

The End is in Sight

2007-04-05T15:36:00.000-04:00

Wow. The only thing left is to hem the last skirt! And of course, to take some good pictures.

I finally found and installed the snaps in my jean jacket. I got the red shirt finished, washed and pressed, and decided to put frogs on my reversible jacket, though it will be fine with no fasteners if they don't get done.

I've posted pictures along the right margins, of all but the last red shirt, the black skirt and the stippled jacket. Those pictures will be there shortly. Also, some of the pattern numbers have to be filled in.

It feels good to have got this far with the whole project, and of course, it feels good to be wearing some clothes that go well together. I think I like the jean jacket the best, and the bermberg lining makes it feel really luxurious. My next favorite would be the stretch cords. I will definitely work with this fabric again as I love the feel of the completed garment.

Even after looking at it for 4 months, and making 2 garments, I still like the red flower print. There is more in my stash for inspiration on another day, or perhaps for another person.

I just bought a new Husqvarna Sapphire!! It's only job on this SWAP will be a double needle hem, but I am sure it will see good use taking my SWAP learning onward to new garments. The same day I bought my machine, the new BWOF arrived with loads of summer possibilities. Good grief!! and I said I was going to take a sewing hiatus after SWAP concluded.

It's time to think of a brief write-up for Julie's SWAP page to summarize the frustration and fascination of this experience.

The Red Shirt

2007-04-01T20:06:00.000-04:00

1. Burda Zip Front Shirt #8360

Down to the wire, and the final garment is almost finished! I thought I would add a picture, even though there are threads everywhere, wrinkles and still a few pins.

The red cotton shirt which so lovingly entered this life, has decided to be yet another difficult child, with much ripping out, and unsatisfactory behavior.

The fabric is a heavy quilting cotton, in a fabulous blue-red. I bought it near the beginning of the SWAP and never looked at again until last week. It has a slight overall print on the right side and I discovered that it is clear red on the wrong side -- what opportunities I missed for a reversible garment I will never know.

I promised myself I would be totally careful, not work when tired, and not whine and complain in my blog about the problems with this garment. BUT>>>>>>>

It seems I still have a lot to learn, even when being careful. I guess I should be glad I didn't choose silk or polyester for my final garment.

I have a new theory on sewing. If it works the first time, count your blessings. If it doesn't, you'll have to do it at least three more times.

The cutting worked out splendidly.
So did the marking, I even marked any curvy seam lines. Cotton is so great, takes markings, and in this case, no worry about anything showing through.
The first interfacing (a light woven fusible) didn't stick, and the fabric bubbled even though the interfacing had been pre-shrunk. It pulled off easily, though.
The second interfacing, a soft woven fusible whose name I forget, went on nicely, but seemed to have a lot of depth, soft but thick. I should not have interfaced both collar pieces, it is too fat.
I had to move a bust dart, which should have been corrected on my pattern.
The collar went together well.
It only had to be sewn on twice.
It was very difficult to fit the facings to the neck edge, especially around the shoulder seam. I always have a problem with this type of facing and hereby make a vow to never use them again. (This collar has no stand so it is sandwiched between the garment and the facings).
I forgot to make the back neck facing deeper, so it fails to lie perfectly flat and looks pathetically home-made.
The zipper proved almost as difficult as it did in slippery polyester in a previous incarnation. It is sandwiched between the facing and the front edges, and for some reason it is difficult to get everything to line up so the edges dont overlap or spread apart when the zipper is closed. You can't fit the zipper in place when the seam is basted together, so there is a lot of opportunity for the edges to slip out of place on top or underneath -- If I ever make this again, I will re-think totally how to do this. At least now I know that the zipper teeth have to exactly match the edge of the seam line.
My machine is acting up, and refused to allow me to stitcheven one straight line of topstitching without a break, to stop and start again.
The fabric is a heavy quilting cotton, in a fabulous blue-red, but it is actually too heavy for a shirt of this style. I bought it near the beginning of the SWAP and never looked at again until last week. It has a slight overall print on the right side and I discovered it is clear red on the wrong side --- what opportunities I missed for a reversible garment I will never know.
I decided to create a pattern for a cuff on the sleeve, in a style I had never done before. On a scale of 1 - 10 the cuff comes off at about a 6.5. I will probably make a post-SWAP adjustment and just put a topstitched facing at the bottom of the sleeve.
The sleeve caps did not cooperate, and had to be pinned a dozen times before fitting correctly -- even then, not the world's greatest job. Usually I don't have much problem with sleeves. Perhaps the stiffness of the fabric was involved. Maybe I just should have left it for a day or two.
I followed someone's advice from an online hint, and sewed the sleeves before the side seams, approximately to the notches. This allows the sleeve to be "inset" at the bottom edge where it joins the side seam, which in my view, makes for a better fit and feel. Also, it's easier to finish the side seams this way.
During pattern fitting, and in my previous shirt, the shoulder seams were ok. In this one, the right shoulder should have had a forward-shoulder adjustment. It's quite noticeable, but because I did not have the side seams sewed up, I missed it when working early in the construction. Too late to change it as the seams are finished and there's not enough fabric to make the move.
The little vents at the bottom of the side seams, and the hem edges below the zipper worked out splendidly and neatly.
I love this fabric color with my skin, but it will be warm for a long-sleeved shirt....most likely I will wear it unzipped with a light T or tank underneath.

All that remains is the hem, and binding on one sleeve seam. Then it's into the wash with some fabric softener to see if it will feel a little lighter.

2. JEAN JACKET

For what seems like months, I have been trying to purchase snaps for my jacket along with a tool to put them on. All in vain. I have several kinds of snaps, and several tools bought and borrowed, but no combination that works effectively.

Finally in desperation, I bought one of those little silver things you pound the snaps on with, and snaps whose design is fine on top, but the unsnapped surfaces look clunky - picture later. I practiced. I found one of my tools would punch great holes. I measured several times. I put the snaps into the cuffs first....All went well.

Ready for the main row of front snaps, starting at the bottom. #1 snap went in well, right up to the point where I hammered my thumb holding onto that stupied silver bit of metal. Split the thumb and the nail, so spent the next 20 minutes with an ice cube.

Thankfully DH came to my rescue and pounded in the next 7 snaps, fashioning a holding device with a pair of pliers. With 3 more to go, the little plastic thingy that you pound into split into a dozen pieces.....so off I go again for yet another tool. It's spring!! I want to wear that jacket!!!

New Canadian Fabric Link

2007-03-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

Wow. I just discovered Textile Outfitters at http://www.justmakeit.com/fabrics/index.html
Thanks to MsSewCrazy on the Stitchers forum in this message.

Even though its not a typical 'fashion fabric' source, it's great to find another Canadian supplier.

They supply various sports-related fabrics including Malden Mills fleece and swimsuit lycra. The Swimsuit Lycra and Chloroblock pages have some great guidelines for swimsuit sewing. They also carry a great supply of notions, including lycra binding for fleece garments which I have so far been unable to find anywhere!!

Yea!! Back in the Zone!!

2007-03-27T17:01:00.000-04:00

Finally!! A change in the sewing stars.

Dark red knit T-shirt
Yesterday I sewed up a dark red jersey T-shirt from a pattern I drafted from a RTW shirt which I rather like. It is totally simple, with cap-like sleeves that drop right from the shoulder seam. I'm sure there is a proper name for that style.

I discovered in the drafting process, that the front and back of this shirt (for which I paid $35 at Lindor because of its interesting fabric) are identical, except for the neckline. This means one pattern piece, with a fold-back bit at the neck edge. How cool is that!

I used some dark red stretch jersey of unknown origin, which matches one of the reds in my SWAP print. It is a great color for me, and goes very well with my black skirt, and the lighter pants in my collection. Miracle of miracles, everything went together as planned with only a few bits of picking out stitches. Lots of pinning and basting, and great care taken. This is such as easy shirt, that I wanted it to be perfect so it could eventually be repeated in all the colors of my SWAP.

The original shirt does not even have a hem, so I must have been in sad shape for clothing when I bought it a couple of years ago. However, I think I have finally created something quite wearable, simple to sew, and will happily try it with some other knits.

Because of my past sorry experiences sewing on neck bands, I did this one in 2 parts, sewing the band on the front and back separately before joining at the shoulders. This makes for some bulk at the edge, but in this case,prevented stretching of the neck edge. Prior to binding, I carefully cut and fused 3/8" strips of tricot interfacing along the wrong side of the neck edge, and used the inner edge of the interfacing as the stitching line for the binding. I then topstitched the edge of the band close to the seamline, using a stretch stitch on my machine.

This shirt, I made entirely on my regular sewing machine, so the inside is not beautiful. I am trusting that nobody will be looking there. Now that I know it fits, and goes together as expected, the next one will be made mostly on the serger. I can see this as having potential for any bits of knit that come my way, as well as for some front neckline experiments.

Red Cotton Zip Shirt:
Also today, I cut out and started sewing my final! SWAP item, a red overall print quilting cotton. It's a beautiful piece of fabric, and perfectly matches the primary red in my print. I have been saving it until I was back in the Zone, and also because it's an easy fabric to work with, and more relaxing at the end of a long line of frustrations.

I'm using a TNT pattern, Burda 8360. This fabric and pattern were one of the first in my SWAP plan. It's view B with the zipper front, and I am making long sleeves with a facing at the bottom which will turn up into a cuff.

The cutting and marking went superbly this afternoon while sewing with friends - moral support always helps. Stay stitching and darts went well this evening. The only problem is that I had not pre-shrunk my interfacing, so I cannot proceed further until it dries. Perhaps it's time to get the snaps on that jean jacket.

Stippled Jacket
I'm still not sure whether to put fasteners on the stippled jacket or not, but a friend suggested using frogs, and serendipitously, I happen to have one solitary small frog on hand. I think there are possibilities here - time for a visit to the frog pond at Fabricville and see if they have a supply.

Here's crossing my fingers that all will continue to go positively.

Winding-Down Weirdness

2007-03-21T15:58:00.000-04:00

The SWAP is coming to an end. So is my sanity.

Nothing is going very well. Mistakes everywhere. Someone on the board mentioned not being in the Zone, and I think that is what's happened. All my hobbies are done when I "feel like it." Otherwise, the quality suffers. In an effort to finish this project, I've been working when I should not be, and mistakes and errors of judgement abound.

However -- the Stippled Jacket is done, except for buttons, and I'm not sure I even want buttons on it. I know about all its shortcomings, but it seems to be getting lots of compliments, so they must not be too noticeable. There are a few things I would do differently next time....I think they are noted, or will be, on the Instructions Page which I was bold enough to write with ZERO experience beforehand.

The bamboo cowl neck top has turned into a wadder. The neckline seam doesn't want to go together correctly, I've misplaced the sleeves, and I generally got sick of it.

Arrival: Burda WOF for March!! I chose a pattern for a tunic style top. (#103) (without the decorative buttons)

I should note that the pattern pieces for this shirt are very oddly shaped, and should be carefully marked as to where the top of each piece is. I spent awhile looking at my unlabelled front pieces trying to figure which of the 4 sides was the shoulder seam. (Tip: a friend last evening, at our Sewing Group meeting suggested that when tracing a pattern, you should only put the upward facing arrow on the grain line. That way, you always know if your pattern pieces are headed the right way.)

By happy chance, this shirt is Burda's Sewing Lesson of the Month, so there are detailed instructions. This is a cool shirt. Not being in the Zone however, I messed it up miserably by making my muslin from a lovely soft viscose fabric that slips a bit when being cut, and a lot when being sewed. It drapes beautifully, and anyone in the Zone would have used fusible interfacing on the bands, especially with soft flowy fabric. Not me. I chose this moment to experiment for the first time with slippy soft flowy silk organza. DUH. Long story short: There are a few wrinkles where they aren't supposed to be, a few seams not quite straight. But not so terrible as not to be wearable. (I am a poet in another life).

The worst part of the tunic experience is that I decided to actually follow the given directions. Not something I necessarily do, but something I have learned in this SWAP is that I can get into trouble inventing my own rules. BUT...in this case, the Burda instructions leave raw edges of seams at the neckline (where there is a zipper), and at the bottoms of the sleeves -- where I know they are essentially invisible, but still.......As well, the interfacing is exposed on the inside of the garment. Never saw that before either.

After realizing that I should have followed my instinct about the bands and sewed them on so as to hide the seams, I decided to try to do that after the fact, ripping out a bit of seam/topstitching and trying to undo and redo stitching, all to no avail and resulting in loads of frayed ends and frustrations. After all that, the sleeves seem to pull awkwardly and hang crooked.

As we speak, I have decided to forgo the bands on the sleeves, totally remove them and hem the openings. This presents its own set of fitting issues because of the kimono type styling to the sleeve/side seams.

On another point, this pattern calls for a 24" invisible zipper in the back. I could only find a 22" one, and even though I added an inch to the length of the garment, the zipper is still extra long.

Though I don't like its directions, most of my troubles are self-induced on this pattern, which of course is another way of describing a learning experience. It has intriguing construction and fashionable syle, and I will make another one of these someday, but probably not for the SWAP. My nice red cotton which was to have been my post-muslin shirt will be made into something without so much oddness. Meanwhile, off to supper, and then another attempt to get this one finished.

Later: I got the sleeves organized in an acceptable manner; I'm leaving the zipper until morning. I have to figure out how to finish the seams, as they want to fray all over the place. I probably should have serged as I went along. (Note to self about next time!).

I think there's hope for this shirt, assuming the zipper goes ok, but it won't be a masterpiece.

Stippled Jacket Taking Shape

2007-03-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Meanwhile, I promised myself a sewing weekend, and it has more or less been one of those.
On Friday afternoon, after working on the bamboo shirt, and the taupe fasteners, and drafting a pattern for my final shirt, I got a call from the instructor of the jacket course. The cancelled class is to be tonight -- I guess I'd better get all my ducks in a row and finish sewing on that pocket to cover my faux pas with the stabilizer. So that is what I did with the rest of the afternoon, then took a break so as to be bright and fresh for the evening's work. Yeah, right.

During the class, I got the jacket pieces cut out, and I cut some lengths for binding. The instructor was not impressed with my choice of binding color, and suggested that I should use the same fabric as my "green" side rather than the burgundy I had chosen. I am color-challenged, so I accepted this as a great idea, except that I did not have enough leftovers and had to cut straight strips for the straight seams, and would no way have enough for the bias required for the bottom edges.

Trotting to the local quilt shop Saturday morning, I learned that they no longer have that fabric. Fortunately, however, they had another green with little charcoal bits in it that exactly match the "black" side of the jacket. Serendipity for me! This I will use on the edges, and I have enough green to bind the side seams, sleeve seams and shoulder seams. (Later: Now that this is done, I am delighted with the result, and I know that the burgundy would have been a big mistake. I love having one side of the jacket all the same color.)

There are 4 participants in this class, and they all brought their machines into the class except me. I knew if I watched, I would be able to do it at home more comfortably, and I wanted to learn all I could about binding, and the necessary techniques. Fitting was not a problem as I had already made a muslin, though the instructor suggested I should add a bit to the side seams, and leave a bit along the front edges due to the bulkiness of the stippled layer. As it turned out, this was not necessary, and if anything, the jacket is a bit big, especially through the shoulders.

Yesterday and moreso today, I worked at the jacket without too much going wrong. My machine acted up a bit here and there, and of course, there is always a bit of restitching to be done, but as of this moment the sleeves are in, the shoulder seams are done, and the collar is on. One side/sleeve seam is finished and the binding stitched down.

I am happy that small errors and inconsistencies get lost in the stippling, and I think the overall jacket will look quite nice when completed.

I am disappointed that the fabric is so stiff. I had expected it to end up much softer. I think I will need to bunch it up and wrestle with it for awhile to make it have any drape at all. The lack of drape makes close fitting impossible. To me, the jacket looks too big across the shoulders, and the sleeve seems too dropped for attractiveness. That should teach me not to use a fleece muslin for a pattern that is going to be made out of something resembling cardboard.

Jacket Instructions Edited

2007-03-13T15:47:00.000-04:00

Pictures here - more to come. This picture shows the shoulder seam. To the right is the collar, edges unfinished.

I found a dearth of Stippled Jacket instructions on the web, so I wrote my own. If you want to go directly to the instructions, such as they are, please scroll down.

My work in the past couple of days has been aimed at finishing the reversible stippled jacket. I have edited the instructions a bit, based on my experiences. Not being a quilter, I do not put a lot of faith in my ability to create, measure and decide upon optimum bindings. My bindings look ok to me, but I am sure others would be much more scientific.

There was an error previously in the width suggested for the edge bindings. Sorry about that.

I welcome suggestions for making these instructions comprehensive and doable for anyone interested.

I like the jacket better than I did a few days ago. It's still stiff, so I hope that fabric softener will lighten it up a bit.

Stippled Jacket Instructions

2007-03-11T15:34:00.000-04:00

Pictures here - more to come. This picture shows the shoulder seam. To the right is the collar, edges unfinished.

I found a dearth of Stippled Jacket instructions on the web, so I wrote my own. If you want to go directly to the instructions, such as they are, please scroll down.

Stippled Jacket: How'd I do that?? (edited March 13 re binding instructions; edited March 15 re bindings; Edited March 25 to tidy things up)

These instructions were written as I worked my way through a 3-class course on making a quilted reversible jacket. I did not have written instructions until the 3rd class, and did not find any online. Thus I have written what is here to be helpful but NOT AUTHORITATIVE. Remember, it is based on my vast experience of my ONE and only jacket:

Pick a pattern that is easy. Make sure it fits. My pattern was Rochelle's Reversible, by Saf-T-Pockets. (This pattern is available from Timmel's )
Choose colors for back, front, collar or other decorative accents, and binding of jacket edges. You need enough fabric for both sides. Good fabric makes this a very expensive jacket.
Calculate enough fabric for each side of the jacket to cut all pattern pieces (no facings required) with 2" of empty space all around. You will need the same amount (as one jacket side) of plain ordinary flannellette (or other batting of your choice).
Add enough extra fashion fabric for bindings. You need to bind all seams on ONE side of the jacket. (Decide which side will have 'normal' looking seams, and which side will have the seams covered with a 1/2" of self-fabric.) I am sorry I don't have much feel for how much binding you get from any amount of fabric. You will need bias for the armscye for sure, and whatever other seams have any shape to them.

Note the width of the seam allowances on your jacket pattern. If you have 5/8" seam allowances, you will need binding that is 2.25" wide for the seams that cover the raw edges (#5). If your seam allowances are 1/4" your binding will be 1.5" wide. (In our group, the rest of the people are quilters, who are used to 1/4" seams. I left mine at 5/8 and cut them down after the fact.) Save all this info for later.
Also note, that you also need bias binding for all around the edges of the jacket which may match or coordinate with your other colors. I was advised that 1/2 meter would give me enough bias for this, and it turned out that I had plenty leftover. The width of that binding depends on whether you want it single thickness or folded.

Experiment until you find the width you want before cutting your strips. My binding is 2.75". I am using a folded binding, which I am stitching a bit over 3/8" from the edge, using my presser foot as a stitching guide. The edges of my binding are set back 1/4" from the garment edges. This reduces the bulk in the binding, and allows sufficient fabric to fold over the edge and have approx. 1/2" on the other side. The binding which you turn to the other side must be wide enough to cover the stitching line. I am hemming it down by hand. Important edit March 15: In hindsight, I would not try to stitch the binding offset from the jacket edge. I would make my binding 1/4 - 1/2" wider, stitch it aligned to the edge, and trim after the fact if I thought there was too much bulk. It was altogether too difficult to keep the edges the correct distance, and to be sure that the underside of the binding was caught in the stitching line. As previously suggested: Experiment.

Wash the flannelette. Iron the fashion fabric. DO NOT WASH the fashion fabric. Flannelette shrinks a lot, so it's best (so I'm told) to wash it once first. The fashion fabric (usually cotton of some sort) will shrink a bit and cause the jacket to become puffy after stippling.
Make a fabric sandwich of the 2 sides (right sides facing out) with flannelette between. You can cut each piece separately, and make the sandwich later, or you can stack the 3 pieces and cut all together.
Cut each pattern piece so there is at least 2" of space all around. Watch grain lines as you would laying out any pattern. Mark the grain lines and other significant info on the piece of fabric, remembering that you will be recutting after stippling and washing the pieces. Its helpful to know at that point where the grain line is, and the center of the sleeve, center front etc.
Stabilize the sandwich so it won't move as you stipple. I sprayed very lightly with 505 between the flannel and the fashion fabrics, but pins will work. Don't worry about small wrinkles.
Practice your pattern. Using sandwiched scraps, practice stippling in any design, or combined with channel stitching. In my reading, it is recommended to stipple a bit on a scrap each time you go back to your jacket work, just to get into the 'flow' of it. Suit yourself.
Stipple all your pattern pieces, extending into the 2" of extra fabric. (Note: my stippling pattern involved alternating 1/2" wide and 2" wide vertical channels, with free-motion stippling in the 2"wide sections. In retrospect, I would make the narrow channels about 1/8" wider so they would be a little more emphasized after shrinking.)
Throw everything into the washer and dryer, including any SCRAPS which will be used for BINDING, or fabric specifically purchased for binding. Your jacket pieces will be lovely when they come out of the dryer.
Lay out your pattern pieces on the stippled work, and cut. Pay attention to previous markings and grain lines.
Cut seam bindings (2.25 or 1.5" -- see #4) sufficient for side, sleeve, armscye, collar and shoulder seams for one side of the jacket. Bias is preferable but not always necessary.
Cut bias bindings 3.00" - 3.25" (for approx 1/2" binding from folded bias) sufficient for the front edges, bottom edge and collar edges from your chosen fabric. (Note: I am no binding expert...consult with a quilter to get the bindings right.)
Fold the bindings in half lengthwise, right sides facing out and press.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL SEAMS: HOW TO BIND THE SEAMS: The seam bindings are stitched when the seam is sewn, with the raw edges lined up with the edges of the seam. The seam allowance is then graded and bulk reduced. The seam is pressed to one side, and the binding laid over the raw edges and hemmed or topstitched down.

DETAILS:

Determine which side to put the binding on when sewing the seam. )Think about how the binding will face when folded over the raw edges):

Shoulders, side seams and sleeves --binding on the front, press seam to back
Armscye, binding on the body, press seam to sleeve. (Edited note: My jacket has slightly dropped sleeves. Turning the binding toward the sleeve, though it makes it easier to deal with the fullness of the sleeve, tends to make the sleeve look more dropped than it should. If I were to make this jacket again, I would sew the binding onto the sleeve edge and turn it toward the jacket side. -- just a personal observation, and perhaps not at all helpful)
Collar - binding on the body, press seam toward collar - not sure about this, as I did my collar differently.

Reduce the bulkiness of the seam by trimming the seam allowance to 1/4", then further trimming one of the allowances on an angle to grade. (On the armscye, be sure the sleeve allowance is the one you grade, as it is bulkier than the armhole edge.)
Press the seam to one side using a damp cloth. Press hard on both sides of the jacket. I pressed both before and after trimming away the bulk.
Pull the binding over the raw edges, press and baste into place. The binding should be about 1/2" wide. If you are going to topstitch, baste I closer to the seam than where you will be stitching so that your basting does not get caught up in the topstitching. It's easy to baste right at the ironing board while the seam is damp and warm, then everything stays put while you try on. I found pinning in this thickness of fabric to be less than joyful -- also occasionally painful.

YOU'LL USE THESE DIRECTIONS AS YOU PROCEED WITH SEWING YOUR JACKET BELOW

FINALLY YOU CAN START SEWING YOUR JACKET!! Pick a side to be the "right" side. The other side will have the seams showing, which will be bound as above. Use a stitch length of 3 or 3.5. At each step, bind as above.

Stitch SHOULDER seams, right sides together, with the BINDING on the FRONT.
Fit the SLEEVE and sew with the BINDING on the BODY before stitching up the side seams. Finish as above noting removal of bulk on the sleeve side.

My sleeve was set in and slightly dropped. In this bulky fabric I am not thrilled with it. Next time I would either go with a raglan type sleeve, or I would have a sleeve that rested on the shoulder as in a suit jacket -- this would mean fighting with ease in the sleeve cap, but I think it would look better than the dropped shoulder in the bulky fabric.

Sew on the COLLAR with the BINDING on the BODY.

I made my collar (a stand-up one) in two pieces, and sewed it on conventionally so the neck edge seam was not bound. The instructor thought it might be bulkier than using the binding method above. But it worked well for me with careful trimming. It probably depends on the pattern. If I were to do this again with this pattern I probably would not use any flannel in the collar pieces.

Sew the SIDE and SLEEVE seams. The bulk at the underarm will be problematic. It takes a lot of trimming and pressing to make it work. Use bias if you can to bind the seam. If not, be sure there is a little extra working length in the binding at the underarm to help it go on easily.

Technically, I think the binding on the back of armscye seam should stop 1/8" before the side seam. Thus it would NOT be sewn into the side seam when it is stitched. The side seam's binding would then cover the raw edge, substantially reducing the bulk at this spot. Insight too late, but maybe next time.

Decide what you are doing about CLOSURES before finishing the front edge bindings below. You may have to stitch something into the same seam as the binding.
Sew the EDGE BINDINGS around the edges of the jacket, sleeves and collar, lining up the folded edges of the binding with the edge of the jacket. Press and fold over to the other side. Stitch in the ditch or hand stitch in place.

ENJOY YOUR NEW JACKET!!

Back in the Saddle

2007-03-06T16:52:00.000-04:00

Today was a rather lazy day, no committments until later tonight, and Tuesday is my usual sewing-for-sure day, so I tackled the taupe pants, which are not finished except for waist fastener and hems. I think I'll wash them once again before hemming.

Taupe Stretch Cords
These are the pants that gave me much grief awhile back, and even today they made sure I was paying attention at all times. A back seam adjustment had to be transferred to the waistband; the sewing machine had to be stroked nicely a few times; and the pocket fitting will be forever elusive; but for the most part the final bits of getting the waistband attached and fitted went quite easily. Stretch cord is an odd fabric to work with. I haven't decided if I like it or not.

I probably should have interfaced the waistband as it seems quite stretchy, but then I thought maybe it was supposed to be stretchy being cut on the crosswise and all. If I used this pattern again, I would figure out a way to put some elastic in the waistband.

There's also a fitting issue related to sway back, fitted waist-band and/or low rise or perhaps all of the above. The back yoke of these pants is a nice feature but does no favors for my butt, so I will likely not choose this pattern again. Apart from that, these pants ended up being very comfortable in spite of a few flaws here and there. The Joy of Stretch! Hopefully with wear the fabric will soften even more.

Stippled Jacket (previous reference)
Class #2 for this jacket was cancelled due to a storm. I may have to figure it out for myself if I am to get it done before the SWAP deadline. Meanwhile, of course I must fix the front where the hole is. I spend quite a bit of my sewing break figuring out how to make a pocket to cover the worn area. It turned out to be a major design issue:

I stippled a square of fabric to match the design on the jacket front.
I drew a pattern for a suitably sized pocket that would both cover the worn area and look like it was supposed to be there.
I figured out how to attach a patch to the front of the jacket which would be covered by the pocket, and not be noticeable from the inside of the pocket. (who would be inside my pocket I don't know, but it seemed the right thing to do.
Then I had to figure out how the outside pocket piece was to be attached to the jacket without looking clumpy which included binding the pocket opening and turning under the edges so they could be hemmed down to the existing stipple lines on the jacket front.
I sewed the patch to the pocket at the bottom edge, so it would be finished with as little bulk as possible.

All in all, this was a peaceful project for an afternoon, and is finished but for the hand hemming required to sew it on so as not to be visible from the other side of the jacket. It may look a little odd to have only one pocket on the jacket, but I am not going to do this again.

So the day was a good one as sewing days go. A bit closer to being done. A bit more hopeful and confident. Still to go: finish the bamboo shirt if it is not a lost cause, snaps on the jean jacket, hem on the bamboo skirt, hems and hooks on the taupe pants, cut out and finish the stippled jacket, one shirt not yet conceived. Sound like a lot, but not impossible in the 3-4 weeks remaining....especially given that we will not be travelling in April, which I think was making me stressed about the sewing.

Bamboo Top - another reason for a break

2007-03-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

his all happened Feb 25 - whenever that was.

Black Bamboo Cowl-Neck Top
There are many reasons for my recent sewing break. The latest is my bamboo, cowl neck top, being made from a previously used pattern. Supposedly a quick study, to mentally get over the problems with the stretch pants and the stippled jacket. It will make a "dress" when worn with the bamboo skirt (not yet hemmed), and will make a nice top with the other SWAP pieces.

Here's my post to the Stitcher's Forum regarding this particular episode of my endeavors:

"I think it's time for a break! Today I decided to cut out a cowl neck top from the same black bamboo as my gathered skirt. A nice pleasant Sunday morning task. I found the bias and cut out the back, then the front, making sure I still had some fabric somewhere for the short sleeves. I even cut a little band for the back of the neck so I wouldn't have to do a regular facing. Tootling along chatting with myself and generally having a great time, I did all the little markings that make things work and had only the sleeves left to cut. I poked around the remaining fabric pieces looking for the bit that would leave the largest chunk leftover (for what I don't know, I never use those chunks of leftover stuff). I picked a piece that would work nicely if I cut it in two and laid one piece on top of the other. Brilliant I am. The piece was my bias-cut front!!! Nothing clicked until I was all done the sleeves, and went looking for the front to fold the pieces all together. Duh! This makes the third idiot garment in a row....like I said.....time for a break.

I have enough to re-cut to front if it has a diagonal seam across the middle somewhere. That, or make a traditional little T-shirt out of the bits and pieces that remain. Good grief.

I think I may not be a deadline person. DH has been talking about a road-trip to Utah in April (driving from here in Atlantic Canada) and I think I got panicky about finishing everything). One should never sew when not in the mood. I shouldn't anyway.

I must say, its nice to have a place to vent."

Since then, I've taken a few days off, doing very little in the way of sewing, and including a long weekend in Halifax where I bought some silk, and some notions. I took some hand sewing with me, but failed to notice that the quickly packed thread was topstitching thread.....not exactly great for basting or hemming. I really am meant to be on a break!!

Taking a Break - Stippled Jacket

2007-02-23T15:25:00.000-04:00

Stippled Jacket - written last Friday, Feb 23

On Sunday I learned that Class #2 for the stippled jacket was to be this Friday (ie. today). I had been mulling over some stippling designs in my head, procrastinating the actual start of the project. I got together with my friend Lynn, who is also making a jacket, and we 505'd our sandwiches together in her garage. She's done this sort of thing before. I have not.

With Lynn pushing me I decided to get started on the stippling and stop thinking about it. I drew a pattern of parallel channel stitching along the curved bottom of the jacket, and the bottom of the sleeves, and parallel lines up the center front (where I hope to put a zipper, not being overly fond of those froggy type closures).

The sleeves were just 2" columns of stippling , separated by 1/2" empty columns. I started with the sleeves, and they looked great, so I took at the front pieces. I had a notion to create some flowers somewhere in the business, so I stitched vertical rows of 2" wide stippled panels, separated by 1/2" wide unstippled strips. In the middle of each side, I left the two center panels unstippled, where I created a design of roses and leaves, that looked quite lovely on paper. Quite stunning actually. I developed a pattern from a clipart image, and traced it onto 'heat-away' stabilizer. This was my only mistake in this otherwise nicely percolating project.

There always has to be one idiot move. I never used this sew and burn stuff before, and did not take the trouble to test it first. It was not a lovely experience. It did not sew nicely, it did not burn off nicely, it stinks and is very dusty. Brushing off with a toothbrush works fairly well, but bits of the stuff stuck between some of the close-together stitches. There is no way I can explain (other than working in a rush instead of in my own good time) why I did not use a water-soluble stablizer for this....the whole damn thing has to be washed to shrink it anyway. (This is why I have used the word "idiot").

I stippled amongst my flowers on the first side, then decided it would look better unstippled, leaving the flowers alone in the wide panel on each front. Unstippling is a nice thing to do while watching TV.

My sewing machine decided to have a few grumpy moments during the process, and will likely need a trip to the doctor soon. There is a noise I do not like, and it fetches up every once in awhile and kicks out the bobbin case. I think I forgot to speak nicely to it, and to the fabric each time I sat down.

The good news, though, is that I have dragged out my mother's sewing machine table, and DH put a solid bottom in the 'hole' of it so I now have a level surface to work from. This is great except when I have to lower or raise the feed dogs. Then the whole machine has to be lifted to reach the thingy at the back. It's a very bad design for anyone who changes the dogs frequently. Huskystar C10, new last May. Works well most of the time, but has a couple of chronic hiccups.

Finally, Friday morning around 11am I was done with the sewing, thread snipping, and trimming away of visible flannelette (to prevent fuzzies in the wash). Into the wash the whole thing goes. Out it comes later, looking shrunken as expected, pretty good as far as the effect of the stippled lines on back and sleeve, and so-so on the front. The flowers are not as effective as I had hoped, but alas, one major problem: There is a little hole in the middle of one section of flower, worn totally through by a combination of too much brushing to get rid of the stabilizer, and the subsequent effect of washing. I really think there must be something caustic in that stabilizer because it seemed to act almost like bleach on the fabric surface. Some of the stitching in that area is also pulled out, so I am CRUSHED, that I have managed to ruin this expensive fabric, not to mention all the work.

This makes it slightly less annoying that the course leader called to change the date to next week! Meanwhile, I discovered that I forgot to do the collar, so that is yet to be sandwiched and stippled, and now, rather than purchase yet more fabric and do another front, I think I will make a repair using a pocket. It will have to be sewn on my hand, but that is ok. I guess its good I have another week, more really, because I will be away next week anyway, and won't make the lesson.

It's all repairable, but I cannot hide my disappointment. Also makes it difficult to 'get back on the horse' with enthusiasm, especially after the weekend's disasters with the stretchy pants. I think I need to make a very simple top to regain my confidence.

Perfect Light, Imperfect Sewing

2007-02-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

This was not a perfect sewing weekend, though it started out to be. In spite of all you might read here, it's still fun (and educational) or I wouldn't be doing it. Sewing reduces stress. Blogging reduces the stress of sewing. What does one do when the blog won't work?

Earlier I had cut out a Burda WOF 02/07 #120 trousers for stretch fabric. I had nice taupe corduroy, a perfect match to the taupe in my print skirt and jacket. I love stretch cords, so I had high hopes for this stuff.

I never sewed stretch cord before. I didn't think this was particularly heavy material when I bought it , but soon discovered it to be extremely bulky to work with...something like cardboard in a funny way....maybe its just that the color reminds me of "shirt" cardboard that my mother used to save, and that we used as kids for various projects -- before the days of cheap paper -- (my Grandfather used to save the cardboard that separated the shredded wheat in the box -- before the days of plastic individual wrappings. A thrifty lot we were.

But I digress. These pants have a front yoke/pocket arrangement similar to one I had sewn early in my re-entry into stitchery. A oiece of cake one would think.

Annoying time-waster #1: POCKET-YOKE INCOMPATIBILITY: In stretch fabric, the pockets seemed to acquire a mind of their own, and one in particular developed a little wrinkle/twist, that would not go away no matter how many times I ripped out seams and re-laid things together. This is not a pattern problem, but may be a directions problem. I would have to think about when to sew the seams that hold the pocket to the yoke (so your kleenex doesn't fall throuth). Maybe not until everything else is done.

Annoying time-waster #2: TOPSTITCHING WRONG WAY UP: These pants have a back yoke kind of like you see in jeans. Topstitched, like the front pocket edges. I had a tiny bit of exactly matching thread, so I topstitched the yoke (accidentally forgetting to take the stitch length off basting -- oh well, nice long topstitches don't look that bad, I guess) with the good thread, then used up the rest as I went along. I tried on the pants at some point and noticed that this yoke seam makes a delightful wide curved line across the largest part of my butt -- not one bit attractive. Fortunately, my butt is not as big as it used to be, so I guess I'll just have to live with this....I still like stretch corduroy.

In the morning, I tried the pants on again, and lo and behold, the topstitching is done upside down. I turned the seam down instead of up. My DH, observing my enhanced butt said, "water wont run off that seam." Leave it to a man. Fortunately I had already noticed, and had come downstairs, seam-ripper in hand --- but now out of good thread.

I hate it when people say "Everything happens for a reason." I don't believe that for a minute, however, I have to say I was glad I had used bastings to topstitch, because I would still be there trying to get small stitches out from among the serging of the seam edge.

Annoying time-waster #3: Fitting without knowing how : A trip to the store for thread and I'm back checking the fit again. In spite of measurements matching well, I still had to take in the side seams, and there's still that baggy bit in the back where I likely have to take up the back inseam...then there's the very low level of the back waist seam which is chronic with pants. Is it length or something to do with the crotch design? With every change results in another wrinkle. Are the wrinkles real, or just because I have an inch and a half of bunched up fabric and pins in the crotch seam? ...I really need a crash course in pants design for this. I fiddle and farted around with the fitting on and off through the day, until time for my sister to come for supper. I am beginning to not be so in love with stretch corduroy, even though it's been washed twice, it still feels stiff and unfriendly. BUT... my sister just came back from India, and brought me some heavenly silks. Something for after SWAP.

Annoying time-waster #4: FLIPPING OVER THE FLY: Any pants I made before in my limited experience get the fly over with before sewing the legs seams. And, though I never had much problem with any fly I have done (all 4 of them) the Burda fly directions were impossible to fathom, and of course, I was anxious to see if these pants were going to be a good fit, so I did the inseams first and basted the side seams. I found Burda's detailed fly directions in one of their sewing lessons in the January 07 issue, a happy coincidence resulting from drinking too much coffee after supper, and not being able to sleep. In the stupor of night, I really did not know if I could follow them or not, but decided I might try in the morning. In the light of day, I decided to go with Sandra Betzina's fly which I had used before.

Long story short. Twice I have had SB's fly turn out on the wrong side. The first time I thought it was supposed to be that way, and thought nothing of it. This time , I know my fly is different from the one in the book, and I think I have made some fundamental left/right error that I will surely fix before the next time. The fly is ok even though it's backwards and has too much space between the fold at Center Front and the attachment of the zipper. Also, the extension of the front yoke is supposed to interact in some way with the fly, where everything comes together and gets joined up. One side of the extension has to be cut off at center front to accomodate the fly design. Guess which side I cut off! Of course, the wrong one, because now my fly is on the wrong side. No, I'm not taking it out -- the stitches will show in the corduroy, even if I wanted to put myself to the grief of a re-run. I am beginning to not care if I have these pants.

Time-wasting annoyance #5: FORGETTING TO PRESS: Now things just start adding up. I forgot to press the inseam seam before sewing the outside seam. I could not serge the inseam until I had the fit right at the crotch, which I could not do until I had basted and re-basted the crotch seam, which I could not do until I had fit the side seams around the hips. So, given this vicious circle, I am now having to do both the pressing and the serging on the long legs instead of at least having one of those tasks on a flat surface. This is nothing I suppose compared to some of the other fiddle and fuss.

Upcoming time-wasting annoyance #6: WAISTBAND: The fit around the waistband has me worried, as the back is too low, and risks plumbers butt when seated -- which is why I am still in the adjustment phase from up there in #3. Perhaps all will go well, maybe even a tad of elastic will solve everything. Should a stretch corduroy waistband have interfacing -- is that an oxymoron?

Hey!! It's all still fun, right?

SWAP #5: Beige Blouse -Finished

2007-02-14T21:31:00.000-04:00

I mentioned this a couple of days ago. The Burda WOF 10/06 #106, but these are my first pictures.

I wore it today for the first time. That shirt gave me a lot of grief, mostly self-induced, but it sure looks great, and garners compliments galore.

Changes I made:
No gathered sleeves. Next time I would make the sleeve narrower at the bottom and face for a turned-up cuff. The gathers might look ok in another fabric, but not this almost sheer Swiss dot, a kind of cross between beige and ivory.

Less fullness in sleeve cap: I had to adjust the sleeves because of a post-cutting fit problem, hence much of the design fullness was lost. I don't like too-full sleeves so it did not matter. Might make a difference in another fabric, or for another sense of fashion.

I would like to try this in a very drapy rayon fabric, something not not sheer at all. I think it is designed for a polyester print, but I try, on principle, not to wear polyester -- at least not smooth, slippery, incredibly hot versions of it.

Other progress:

Taupe Cords: I cut the stretch corduroy after a lot of measuring and tracing the Burda WOF 02/07 #120. The measurements are almost exactly those of a favorite pair if stretch cords I have now, so here's keeping the fingers crossed for the fit.
Bamboo Skirt: Yesterday I decided on the hem length for the bamboo skirt, and have it pinned. Waiting for DH to check the pinning before stitching it in.
Reversible Jacket:
I practiced my stippling on a test 'sandwich' . I like my sunflower idea with varieties of stippling moving away from it. - but as I pass by my sandwich sitting on the ironing board, I can't help but wonder if maybe more than one flower, randomly thrown into a chaotic blend of stippling might just work.

On the black side, the stippling shows well, on the green print side, I have not found a color that really pops, so I think a green much like the print will be best for a rather subdued presentation. This picture does not do justice to the colors.
Black Cami: I tried to sew some lace to the top of the black sparkly cami, but the neckline tipped outward in the middle, as often happens with necklines that I fold under. This time I sewed the lace to the front right side and turned the seam to the back, topstitching on the right side through the seam. Looks good, but for the sagging forward in the middle. This little item will likely be a scrapper -- not a SWAP thing anyway.

Bamboo Cowl Neck shirt: I opened up the rest of the bamboo, and found I had enough for the cowl neck shirt I was thinking of, but I couldnt' get into the mood to work with the bamboo. Very soft and stretchy, this pattern is cut in one layer, the whole front and whole back, all on the bias. You can see why I need to be in the mood. Corduroy is so much easier by comparison.
Fleece Jacket: I bought 2 zippers, neither of which is right, but in this town you can't usually get what you want. I also fiddled with some lining fabric to put inside the bottom of the front pieces for hidden pockets, and to stiffen up the jacket a bit. Undecided about the outcome; maybe I should just put pockets on the outside. I'm also undecided about whether to try to stiffen up the bottom of the back a bit. The fleece is quite lightweight, and I think I should have interlined the whole thing. I own a Woolrich Fleece jacket which has the inside pocket bit, but only the binding gives some body to the bottom edge in the back. These kinds of things I set aside for a day or a week, and when I go back to them, the answer seems to be there.

End of today's meanderings.

SWAP #5 - Black Jalie Crossover

2007-02-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

My SWAP numbers are all changed since re-evaluating.

This is the day of our Chinese New Year potluck supper. In between simmering some ribs and procrastinating housecleaning, I decided to try and finish up a few things before tackling the joys of stippling.

The black crossover top was first on the list. This is a poly knit, lovely to handle, and probably the easiest knit I have worked with so far (or maybe I'm just getting more confident.) My other crossover was made with a fabric containing lycra, and fits very snugly, so this time I added about 3/4" to the side seams tapering to nothing from the waist to the armhole. The shirt fits loosely. Even considering the added width, the fit is totally different from (different than? I never got that right) my other shirt. It is very comfortable, but not body-hugging like some knits. I probably could have forgotten the extra width and still had a nice fit.

The pictures seem to emphazise some wrinkles ("drape" I would say to make me feel purposeful about it), but this does not seem obvious when the shirt is being worn. Cameras never lie I suppose, but neither does a flash do justice to anything. (Most especially it does not do justice when it glares off ample boobs in a knit shirt.)

This fabric sewed up nicely on the serger and on the regular machine. I used a twin needle for the first time ever to do the neck, sleeve hems and bottom. No problems at all, no stretching. Good luck or good management, I'm not sure. I think it was luck.

SWAP Status

2007-02-11T14:36:00.000-04:00

Today I realized what a grand journey this SWAP adventure is. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed, though I am sure I will finish unless something really unexpected comes along.

Because I have no TNT's, I've had to do a few muslins along the way, and I've made a few garments for my original SWAP which somehow no longer fit very well. So now I need to regroup and decide where to go now. I'm counting almost-done things as done here, because none of them have more than a half-hour of work to complete, and besides, it feels better than way.

JACKET(S)

PRINT JEAN JACKET - counts as Top #6
Done. (except for snaps which seem unavailable around here)

REVERSIBLE STIPPLED JACKET
Barely started. Pieces are cut and 'sandwiches' ready. Still need to practice the stippling and finalize the stitching design. There is another class in two weeks, at which time we are supposed to have the stippling done.

BOTTOMS

PRINT SKIRT
Done!

IVORY ONE-SEAM PANTS
Done!

BLACK BAMBOO GATHERED SKIRT
Almost Done. (except for hem, which needs measuring, decision re length and stitching) This skirt may even need a tie belt of some sort.

TAUPE STRETCH CORD PANTS
Not even started. I want to try the latest Burda WOF pant for stretch fabrics, so I will need to trace and check the sizing carefully.

TOPS

RED JALIE CROSSOVER TOP - LS
Done!

BLACK JALIE CROSSOVER TOP - SS
Done. (except for hemming which will take a little care because its a soft knit)
EDIT: FEB 13 - Finished!

BEIGE LS BLOUSE - BURDA WOF
Done!

BLACK or IVORY BAMBOO COWL NECK TOP
Not started. Not even cut, but I used the pattern successfully before. The black bamboo is on hand, the ivory is ordered.

SHIRT #5 - UNDECIDED
Originally this was to have been a red cotton zip front shirt with a collar. I could also do the same shirt from stretch corduroy to match the taupe pants below. I've made this pattern before and have the fit down quite well. I really need to look at the overall collection of garments, and make the decision about this shirt using all the other pieces. There are several tops in my original plan that I have not used. I think I need an ivory top, perhaps more than a red one.

EXTRA PIECES

In the process of doing muslins, and of changing my mind I have completed or partially completed several other pieces that may or may not belong in the SWAP in preference to some of those listed above. One of these days I will need a fashion consultation with some friends.

RED VELOUR SKIRT - Done around Christmas. Seems too dressy for the rest of the SWAP

BLACK VELOUR TANK TOP - Done as SWAP #1 but also quite dressy. More importantly, the fit is not quite right. I think I need a tank top as part of this SWAP, though. I have some ivory velour, maybe I could experiment with that.

IVORY FLEECE JACKET - Well underway. This is the unreversible muslin for my Saf-T-Pockets reversible jacket. It still needs a zipper, and the collar finished up, as well as binding and maybe pockets. It is lovely and goes well with the whole SWAP. It would be sad to leave my jean jacket our of the SWAP though, but perhaps that is what will happen. Certainly the print jean jacket and the print skirt are a bit of overkill when worn together. Also, 3 jackets in the SWAP would also be overkill, since it's really tops that I need much more than jackets.

PLUM PANTS - Done. These were an afterthought at the time, and I felt they would go fine with the tops I was planning, but they definitely do not go with the print jean jacket which was another afterthought. They're getting a lot of wear though.

BLACK KNIT CAMI - Partially done. This morning's adventure, in between cutting kiddie clothes and making my fabric 'sandwiches.' I made the pattern from an existing garment to use up the remnants from the black crossover top, a black sparkly knit from Julie which I love.

End of SWAP reflections for today.

Bits and Snippets

2007-02-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

Another weekend, although retirement does kind of make weekends irrelevant. I've been doing a lotof sewing lately, so maybe I'll just take some time off for a bit, trace a Burda WOF or something.

PROGRESS:

Yesterday my 8-year-old grandson and I finished his flannel shirt. He's "student of the week" next week (whatever that means) and he is going to show off his handiwork. He chose the fabric, and chose and traced the pattern, stitched most of the straight seams, topstitched the pocket on, and sewed on the buttons. He even supervised the buttonholes - which mostly involved keeping his foot on the 'gas' until the machine finished its job. His next project: "comfy pants" which are just elastic topped pyjama pant kind of things. I think he should be able to pretty much do the whole thing himself.

Yesterday I also made a wearable muslin of a Saf-T-Pockets reversible jacket. It's not finished yet, but I needed to check the pattern for size before a class last night. We are making stippled reversible jackets. My muslin is a lovely garment (so far anyway). I used a piece of Malden Mills 100 ivory fleece from Wazoodle. I first sized for a Medium, sewed it half together and found it way too big. Then I notice that the finished measurements are on the pattern envelope....if only I had looked first. I had to take the whole thing apart of re-cut for a Small, which fits my definitely not-small body perfectly.

The Reversible Quilted Jacket class was a fun event, and we got our fabric pieces cut and did a little practice stippling. I have not done this before, and I am sure there are way too many options for me to make a decision about what sort of pattern to use. I still need to buy my flannel for the inside layer, and will do a few practice runs before moving into my very expensive cotton. The jacket will coordinate with my SWAP, as does my ivory muslin. Wow, a surfeit of stuff is piling up.

This morning I finally sewed the buttons on the beige Burda WOF blouse, making a completion of SWAP #8 if you don't count the items that will be changed for something else.

Next on the agenda is to finish the black crossover top, so I can change my serger thread to finish the ivory jacket seams. After that, hem the bamboo skirt. My sewing mentor did not think it wise to try to do a decorative stitch all the way around the light-weight knit, so I will machine stitch a 1" hem, or possibly do a cover stitch (another new experience) on her serger next week.

SWAP #7: Black Bamboo Skirt

2007-02-03T17:11:00.000-04:00

Recently I bought some 60" tubular black bamboo jersey from Wazoodle, just to find out what it was like. It's a very soft lightweight, quite stretchy fabric, that feels wonderful. A friend suggested a softly gathered skirt, with an elastic waistband.

Since I had just finished my OneSeam Pants, I decided to use the principles of the waistband there, to apply to my skirt. However, in the interests of keeping the waistband as un-bulky as possible, I decided to make it separate, and just long enough to fit over my hips.

The whole thing went together quite simply, considering I had no pattern, and really little idea how full the skirt should be. I don't generally like gathers at the waist, but this is so soft, I figured it would be ok. I decided to use the full 60" width, thus avoiding side seams.

There was only one major hassle, from which I easily recovered. I am sure there is a better way, but I'm happy with the result.

How'd I do that?:

Cut the band 4" wide and just long enough to slide over the hips when stretched
Measure 1.25 inch sports elastic to be snug at the waist, about 5-6" shorter than the waist measurement
Seam the short edges of the band, leaving an opening for the elastic.
Fold the band in half and serge the long edges of the band together
Topstitch at the fold, one presser foot width - be sure you have enough band remaining to hold the elastic.
Quarter the band and mark with pins, then divide each quarter in half, and each of these halves in half again. You will have 16 sections of band about 2.5 inches wide, depending on the original band length.
Decide on the length of the skirt and cut off the appropriate piece of fabric. Leave a generous hem. [I'm not done hemming yet, so this idea may change once I see the effect of a wide hem, but my instinct says that the lightweight jersey will need some body in the hem to keep it from rolling, and to make it drape well.]
Quarter the top of the skirt, then divide into 16ths as for the band. You can eyeball the divisions once you get the eighths marked, as there will be more gathering once the elastic is installed.
Match the pins, and fold the extra fabric into a box pleat in the middle of each section of the band. [I am sure it would be simpler to run a gathering thread around the top of the skirt, and pull it in to fit, much as you would do to set in a sleeve, but the pleats were my experiment of the day.]
Once all the pleats are pinned in place, BASTE, remove the pins and serge the band onto the skirt top with a 4-stitch overlock, keeping the folds in the skirt perpendicular to the line of stitching.
Feed the elastic into the band. Try on the skirt, and shorten the elastic if necessary.
Butt the ends of the elastic with zig-sag stitches onto a light piece of fabric (per Louise Cutting's directions, which works beautifully)
Close the opening with slipstitches.
Evenly spread the gathers around the band, and put pins vertically at each quarter.
Topstitch 3 rows approx 1/4 inch apart through the elastic, keeping it stretched smooth by pulling in front and behind as you stitch (also per Louise Cutting).

This is where I ran into a bit of a problem: There was a bit of space, rather uneven ugly space between the bottom row of topstitching, and the actual serged seam holding the bottom of the skirt to the band. This was the result of having seamed the waistband to the skirt. This did not pass muster at all.
My solution was to fold back the band, and re-stitch the skirt and band together inside the serged seam, along the bottom topstitching line. I stretched each quarter of the band flat, and sewed with the band on top follow the top-stitching. This strengthened the waist seam, and made all the lumpy unevenness disappear.

A nice fit at the waist, comfortable, soft and light for travelling.

If anyone has a way to do this better, I'm happy to hear it. I think with this fabric, it would have been fine to proceed totally as for the OneSeam Pants, as there is not a lot of bulk, however, some fabrics would be better with a less bulky waistband, and this is what I decided to experiment with.

SWAP #6 - OneSeam Pants -- Fait Accompli!!

2007-02-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

Everything that could have gone wrong did...but the OneSeams are done, and they look terrific!

I decided to make these pants because they seem to be one of the online community's favorite wardrobe items. Knowing they were elastic waist, and quite roomy, I figured I could use them for tai chi pants, but honestly did not think they would suit me as a true 'wardrobe' item.

Things that went wrong #1: Cut the wrong size: My friend and I cut our patterns together, and helped with our alterations and size choices. After cutting, I lost a bit of weight, and did a bit more careful measuring and decided I should have cut a smaller size. My friend meanwhile, came to the same conclusion, fortunately BEFORE she had done the cutting. She finished her pants, I tried them on, and re-cut my pieces. It was trickier than I expected to get the smaller size to fit completely within the medium pieces without changing the grain line. Also, I had to re-measure for the length and crotch adjustments.

Things that went wrong #2: Used lining for the pocket: I decided to use the elephant ear pockets as my fashion fabric was quite heavy, and I did not want 2 more layers of it in the front of the pants. I used a piece of lining fabric, a bit lighter in color than the pants. It did not occur to me until the pockets were sewn in that I should have faced an inch or so on the bottom pocket piece with the same fabric as the pants. The difference in the fabric is obvious if the pocket opening is pulled in the least way. I adjusted the bar tack at the bottom and moved it further up, and stitched down form the waist a bit to make the pocket opening smaller, and hold the front ovelap in place. All's well that ends well.

Things that went wrong #3: Sewed the pocket onto the wrong side: This happened AFTER I got the directions clarified by Louise Cutting herself. Feeling especially gratified and confident, I proceeded to put in the second pocket up to the point where the first one had stymied me. My plan was to follow Louise's new directions on both pockets at once. Fine idea, until I came to the part where it says "turn pocket to the wrong side" whereupon I discovered it was already on the wrong side. These pockets have a long slit into the side of the pants, the seam is sewed with tiny stitches tapering to nothing at the bottom. These I had to remove, re-sew, re-serge the edges and finally get the pocket done right. This is when I decided never to do elephant ear pockets again. I would rather get used to stuffing a kleenex in my sock.

Things that went wrong #4: Made the elastic too long: I have difficulty knowing exactly where my waist is, but I measured the elastic snugly, and 6.5 inches shorter than the top of the pants, per the pattern recommendations. It went in nicely, but when I tried it on, it was not snug enough. I cut about an inch and a half off.....and let go of the ends!! It took me 2 TV shows and a phone call to fish out the ends with a pin, bit by bit, at the end of which time my daughter said "Why didn't you use the kitchen tongs?" I pinned both ends back a couple of inches and tried the pants on. The fit was good, so I decided to cut the 4" off.

Things that went wrong #5: The elastic would not stretch enough: Early this morning, thinking I would be able to finishe the pants in time for tai chi class at 10:00 am, I sewed the elastic ends together and proceeded to make the first topstitching line. Delightfully even, nicely matching thread, machine purring and happy.....until I got to about 10" from the starting point and had a pile of gathers accumulating and no way for the elastic to stretch through them. All this before breakfast yet! Now I know why Louise has an instruction about making a tuck in the waistband if the elastic will not stretch as long as the top of the pants. This must be done at the start, however, not after cutting another 5.5 inches off the recommended length. I figured I would just cut off the whole band and sew on another one, but when I returned to the task I found that if I removed half of the topstitching row and paid more attention to the stretching I could get it to work, just barely, but it did work.

Things that went wrong #6: Hems don't match: Happy to be almost done, I serged the leg bottoms, turned them up on the hemline and tried them on. One leg is quite a bit shorter than the other. How can this be when both pieces were cut together? The mystery remains, and will forever. I got someone to pin the hems, cut and re-serged one leg, and stitched them up.

ALL IN ALL, the pants would have gone quite quickly but for correcting all these misadventures, and best of all, the final product looks quite sharp, and is incredibly comfortable. I would like to try the pattern again, just to get some value out of all these problems. I am going to try the tapered leg version, as the straight leg ones are quite large in the legs. I am wondering what they would be like made from a light knit -- perhaps I would have to downsize once more to allow for the stretch - research required.

Hitting Walls -- Climbing Walls

2007-01-30T19:07:00.000-04:00

This has not been a particularly productive sewing week. Mostly I've fussed and fidgeted over things that gave me trouble earlier. It seems, though, that the fussing is gradually moving things forward toward the finish line.

The Beige Blouse: I tackled the sleeve alterations that I had been procrastinating. I had moved the shoulder seam forward, and ended up with a twisted sleeve. I could not alter the sleeve much as it was already cut. Ultimately, after several failed attempts to figure it out, I had to pull the back portion of the sleeve cap up a fair bit to get rid of the twistedness. This was strictly trial and error, mostly error. Many bastings in and out. Many coffee breaks. I ended up eliminating most of the fullness in the sleeve cap. All-in-all, it does not look bad, especially as I am not all that crazy about full sleeves anyway, fashion not-with-standing.

I did some fashion consultation with my daughter, and decided to leave the redesigned sleeves as is, but shorten the blouse an inch or so. This is a lovely design, but definitely should not have been made in a sheer fabric - (nor modelled as such with a black bra underneath). I actually thing the muslin is a better job -- though it is also a very soft cotton, and it also is not finished yet.

What's left: Re-do the hem, hem the sleeves, buttons and button-holes. So far, this shirt has hassled me at the shoulder seams, the collar, and the sleeves - so presumably, I have a few hassles left before I can kiss it goodbye -- or should I say 'hello.'

One-Seam Pants: These were cut out in December, but not made up - waiting on a friend's pair to try on. Last week, I re-cut from Medium to Small --which took far longer than it should have, and changed from patch pockets to elephant ear ones, which were too bulky for my fabric. The EE pockets require a slit to be made in the side of the pants. This is definitely a good thing to procrastinate -- no second chances.

I got one pocket almost finished and stumbled head-long into confusion over the directions near the end. It was only about 4 hours before Louise Cutting herself answered my plea on the Stitchers forum, telling me to do what made perfect common sense. The directions on the pattern have more recently been revised to eliminate the confusion. Did you know -- there are 40,000 OneSeam pants pattern out there scattered around the world.

Now I need to decide whether to put in the second pocket or leave it at one. Personally, I like to have a pocket in pants, but only for a kleenex -- so really, why do I need two?

Without the second pocket, I should have these whipped up in a couple of hours according to some online comments. Well, maybe no the first pair.

Jean Jacket: My wonderful jacket is fully done except for the snaps. I bought snaps. I tried a test snap using a cutting board on the kitchen counter for a hammering base. The result was hideous. This is where I learned that there are decent snaps with hard little pokey things on the underneath part; and there are idiotic snaps with little round springs, and bulky unattractive underparts. I checked out some of my store-bought clothes and lo, they all have the snaps with the little pokey bits. Off to the store, only to find they have only one package left....more waiting for me! But I am glad I did not compromise on the fasteners, because I really am quite thrilled with the way it turned out.

Reversible Jacket: This will be the second jacket of my SWAP. My friend Lynn and I have been planning to take this course for awhile. It's a stippled, reversible jacket, and I am using a Saf-T-Pockets pattern, sans appliques. I have no color sense, so I went to our local quilt shop and got some assistance picking good quality cotton for the 2 sides, and the binding. Not only did the 3 patterns have to go together, but they had to go with my SWAP pieces. It is amazing how many things won't work, and how few will in a case like this. $84 later I had my fabric, but not the batting or flannel for inside the two layers. I need to talk to people about that to decide what is best. At these prices, it's good that this will end up being 2 jackets. Comparatively, my lovely jean jacket of which I am so fond, cost a maximum of $20, all bits and bobs included.

It's good to have the fabric decision made on this. The first class is Feb 9. Between now and then, I should do some checking of the pattern for fit, maybe whip up a muslin with something in the stash -- or a vest perhaps to go with the SWAP.

I was Tagged!

2007-01-29T08:29:00.000-04:00

Five things about myself worth sharing --- Hmmmm. I wonder if I would pick the same 5 things tomorrow!

1) One husband, 4 children, 4 grandchildren -- I have always lived in Eastern Canada (the real Eastern Canada, not Toronto.) I live in Quispamsis near Saint John, NB in a beautiful area of rivers and rolling hills where today the wind chill is -27C. The ocean is 30 minutes away. The sea calls often to me -- and I answer frequently, but not this time of year.

2) Most of my travelling has been in the Maritimes and Maine, but I've made 2 driving trips across Canada, both incredible experiences. My only trans-Atlantic trip was to Egypt the first year my daughter went there to work. My husband and I drove, in October 2005, to the Grand Canyon - what a rush! For this trip we stayed off the interstates and ate in local (and sometimes dingy) diners - hence unofficially naming the trip the "Dingy Diner Tour" - not terribly fair to some of the establishments, but we got an introduction to real small-town America that was informative and often entertaining. This past fall I took a trip with tai chi friends to Costa Rica for a workshop and a tour where I sloshed in sandals through the jungle and saw my first active volcanos.

3) I volunteer as an instructor with the Taoist Tai Chi Society, which is one of my enduring passions. Our particular form of tai chi is designed for to maintain and improve health, and I can say that I am thrilled to have made it thus far with no arthritis, a disease that seriously plagued both my parents.

4) I am also passionate (in an amateurish way) about photography, though I do not spend as much time at it since I have re-invented myself as a sewist last May. My spirit is fed by nature, and by making photographs that reflect the beauty that I find in landscape and detail.

5) I am retired from my most recent job as a Community College instructor where I taught various subjects in the Academic Upgrading Department, returning to the workforce rather late in life after completing an M.Ed in Adult Education. I miss some aspects of the workplace, but I sure love being retired with my time open to pursue whatever the day brings.

Well, there you have it. I'm not sure about tagging other folks. I'm not organized enough to know who's been tagged and who has not at this point - so I will have to reflect on that for a bit. I occasionally read the various blogs from the Stitchers members, and I love to read the advice and progress we are all making with our SWAPS.

SWAP #5: Red Jalie CrossOver Top

2007-01-25T16:48:00.002-04:00

Finally another item completed -- and not one of the 3 previously being worked upon!

I was anxious to try my hand an another knit after getting some advice from the Stitchers group. My Jalie pattern had arrived from Julie, and with it some cotton-lycra jersey that was begging to be made into something. Unlike the Jalie T-shirt pattern, this one has a wide band sewn on the crossed edges. Since my binding attempts have been disastrous, I thought this might be a bit easier.

Combining advice and previous experience I decided to make Julie's recommended pattern, the Crossover, from the red jersey. To me, it seemed there was barely enough stretch to match the pattern recommendation, however, I decided to proceed anyway.

Jalie CrossOver - a piece of cake: I traced the pattern according to my measurements - or to be specific, my pre-Christmas measurements. I was surprised to find that it fits perfectly through the shoulders and sleeves. It is only at the waist, and through the lower back that the sizing seems a bit off. It turns out I was off by an inch in my waist measurement. Also, there are some rolls in the area of the waist that do not take kindly to snugness. On the other hand, there is enough fabric in the cut of the garment (and the extra 1.5 inches that I added for my long waist) to make crosswise wrinkles which hide some of the underlying imperfection. In retrospect I should have used a larger size for the side seams. This would mean the upper part of the sleeve would also be wider to accomodate, but that would work out all right I think.

The tracing and cutting took a couple of hours, and the sewing of this garment did not take much longer than that, though I did it in several sittings. Much of the time was spent experimenting on scraps to get settings correct on the serger, and on holding my breath hoping everything was going ok.

There were no difficulties to speak of. I used a 4-thread overlock for sewing on the band, my sewing machine for the shoulders seams because of the way the back neck is finished, and the serger for the other seams. Sometime I basted first. I hemmed the bottom as stated below on my sewing maching. Only a couple of tiny bits had to be picked out and I ended up a very happy camper -- sitting snugly by the fire.

I am pleased with this shirt in spite of its tight fit. It is comfortable, and will probably stretch a little over time. Also, I hope to shrink a little over time.

This is the first garment I made with my serger. It is also the first T-shirt type garment that actually turned out well. I think I've learned enough to handle more knits.

Some of my discoveries:

each knit is entirely different from its siblings, and needs a lot of experimental stitching of remnants to get the machine and the serger geared up to work with the fabric.
the pattern size can probably be adjusted to accomodate knits without the right amount of stretch....this I will work on as time goes by
for this pattern, quartering the band left one of the quarters with too much fullness. This shows on the left front. I should have followed my instinct and adjusted it before serging the band on. I can't quite figure why the other side did not seem to have the same problem. Perhaps a subtlety of how the ends of the band meet at the side seams or something.
I learned how to follow the ribs with a steel ruler and chalk marker to get each pattern piece on the straightest grain possible after prewashing indiscriminately. Wash and examine a square, and go from there.
I learned how the differential feed works on my new serger, and managed to adjust it quite well to the various seams and edges.
I found a stretch stitch on my machine that makes a great hem - 2 rows of straight stitches with zig-sags between. From a distance it looks kind of like a cover stitch.

I made two changes to the pattern.

I added 1.5 inches for waist length adding it above the waist at the long seam side, and below the V of the neck on the short seam side of the front, straight across above the waist on the back.
I added 2" to the sleeve length, and then added a band to the bottom the same width as the front band. This makes the sleeves actuually 3/4. The pattern is far short of a 3/4 sleeve. Also, I think this makes a much nicer sleeve finish than a simple hem.

Next time, I am making this with a stretchier knit, and I will use a larger pattern size for the side seams and the upper arm of the sleeve.

Pattern Issues:

There is something odd about the way the side seam at the waist sucks in where the band connects. It is most likely connected to the fact that the fabric is under stress at that point, and would not occur if it were a larger size.
I don't like the way the back neck is finished, with just a foldover 1/2" stitched down. It looks sloppy, and does not fit as neatly as I hoped at the shoulder edge. It would be nice if the band could be continued over the back neck. Maybe an experiment at some time, but I would hate to mess with the fit of the front in doing something to that nice band.
In the directions it says to match the notches when sewing on the band. I did not see any notches on the shirt front or the band, but the illustration suggest quartering each, so that's what I did. I think it would make sense to measure and mark the quarters on the pattern, then transfer those makings to the fabric at cutting time. That's my brainwave for now, anyway.

SWAP update - Progress and Procrastination

2007-01-19T13:03:00.001-04:00

I've been sewing almost every day since the last posting, but seem to have fallen off in noting my progress.

The beige blouse is on the back burner for a bit. I need to adjust the sleeve cap to accomodate the forward shoulder adjustment, but the sleeves are already cut so I don't have much wiggle room. I've learned it's usually better to let something annoying rest for awhile before taking it up again.

Jean Jacket - Change of Plan: Meanwhile, I started work on my delicious red wool jean jacket, starting with a muslin of my red and black print. This was to have been the lining, but the fabric is quite heavy, and of course it 'sticks' when you try to put it on. Not suitable for a lining, but quite spectacular as a jacket in it's own right.

So I decided to make it 'wearable' and cut the remaining pieces - collars, bands, etc. and spent about 3 full days working on it. It was a delight to make, and I discovered topstitching thread in the process. The jacket, Vogue 7610, is a Sandra Betzina pattern. The directions are meticulous, and though there area a lot of pieces, they fit together flawlessly. I found the waist measurement to be too large and had to take in the seams in the back panels, and the side seams to make a snug fit around the bottom.

I also decided to line the jacket with a red bemberg rayon lining. It was slippery and frustrating to work with, especially since there was no lining pattern, so I made a few boo-boos in the cutting. Nothing serious though, and I think the lining adds to the overall effect.

The only difficulty with this pattern was in topstitching the front lapel portion. On all the other topstitching, I could use regular thread in the bobbin, but for the fronts, the lapel turns so the 'wrong side' is actually the visible part for the first few inches. I had a problem getting the bobbin tension adjusted so that both sides of the topstitching were good to look at. A little more practice perhaps would have avoided some ripping out. My local sewing mentor suggested writing down the settings used, and the screw position for my bobbin casing, and saving those with the pattern. I also made notes of the needle position and what foot I used as a guide for the topstitching.

All that remains of the jacket now is to topstitch the bottom band and the cuffs, and to install the snaps down the front.

Impact on SWAP: Changing jacket plans definitely changes some of my SWAP plan. The flowered jacket will not go well with the plum pants, and only so-so with the red velvet skirt. However, it frees up the red wool to be pants or a skirt. My sewing club thinks I could pull off wearing red pants. I'm not absolutely sure about that, and I know skirt would work well, but probably get worn less. Regardless, my SWAP is reordering itself. I have lots of options and have not boxed myself into a corner yet. Though I still must keep in mind Julie's advice that the "PLAN" is supposed to be in place before the sewing starts. Not my style, but definitely good advice, and something to learn from.

Two parcels of fabric arrived recently, one from Timmel's, and one from Wazoodle. I have some lovely red jersey from Julie which has some substance, and will make a great t-shirt which will not stretch out of shape. I also have some sparkly black knit from Julie which is quite stretchy, and drapes softly. Then, from Wazoodle, I have some black bamboo jersey which feels like butter - very thin and soft, and very very black. I have never heard of bamboo fabric until recently, and I'm not sure what it will turn out to be like to work with and wear. I also have some $3/m red cotton jersey from W. which I am using as muslin material to test out some T-shirt patterns.

Knits seem to be problematic for me. This picture shows my first attempt at a Jalie T-shirt, and as I was sewing on the neck band, I was already composing the email describing how I had finally created a wearable T-shirt without stretching the neck. Then I tried it on and found the neck looks absolutely awful, and is terribly stretched in the back especially. Also, I followed Jalie's directions carefully, and still the band looks lumpy and wavy on the front. Something is not working here, most likely it's me.

I am going to cut the current neck off, and put a folded band on the front which turns toward the back and is stitched on the actual shirt rather than on the band itself. I have actually done this successfully once on a tank top. Now that I have a serger, the inside won't look too, too scruffy. Nevertheless, I still need to learn how to make a neckline that is not stretched out in the sewing. This particular knit is very stretchy, possibly exacerbating the problem, but I would really like to tackle one of those nice knits from Julie, and I want to get the technique down beforehand.

The grandchildren have a snow day, so its time to get my 8-year old grandson started on his flannel shirt. I think he will become bored after the easy seams are done, but we'll see.

SWAP #5: Beige Blouse - Continued

2007-01-08T17:08:00.000-04:00

This was a stormy day. The first snow since early December, and more like freezing rain. Nasty to be out, so my plans for the day were cancelled. One would expect to spend the day in fabulous sewing, or at least in doing chores from the back burner. However, this was not to be so. Mostly frittered it away, and then finally decided to tackle the errant BB (beige blouse) collar.

I think this collar is giving me grief because of the interfacing. It is just too heavy and inflexible for what is required to fit the collar. The muslin collar went in much more easily.

The method used is to attach the stand to the collar, then sew the outside edges of the collar together. The under-collar stand is sewed to the back neck, then the front 2 collar pieces are sandwiched between the shirt front and the turned back facing. Sounds good in theory, but there is some interesting curve matching involved.

I finally got it reasonably in place only to discover that the front facing was not hanging right on one side. Took that side out, and re-did it only to find out that the bit of shirt that extends beyond the collar in the front is not the same on both sides. More obvious in real life than in the picture. There is something funny going on at the shoulder seam on the "bad" side. Once I fix that, maybe the edge will move back enough to match the "good" side. Back to the drawing board.

The lesson from this is to start at the front and fix the collar edge in place then work to get everything else to fit right. The other lesson is to use very fine interfacing, or at least not fusible. Then, there is the lesson that if one is to put those circles of stitching to help the collar stand up in the back they should NOT be on the undercollar, as this will show when the upper collar is standing!! DUH. The circles should be at the back neck of the upper collar, where they won't show regardless of whether the collar is up or down. Also, they should be very neat compared to what I did when I was thinking they would never show at any time.

Learning is such fun!!!

Tonight I will be at my tai chi class, so will not likely get to tackle the collar again. I think it needs to be totally taken off and reapplied. I am wondering if I should cut the seam back to maybe 3/8" and work from there. I think the side partially interfaced seam allowance is part of the problem. If the whole thing is apart, I can hopefully get all the seams the same width and start over. How I hate ripping stuff out - especially when I should have been able to do it right in the first place.

SWAP #5: Light Beige Blouse - Burda WOF

2007-01-07T20:22:00.000-04:00

For the last couple of days I have turned my attention back to the Burda WOF shirt, Oct/06 #106. The muslin was partially done, and I had quit at the sleeves when I discovered that they were quite full at the sleeve cap, and I had done a sloppy job of gathering. Originally, this was to have been a wearable muslin, and perhaps one day I will remove the sleeves and re-do the caps. Meanwhile it has served its fitting purpose:

Added 1.5" to lower the bust
Added 1/2 inch to the fronts at the SA to accomodate full bust, and to the sleeve front so it will fit.
Determined that the sleeve requires a very fine elastic, narrower than 1cm.
Otherwise, the fit looks good.
There were also a few construction details that I was able to iron out, especially around the fitting together of the collar.

Further examination of the muslin resulted in

Not using an elastic at the sleeve, but simply widening it a bit at the bottom, and hemming. This looks much better than the gathered sleeve, at least in cotton
Adjusting 1/2" on the back shoulder seam at the outside edge, for a forward shoulder. This seems to be something I will have to do regularly.
Adding 2" to the length so the bottom of the shirt will fall at the first 1/5 point on the hip.

I made all these changes to the pattern, and discovered that I was very short of fabric. Not enough to make a collar on grain. Advice from Stitchers told me it would be ok on the cross-grain so that is what I did.

This is a fussy shirt. There are 3 tucks at each shoulder in the front, and the sleeve caps are quie full. It is intended to be made in a soft fabric, and this Swiss Dot cotton seems fine. It is a but fussy to work with however. The tucks went in smoothly, and I first sewed the shoulder seams making no adjustment to the front, just addint 1/2" to the back seam, tapered to nothing at the collar edge. The fit looked good, but arranging the sleeve became quite a problem -- probably one I should have solved before cutting them out. Essentially, I had added 1/2" to the back and made no change to the front. Where does this put the sleeve cap?? My original thought had been that the 1/2" would eat up some of the extra fullnes, but then there is the matter of keeping the grain straight. I had read a tip somewhere to baste a line parallel to the grain across the sleeve cap. This must be level if the sleeve is to fall correctly. The sleeve looked ok, but the line was not quite level.

This is where I decided to sew up the side seams and forget trying to get the sleeves in flat. When I did this, I found there were funny bumps around the shoulder area, so I undid the seams and took almost 1/2" off the front seam at the shoulder edge, tapering back about 2". This seemed to take care of the bump in the front, and should also eliminate some of the sleeve fitting questions. Not there yet.

I am planning to finish the seams of this blouse on my serger, but since I may have to take out the shoulder seams again, I did a self-fabric HongKong finish on them. I think it's a bit bulky, and may show through the shirt. But I would have to serge before putting on the collar, then if I have to take the seam out, there will not be enough of it left. The side seams and sleeve seams, I will eventually serge.

I made up the collar, remembering from before that the dots on the stand and collar are essential and have to be placed exactly to get the collar to fit onto the band. I am still not sure whether the seamline should be extended beyond the dots, or should stop there. Of ocurse, my machine decided to act up during the topstitching. An annoyance, but I dont think it shows too much -- it's where the band and collar join.

I also tried some circles of stitching at the center back of the under collar to see how it works to keep the collar up. I am not even sure this style will look good with the collar standing up in the back, but I wanted to try the technique, and it can always be folded over anyway.

I ran into some interfacing problems. I pre-shrunk the I/F but I don't think it was shrunk enough..I am a bit worried how this will come out in the wash, but I did not have any fabric leftover to re-cut, so I will just have to give it careful laundering and hope for the best.

I left the project after getting the collar ready to stitch on. I don't like to sew collars at night after several hours of work.

Next time, I'll get the collar done, and hopefully the sleeves. Then there will just be buttons and hem. I'm not sure yet what I will use for buttons, something small and dressy, or self-covered ones.

SWAP #4 - Print Skirt

2006-12-30T08:21:00.000-04:00

Finally back to sewing after the Christmas celebrations and busyness. Simplicity 9825, View D, went together easily right from the pattern. Size 16, no adjustments required. This was made in a bottom-weight cotton twill.

I had a bit of trouble straightening the grain in the fabric, and I have to wonder if it got twisted when being washed. I had sewed the ends together and put a length of at least 3m into the wash. Perhaps that is too big a piece for an agitator-type washer. I don't remember having a problem previously with the piece I cut for my jacket lining. It was a shorter length to start with, so perhaps it did not twist. Or, maybe I was not paying attention.

Anyway, after some pulling and mild cussing, the grain was in a passable state and luckily, the skirt hangs well in spite of itself.

This pattern has a wide, faced yoke at the top, and I discovered that this must be very carefully cut in order to save grief at the end. If it were necessary to make post-pattern fitting adjustments at the waist or hip, it could be quite a painful process to get facings to match the yoke exactly. The construction is similar to the plum pants waistline actually. If the side seams are taken in or let out, it would be difficult to get the exact-same seam allowances and angles on the facing. Something to fuss over, and try to get perfect on the pattern.

The skirt is eased onto the yoke, and there is a noticeable amount of ease involved. I think it is critical that the seam line be in the right place, as a even a bit narrower on the skirt side greatly increases the amount of ease to be dealt with. It could be difficult to get a smooth yoke seam in an unforgiving fabric

Twill Tape Question: The pattern suggested sewing twill tape onto the seamline when sewing the facing to the yoke. I did not do this, and it seemed to me that the twill tape would then be doubled at the edge where the facing turns back. This is edgestitched; the top of the yoke is stay-stitched; the yoke is interfaced with substantial material, so I felt the twill would be overkill. I do like the idea of something there, though, that prevents stretching at the waist. I will have to research the topic and see if the twill is supposed to be ON the seamline, or IN the seam allowance so it all turns to the back.

Research results: Julie suggests using seam binding, or a lightweight lining selvedge instead of twill on a waistline seam to reduce bulk. Now why could I not have thought of that?!

I may let the skirt hang a bit before hemming, not because it may stretch, but because I have a bit of Christmas still around my waist, and once it is gone, the skirt will drop a bit.

Plum Pants Revisited

2006-12-18T21:38:00.000-04:00

Today I finally got around to taking some pictures of the finished pants. I wore the pants shopping, and took the pictures afterward. I was shocked to find that there are wrinkles everywhere, and not the kind you can iron out.

Also, the pants, which were very snug, (as has been previously referenced here) are now quite loose, even the waistband, which was interfaced with quite heavy pellon.

I've posted the whole lot in my SWAP photo album.

What's caused the wrinkles?

Hem resting on top of shoes
Fabric stretching out over the day
Grainline cutting errors
Needs a more substantial flat seat adjustment
Should have made a smaller size and hoped this would happen in the end
I've lost a lot of weight in the last 2 days

Next I am going to wash the pants, dry in the dryer and see if the fabric shrinks. Against my best practice, I did not pre-wash this fabric. It was inherited from my daughter, and it was a generous, unevenly cut, remnant. She probably didn't wash it either. So, in a way, this was a freebie, a good chance to practice with this pattern. Why I didn't at least pre-wash is beyond me. I totally loved these pants when I finished them.

SWAP #3: PLUM PANTS DONE!!

2006-12-15T20:44:00.000-04:00

The plum pants, Vogue 2770, [apart from the waistband problems which were entirely of my own making], went together pleasantly well from start to finish.

I worked a bit each day, and took about a week to finish them. It is Christmas after all, and there are a few other things to attend to. I think that may be a lesson, to take small chunks of time rather than working for hours on end. If you stop when something gets frustrating, the job is always easier when you come back to it the next day. If you leave when something has gone well, you have a sense of accomplishment and are encouraged to start up again in the morning, or later in the day.

Tonight I finished the waist hook and eye, and measured and put in the hems. SUddenly, I was done, but for a good pressing. I was worried about how the hem would work around the leg vents, but it was clever and neat. I followed the pattern meticulously, without trying to come up with a better way. Lesson learn over the waistband.

Pictures will come in the daylight. It's still warm out, and I can get a better picture in natural light.

What next?? Maybe the OneSeam Pants so I can get the pattern off and use it to make velour pallazzo-type pants for Christmas morning.

Or, maybe, I should just put everything away until after Christmas and look after all those other things that should be done: Cinnamon buns, miscellaneous baking, maybe even clean the house. Oh no!

Plum Pants are Percolating Perfectly

2006-12-10T17:23:00.000-04:00

Spent a few hours this afternoon and evening working on the pants. Before breakfast I topstitched the fly front successfully, using masking tape to mark where the sewing should go. I observed that the following adjustments should be made next time around:

overlock the raw long edge of the fly before attaching it

don't forget to interface the fly facing, but more importantly, make the fly long enough to cover the bottom edge of the fly facing. Possibly cut 1/4 inch from the facing all around if it is not to be turned under (ie overlocked instead)

Seam finishes are important to me, and necessary for polyester. I really dont like the look of non-serger overlocking so I bound these seams with black tricot. I have not mastered the quick and easy way to apply it, but they look ok. Observation from doing that:

bind the edges of the back and front seams up to the notches BEFORE you sew the seam and BEFORE you put in the fly. Otherwise it is near to impossible to get a neat job.

I decided to put the waistband on before sewing the outside seams, as I figured there might be a fit problem at the waist, and also that I might later want to put some elastic in the back.

Afterword: This evening I got to the waistband. Discovery #1 was that I had somehow not paid enough attention to which side of the band got interfaced. This is a 3-part fitted waistband, and I had made notes on the pattern to be careful to get the sides lined up right before interfacing. There is an upside down, right-side wrong-side issue. When both sides of the fabric look the same, its possible to cut the bands so they don't match up. Well.....I had interfaced the front bands (which are different from each other) in such a way that they would not fit together with the interfacing on the back band. Not only that....but Dicsovery #2 was that all my efforts to get nice facings and do all that fussy stuff while the bands were unattached, proved to be futile, as there is no way to neatly sew them on in the zipper area with all the corners and edges already done; AND, as if that weren't enough, Discovery #3 was that the 2 layers of this fabric, especially with the grade of interfacing I used, make for a very heavy waistband in which the corners do not shape nicely, Therefore: A repair job will be necessary tomorrow:

More Afterword: (Friday) The waistband idea turned out to be a really bad one, and the pattern directions are definitely preferable, even though fitting at the waist could be tricky. As for elastic in the back, I think there must be a way to do this even by following the pattern directions. The back waistband has a few wrinkles, due I think, to the way I did the seaming 'after the fact'. Nothing too serious, as there will not likely be any tucking in of shirts.

Something to think about for the next pair. For future reference:

It is necessary to determine any side seam adjustement prior to cutting the waistband, and to cut the band exactly the size of the waistline.
Finish the edge of the waistband facing so it can be 'stitched in the ditch' instead of being folded under.
If elastic is going in the back, it will have to be sewed to the interfaced faced band before the facings are turned, or sewed to the facings only.

The vents at the bottom of the legs were challenging - not from a sewing point of view, but from a reading-the-directions point of view. I found them quite unclear fathoming back/front/left/right. Its one of those rotation things I cannot do well in my head. [as plainly can be seen from the waistband issue, which by the way I also messed up in the muslin] In the end, the job was quite easy.

I think a turned under finish on the front flap might be more attractive than overlock.

There were no major errors today, that is, up until the waistband thing, and the final try-on suggests taking in a bit at the hips, and letting out a bit at the waist and/or center back. I also need someone to check out the crotch fit, as I might consider a length adjustment above the crotch line. The pants are quite snug, but that is the style and look of the pattern. They will be quite comfy made from stretch corduroy. In the current more-poly-than-wool blend, let's just say they are not pants you would wear for a long drive.

Afterword: I let out the waist seam 1/4" on each side and lo, the crotch dropped just that little bit to result in comfort. It also seemed to help the back seam where the waist seems too low.

Time now to leave well enough alone. All that remains is the waistband fiasco, and the hems [which will be interesting around those vents] and fasteners. The side seams are done, pressed and bound, and the

The current pattern adjustment are:

Use size 16 throughout
Lower front and back crotch seam about 1/4 inch
Take in the back inseam about 1/4 inch [flat seat adjustment]
Take in outside seams at the hip [saddlebag area] about 1/4". I have no idea why this area needs to be taken in. One would think it would be the opposite.
Add 1/2" to the height of the back seam, tapering to nothing at the darts. Make appropriate adjustments to shape of the waistband.
Let out the side seams at the waist about 1/4" each side.
Adjust seams around the hips in the final fitting. There is a tendency to bulge just below the hip.

SWAP #3 - Plum Pants

2006-12-09T23:45:00.000-04:00

I didn't get sewing today until after supper, and that is not always the best time. However, I decided to cut out the plum pants. It's a Vogue Pattern, 2770. I had traced off a size 16 on Swedish tracing paper before making a muslin. When I basted it together, and tried it on, it was too small, so I cut the muslin as a size 18, using the grey striped polyester that Ali brought in the summer. By the time all the adjustments had been made, I did some measurement, it turned out I had pretty much recreated a size 16.

So, for the plum pants I decided to revisit my original tracing and make it in a size 16.

The fabric is from Ali's old stash, and matches my recent Haiku jacket in color. There was just enough left for the pants. I think it might be a wool/poly blend. Feels and acts like wool, but frays somewhat like poly, though not as bad as the muslin fabric.

The cutting went well, and the fly front was the best I have ever done. One change, the fly itself needs to have raw edges overlocked or bound before sewing it on. On pressing the front after installing the zipper, there seemed to be a bit of a shiny press mark, even though I had used a cloth -- more reason to believe a high polyester count in the fabric. It's not too noticeable, and I hope it comes out. After the fly I overlocked some critical edges, and basted the inseams for a fitting. I managed to get one side wrong side out, so I did not do any more this evening. Its good to stop when you start doing stupid things. However, in whatever fitting one can do with inseams only sewed together, it would appear that this is going to be a really good fit. Tomorrow I will sew the inseams up most of the way, baste the crotch seam and the outside seams. There may be an adjustment in the seat, but that will be it, hopefully.

Everything went well -- in the Zone as it were. It's nice when that happens. I'm looking forward to the vents at the ankles in these pants. I didn't do them in the muslin.

SWAP garment #2 - Finally DONE!

2006-12-08T17:48:00.000-04:00

The Accursed Black Velour! After a day of rest, to let the shirt stew in its own juice for awhile, I tackled the hem this morning, with uneventful and satisfactory results, though the whole thing perhaps should be a bit shorter -- it won't be happening any time soon.

Yesterday, I visited Fabricville, and found a couple of black braids, which I purchased with the notion of decorating the neck edge and possibly removing some of the extra fullness there.

I also found a nice button to pull down the center front a bit, changing the shape, which was not overly attractive, and also using up some of the extra opening. The button, of course, precludes other neck jewellry, but that's a good thing as I don't have much of that anyway.

Both the braid and the button worked fairly well, and the shirt looks quite spiffy and quite dressy. There is a bit of a twist on the right side where the extra fullness is in the neck opening, and the shoulder seems to pull in a bit. This could be for any number of reasons from wrinkles on the underneath layer during cutting, to multiple changes in the shoulder and back seams to try to get the neck to fit. To the casual observer I think it looks fine. My summation of the major cause of the ill-fittedness and some of the many problems I had is that I used a fabric that was not recommended on the pattern. LESSON LEARNED.

Satisfaction index (maximum=10) - formerly about a 3, now about 5 with the improved neckline.

This shirt has been full of lessons, and has made me aware of several details about my own shape and also of my work habits and how I deal with frustration. What a great feeling, though, to have it done, and good enough to wear.

According to What Not To Wear, black should not be worn with bright colors, the blacks disappear, and the colors look cheap. Well, 2 of my SWAP colors and black and red, so fashion-challenged I shall remain.

The Agony continues

2006-12-06T16:19:00.000-04:00

Its the third day, now, and I'm still working on the shell. After much welcome advice from group members, I re-tackled the edges.

First I removed the twill tape, then cut pieces of crossgrain velour for a binding. Watched the video, clipped 1/4 inch off the seam allowance, measured , stretched, and did all the fitting fun at the neckline. The 1.5" wide velour strip would not stay together at the edges even long enough to pin it in place. Each edge rolled under itself and totally disregarded the opposing edge. I considered basting the edges together, but didn't. This strip of binding became THE ENEMY.

I toughed it out, and pinned the binding on. There is a secret to how much shorter the binding is than the neckline. I've read a few articles, watched the video, and all you can get are suggestions. Only experience tells you -- sort of like how you know when muffins are done. Anyway, the pinned neckline looked like it was going to make gatherings in the shirt fabric, so I chucked to velour strip with a MIGHTY SIGH OF DEFEAT. Thanks to input from a group member, I re-considered interfacing the neckline and folding it under.

That process went quite well. I used a light-weight pellon fusible, not the slippery knit stuff. The edges stayed put and folded under nicely. Next time I would do it before sewing together the top, as it is quite painful to get the iron on the interfacing without mushing up the shirt pieces.

I basted. The neckline looked as if it would pop out a bit, but once stitched, it seems ok. I only did one row of topstitching. Tending to leave well enough alone. One bit of one armhole has a few wrinkles. That's because, after stitching the neckline I decided to remove the basting then and there, before stitching the armholes. Somehow, I removed the basting from the armhole I had not yet sewn! I did not rebaste before stitching it. Will I never learn!

Some days are just not sewing days. However, all that's left is the hem, and with luck I'll get to that tonight. What do I like about this? I like the darts, and I like the way the back fits after the bazillion changes I made to the seam line. I'm not crazy about the neckline, and the extra fullness there annoys me. I am experimenting with a nice button at the front to hide the mistakes.

This is not a pattern I will repeat in knit -- I still like the idea of having a basic shell pattern, so I might give this one a try in a woven fabric -- with suitable modifications.

The Agony Begins

2006-12-05T16:38:00.000-04:00

The agony begins! And its only SWAP garment #2. The lesson is humility.

I am making a simple panne stretch velour sleeveless shell. Two days later it is still not done. I am trying to finish the neckline and armholes as simply as possible. I made something similar a couple of weeks ago, and someone suggested using Steam-A-Seam to turn under the edges, then sewing them down. I did that, and it worked fairly well, but the fabric stretched during the "Steam" part the shape has gone all wonky. This time I thought I would try to be a little more sophisticated.

My sewing mentor suggested running twill tape around the seam allowance, turning under and stitching. I thought twill was too hard for the edge and would not go around the curve very well.

The lady in the quilting shop suggested using a stretchy, clear, plastic-looking tape. Since the neckline is a bit bigger than it should be, I though that would be a good idea. NOT. Turned out awful and the machine would not sew through the tape and the velour without gathering the whole shebang into a bunch.

Lesson: Trust your mentor. Back to the twill tape option. I sewed it all onto the neckline thinking I was testing on an armhole. Turned it under, basted all in place. Tried on. The edge rolls outward and looks dreadful. Even if I sew close to the edge I think the finish will look cheap. So much for this advice.

My next option is to cut off the seam allowance and bind with self fabric, cut on the crosswise. Is this what I should have done all along?

My experience with knits is minimal. Unless I get some better advice from the forum, I will fold the binding, line up with the cut edge, stitch on with a narrow seam allowance and turn the seam down and the binding up, then stitch it down on the right side through all layers. Needless to say I am still sergerless.

SWAP garments #1 and #2

2006-12-04T15:13:00.000-04:00

I was determined to finish a SWAP garment on Day One of the SWAP sewing time. I wanted to wear my red velvet skirt to a wedding reception Friday night, and I was able to do that. There were a few glitches in the construction, and the details of that project are posted with my SWAP photo album.

My satisfaction index for this project is about a 7.

I was away for the weekend, and yesterday (Monday) I started on garment #2. A black panne velour sleeveless shell. I had previously modified the pattern to move the bust dart so it angles up from the waist, and to lower the bust as always. It is a New Look Pattern 6483, and I have not used that brand before. I measured and drew off a size 14, with a 16 front below the armhole. This is my usual adjustment. At least as 'usual' as I can say to date.

In all due respect, the pattern is suggested for woven fabrics, not knits, so I was prepared for some possible fit problems, and thought perhaps the side or back seams would have to be taken in a bit. What I was not prepared for was that the neckline was vastly too large - even given that I had adjusted the center front to delete about a half inch of fabric at the neckline. The shoulders of the garment would have to be pull to the sides past my bra straps to make the neckline lie flat.

Fiddle-dee-dee. I poked around for awhile pulling up the shoulders, taking in the back, and trying all sorts of options to make some sort of fit. This is the part that I have most difficulty with, especially if I have worked to make fitting adjustments, then in real life (as opposed to paper fitting the pattern) things don't work out. I just don't have the experience to know what to do about fitting issues.

I had previously made a similar top from a Burda WOF pattern, and messed it up in turning under the neckline edges. Apart from that, and the resulting twistedness from the stretching, it fit quite well, and I love the look of the velour on the body. Instead of reusing that pattern, I wanted to try the version with the angled dart, and it was a spur-of-the moment thing to use the velour instead of making a muslin from a woven print.

With some help from my husband, who is not particularly handy with pins, but whose heart is in the right place, I got the shoulder seams rearranged so that everything looked as good as possible. A few more rounds of basting and re-basting finally got the back seam in place and the shoulders acceptable. There is still a bit too much fullness in the neckline, and I will likely have to design a decorative feature to hid the wrinkles. Get a lemon - make lemonade.

I love the look of this velour, and I am so glad I also have a piece of ivory in the same fabric. It will be a cowl neck top.

I learned some things about working with velour.

Cutting on a damp day works better than a dry day, far less static.
Seams do not stay even (ie edges will not stay lined up) even for basting. I had to remove the back seam and reposition everything and even with many carefully placed pins, the edges wanted to slide apart leaving one seam allowance narrower than the other. Pulling stitches from a knit is a pain, so watch this carefully, baste carefully, and sew on the SA side of the basting.

I also learned some things about my body.

Right shoulder is lower and much more forward - computer mouse side.
Right upper back is wider than the left side. Very obvious in the back armhole of the tank top. I will have to make the SA much narrower there to accomodate.
I already knew one shoulder seam was 1/2" longer than the other, but that does not seem to show.
In the last 2 garments, the twist in my torso seems to make the right side of the garment feel smaller than the left. I still have to explore this - is it true, or just sloppy seaming or off-grain cutting.

I think the next thing I should learn is not to be quite so picky. None of the above is majorly problematic. Only I would notice.

I'm now in a conumdrum about this pattern, though. Should I start over with a smaller size, should I use what I have and figure out how to reduce the neckline, should I make what I have in a woven to see how it fits in the recommended fabric. Probably all of the above.

I Guess that's why we do Muslins

2006-11-29T22:26:00.000-04:00

Finally I had procrastinated enough of the day away, and decided to work at something. Anything. There is a host of UFO's now ahead of me in preparation for the SWAP, and actual SWAP stuff.

Yesterday I made a trip to the local quilt shop to get some thread to match the strange green-grey cotton I am using for the muslin for the Burda WOF shirt. I think I am almost a perfect Burda 42. That is if you don't count the fact that I need a 1" to 1.5" bust lowering, and a size 44 front from the armholes down. Not bad, though, compared to some others I have tried.

The top has tucks, and the fabric is very very soft and fussy to work with. All is well though. The tucks look good, the seams fit nicely, now for the collar.

Remember all that interfacing fuss. Well, the corners where I clipped back the interfacing show the no-interfacing bits, so I had to paste on a piece in one corner of the collar. Misread the collar directions, and spent 2 hours trying to perfectly fit a collar onto the neckline when I had sewed parts of it together. It was going to be a fascination and very modern and funky collar until I realized the picture did not show anything unusual. What a waste of time and brain power.

What an adventure fixing it after clipping the corner to nothing and then having to re-create a seam allowance. But I think it will be a nice shirt, and the SWAP shirt will look great. I think I'll do it in black.

Yesterday I finished cutting the Vogue Tomatsu sleeveless shirt. I later realized that it is intended to be lined, so it needs lining pieces before it can be properly sewn. I think there is enough fabric, but I am going to leave this one for awhile. I think it is wise to make the muslin just before making the garment, so there is at least a hope of remembering some of the fussy points. the fussy point in this will be to see if the bust lowering works. I should have just cut out and lowered the bust parts, and added the length at the L/S lines. Maybe it would not have mattered. I'll have to look that up.

Got swatches from Julie today. Nice black rayon jersey, and a brown sage wool that would make pants to die for. Shall I re-do my SWAP yet again??

Tomorrow is Thursday, and I have a tai chi class, and I have to send out a tai chi email newsletter. I also have to decide what food to bring to the wedding reception, and pack for the weekend in Halifax. On Friday, I have all day to sew if I get everything else out of the way tomorrow. Will I get the red skirt done in time to wear to the reception. If so, what will I wear with it. Suddenly with all this sewing in the wings, and all that has been done, still nothing to wear. .... especially no shoes.

The SWAP gets moving

2006-11-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

Finally almost all the SWAP decisions are made. At least I am now working from a surfeit of ideas rather than a dearth of them, so it's easier knowing I have lots of choices that are possible. There are still some decisions, and no doubt more changes. I discovered a couple of important things recently:

I am often hot, therefore making long-sleeved garments is not a great idea unless they can be worn over a shell or tank top. Thus, long-sleeved knits or other polyester items are probably not practical in the SWAP.

I do not do well when the entire plan has to be laid out ahead of time. For some reason I need anchors that I can work around, rather than having all the options open all the time. This is because of my inability to settle on a reasonable decision. I keep looking for the very best options, and in the process waste a lot of time. For this reason I have decided to cut the red velour skirt. This makes it FIXED as a project, along with the OneSeam Pants. I am also going to cut the print skirt later today. I also think part of this is my unwillingness to close things off. I always like a few options to be open. Funny how we learn so much about ourselves when doing something like this.

All my UFO's are done except for hemming the grey pants, and that's encouraging. Mostly for the past few days I've been working on muslins.

Underway at the moment:

Soft Egyptian cotton greenish muslin for the Burda WOF "soft" blouse.
It's ready for machine sewing but I dont have the right color thread. Store was closed when I got there, but in the adjacent dollar store I found 50 yds of ivory lace for $5. Didn't buy it as I don't use much lace, but I may go back and pick it up 'just in case'.

Basic shell SWAP print. I moved the bust dart so it starts at the waist.
The pattern is traced, altered and cut. I'll sew up the front and back, make necessary pattern adjustments, then find something for the back to practice making it reversible. I am using my SWAP print for this as I don't want a print top in the actual SWAP. I'll end up with a print shirt this way, and will be able to add a different colored pant to the SWAP lineup. If I get really moving, I'll be able to wear the shell to the wedding reception with the red skirt. (see below)

Vogue Jean Jacket print muslin.
I decided I should at least do some testing of this Bettina Vogue pattern as there are so many pieces. It's billed as loose fitting, and I don't want it too loose. In a flash of genius I decided to make the muslin in my SWAP print as I have thoughts of lining it with that print anyway. If the muslin fits, I can use the pieces for the actual lining. If it doesn't, I will still have a so-so jacket if I choose to finish it. I will probably opt for the 'use it as a lining' option as the print is quite busy for all those topstitched seams. They would be lost in the whole picture I think. And, the wool crepe will definitely need a sturdy lining I think to make it look right as a jean jacket.

This afternoon I placed and cut all the pieces for this muslin -- everything except facings and second copy of yokes. I think I'll baste in together for a fit test instead of actually sewing it up. Then I can sew later in whatever manner will be required for the SWAP jacket lining. Have to be careful not to "sew" before Dec. 1 on an actual SWAP garment.

Muslin for Vogue 8077 sleeveless shirt, Tomatsu design.
For some reason I keep coming back to this shirt, so I decided to use the leftovers from the Pants in the same pattern. It's a grey polyester stripe, so it will be a pain to work with, especially if there is any ripping out of seams. I should probably bind all the seams right off the bat. I made a 1" bust lowering, and decided to go with a size 16 overall. It's a princess style which is foreign to me as far as bust adjustments go. The last time I tried it I had bumps all over the place and gave up the project for a bad idea. Tonight I laid it out and found I had just enough fabric. Too late to trust the cutting in the bad light - so I'll do it in the daytime. The pattern is supposed to be lined, so it might work out as a reversible item.

The SWAP plan so far: It's obvious since typing this that I still need some work on my top decisions, especially with respect to the pattern choices.

Bottoms:

Ivory OneSeams [cut in M - wide leg]
Red Velour 6-gore skirt [cut in Size 14]

Tonight I took the pattern pieces off, marked the few notches, and pinned the skirt together. It fits fine, being quite stretchy, but I am disappointed that I shortened it a bit, and it is nowhere near as full as I thought it would be. The front panel should be much wider for good lines. I feared it would be too full for the fabric, but I could have made something much fuller. It will be ok, but not as spectacular as I had hoped. I think the fabric is actually less substantial than I thought. It will make up quickly on Dec. 1 when the SWAP sewing starts, and maybe I will even wear it to a wedding reception I have to go to that evening. Shoes, of course, I have no proper shoes for all these skirts I am making. Live and Learn. I am glad I did this, though, because this skirt will get much less wear than my print one, which was going to be a variation on the same pattern. Now I think I will make the one with the bias flounce.

Print 6-gore skirt [needs pattern traced - see above, needs different pattern choice]
Pants undecided [looking for a beige/brown mix that will go with red/ivory/black. or some other color different from the 3 basics]
Fallback: Purchased black pants, or make a pair of black cords
Options: Add a reversible skirt of some kind

Tops:

Black velour shell, crossover or cowl neck
Ivory velour shell or cowl
Black viscose long-sleeved "soft" Burda
Ivory viscose - pattern undecided - would make a nice overshirt, but too long for the jean jacket - may have to go to phase II
Red cotton print - zip front like black jacquard test model
Swiss dot ivory cotton - pattern undecided - looking for something with ruffles
Options and fallbacks:

Black jacquard shirt recently completed
Reversible vest still being imagined
Fabric ordered from Wazoodle, and swatches from Julie
Find a matching red knit for a crossover top.

Jacket:

Vogue Jean Jacket in red crepe.
Options: reversible quilted jacket to be made in March with Lynn

Velour 5 - Betty 4

2006-11-21T20:17:00.001-04:00

This one I lose. I made a velour tank top from a Burda WOF pattern by way of getting the fit right. The fit was fine, and though I am inexperienced with knits, almost everything else turned out very nicely. However, turning under the edges of the neck and armholes was a challenge. Failing to find the recommended Fuse and Fold product, I tried Steam-a-Seam upon the recommendation of someone on the forum. It seemed to work fine, but when I tried the top on, one side of the neck was all baggy. I heated, unglued and re-fried the edge, but all the fullness did not go away. So it's an almost-ok top. Fine underneath something, but not good enough to wear by itself. Also, the front is too low, and the pattern neckline was too pointy at the bottom for an effective fold under finish.

There also seems to be a bit of a twist in the garment, so I expect the garment is not entirely the same on both sides. It was slippery and slidey to cut.

Today I visited my local sewing guru who suggested twill tape, and described for me exactly how to apply it on the seam allowance, with the edge on the seamline, stitched down the middle of the tape. Fold the edge in and topstitch. She suggested that anything really stretchy should have twill tape anywhere you don't want it to sag. Especially shoulder seams.

She also told me there is fusible twill tape. Not likely around here in the boonies of Eastern Canada, but perhaps somewhere on line.

As well, she gave me some cutting suggestions for such fabric: Pin a sheet of pattern paper, or blank newsprint to the fabric before cutting...something you dont mind cutting through when the time comes. I am hoping to use this velour for a cross-over top in my SWAP, and a pair of One-Seam Pants to wear with it for Christmas morning, so I need to get over my frustration with working with it.

Interestingly, though, it sewed up fine in my machine, with no pulling or stretching. I am quite proud of my hem finish in fact. I do not have a serger (yet).

Today was "Sewing Tuesday" with 3 of us working on various projects. I traced a Burda WOF pattern and got some help with the fitting. It's muslin version will be some soft blue Egyptian cotton which my daughter brought in the summer. In the SWAP in will be black or ivory poly/viscose blend which is soft soft soft.

It's Done!!

2006-11-19T16:02:00.000-04:00

Burda 8360
The Black Polyester is finished and looks and feels quite nice - except for being polyester of course. If it gets warm in here, it will be coming off in a flash.

What I like is that the shirt can be worn by itself, or open, over a tank top. The latter is more likely how I will wear it most of the time, as a sort of light jacket.

There are a few inequities in the garment, and a few things about the pattern that I would note for next time around, but mainly I got the fit right, and that is what I was looking for.

Stuff to remember:

Do the sleeves as per the pattern. I think it will make for neater seams.
Sew the sleeve hems before working on the sleeve cap.
Consider a full lining of both fronts as the facing is a bit narrow for wearing the jacket open.
The hem should be seamed into the front and turned inside out before finishing, which affects the topstitching -- has to be done before the topstitching.
The length of the facing has to be exact, or at least not longer than the hemline.
Think doing a version with the zipper all the way to the bottom.
Could this be done with a stand-up collar (mandarin type style?)
Make sure collar is evenly placed at neckline so one side is not wider than the other.
Come up with a better way to put the zipper in. Steam-a-seam may help.
With heavier fabric, facings and undercollar could be something lighter.
The pattern has side vents which I did not put there. It would look nice, and prevent the slight tightness in the hip area. I have a shirt with those vents, and it sticks out at the bottom and looks silly. That's why I avoided them. Here, they might just work.

General things not specific to the pattern:

BASTE
Use short stitches at collar points, dart points and when finishing off a line of stitches.
Avoid clipping thread ends. Tie them off when finishing or starting.
When fiddling with seam and hem binding, a truly nice finish requires that the binding be straight, and sewn an equal distance from the seam edge. Hem needs to be exactly equal all the way around, or made to be so. Careful cutting and handling all the way through is necessary for this. ALso using proper bias or seam binding of some sort
Tricot seam binding (Seam so Soft) does not go on easily, and does not look great once its there.
DARTS need some special attention. I can never get them exactly right and they are awful to take out and do over. I think I prefer a dart that angles up from the waistline. Maybe I"ll try that next time.

I'm very happy with this shirt, which is one of the first patterns I bought when I started sewing, but never got around to trying. I think it will be much more practical in a light cotton or linen, but I am pleasantly surprised by the outcome in this heavier fabric.

Now. What's next???

Polyester: 10 -- Betty:11 I am winning!

2006-11-18T22:04:00.000-04:00

I am winning the polyester battle. Today I adequately set in the sleeves, and happily bound all the remaining edges in the shirt. How intensely satisfying it is to sew those frayzzles into the seam binding. This shirt has required as much time binding seams as sewing other stuff, if you don't count the time ripping out seams.

Today I failed to follow my own advice and did not baste the sleeve in. I had to rip out about 3", and redo a couple of other places where things weren't quite right. Maybe NOW, I've learned my lesson. I basted the side seams tonight, and did a fitting, then took the basting out and repinned the back seam allowance wider. Now its pinned into its final resting place, and I SHALL BASTE in the morning. Once that's done, all that remains is the sleeve and bottom hems.

It does not sound like much for the effort of a day, but I did spend some time photographing some details, and my Haiku jacket, and of course (sadly), one cannot be sewing the whole day long.

The best thing of the day, though, was trying on the shirt once both sleeves were in, and being totally surprised by how good it looked on the body. The shiny black jacquard actually is quite attractive, and the style is very versatile, serving as a jacket or a shirt. With the zipper undone, over a tank top, it will complement many an outfit.

I also discovered when trying it on inside out, that the lines of the front facings look very nice as a decorative feature, and when I make this for my SWAP, I will put the facings on the outside and cover the edges with some braid or tape of some sort. Some variation on that theme may be the answer to a reversible garment.

Wow, I'll have one TNT after this episode. Decisions now about what to make it out of next. Wonder if there's enough corduroy for both this and a pair of pants?

Completed Project and Wasted Time

2006-11-17T23:56:00.000-04:00

Today was not particularly productive in the sewing department. I think I need to start getting up earlier, as late night stitchery is too risky.

Haiku finished and worn:
I wore my Haiku II jacket to a play tonight, and was complimented. I still think it's too big, and may try a size smaller if I do it again. It was not included in my list of Unfinished Objects, because I had completed it just before starting this blog. There were a few details needing work, and I spent a couple of hours this afternoon tending to that. I've added a few pictures of this garment, if I can get them to fit on the left side of this text, it will be a miracle.

What was involved was the result of the fabric I chose. The fabric was an embroidered wool/poly blend - mostly poly by the way it behaved. Because the jacket panels show the reverse of the fabric, the embroidery was obviously the 'wrong' side. Therefore, to keep the panels clear and neat, I picked out all the embroidered flowers from the panels, leaving a nice contrast to the rest of the jacket. The color is a dark plum. Sun vs. shade makes a big difference in the color in the photos. I guess I should be more careful in future to make things match better.

Progress with the black zippered shirt.
The picture below illustrates why I hate polyester. Note the shoulder seams with their nice Hong Kong finish. There is a great satisfaction in taming these monstrous frazzles.

This pattern definitely needs an adjustment to the zipper instructions. It is a front closing covered separating zipper which is supposed to be installed in each side separately, between the front and the facing. All this with nothing sewn down first. Most zipper applications (except invisible) require the seam to be basted until the zipper is in place. With this one, you magically attach it behind the folded-under front seam allowance, then fold the facing seam allowance under and sandwich everything together. The facings and the fronts are attached except for the zipper opening, which flaps open begging your undivided attention. Great if you have a nice crisp fabric that will press in place and stay there. BUT, you will recall that we are working with antagonistic polyester here! I think I might write a Pattern Review for this once I make it the second time. There does not seem to be a review as yet on the PR website.

I finally got the zippers all basted and lined up, but next time I would totally revise the method. I would also use some Steam-a-Seam, and I would BASTE more. Did I say I would BASTE more? For 5 minutes of not bothering to baste, I wasted over an hour taking out stitches of black on black, sewn through 4 layers and a zipper tape. That was the biggest lesson for today: Take the time to baste, to change to the right presser foot, to double check, to not think there is an easier way.

After getting the zipper in, and the topstitching done around the collar and the fronts, I tackled the sleeves, and properly put in the 2 rows of basting. One sleeve is successfully installed, and the other awaits a fresher morning mind. It remains to be seen whether my "easier way" decision to do the sleeves before the side seams comes back to haunt me. A respected seamstress suggested this method, and it certainly seems a bit easier, but it may not turn out that way in the long run.

A try-on at this point, with only one side seam pinned, suggests I will need to take in the side seams in the back, which means that my shirt is effectively size 14 throughout, except for the front side seams. It also means I may just have to use a size 14 pattern throughout, and do a FBA instead of using the size 16 side seam measurements. I think this style might look good with some back darts, but I probably won't bother doing that this time around.

SWAP Cogitation
The SWAP collection is undergoing yet another rewrite. I think I will have to forego my print skirt until Phase II, where all things don't have to match everything. If I only have green, black and ecru bottoms, I think I can find something to better coordinate with the greens, shades of ivory which will look great with the red jacket, as well as the green and black. Perhaps there will even be a shade of blue or a green print that will pop up. I just have no natural color sense so I am finding this part of the planning very hard. There is some great insight on the forum. I have to keep this in perspective, and not make it into something difficult. So far, its been really fun, but I want to start making things, and the rules say you have to have the plan in place first. All for your own good of course, so you won't box yourself into a corner.

Pictures, you say.

2006-11-16T21:30:00.000-04:00

I tried to photograph my SWAP fabrics tonight. Arranged them nicely on my stair railing. The light was not right, and the flash did not improve the situation. I will try again in the morning. Meanwhile, here's the best I could do:

Though there are some similar colors here, the textures are all different. I discovered in this process that I am really a texture person. If I were a color person, this would all be so much easier.

On the bottom from L to R are

faux suede for skirt,
print for skirt,
green corduroy for pants,
ecru (darker than it looks here) nubbly linen

On the top are my fabrics for tops, which dont show up well at all: L to R

ecru linen
soft black poly-viscose, very drapey
greenish taupe (greener than it looks) poly, very drapey
print again
panne velour

One top is missing of course. Hopefully I will find a knit of some sort to "top" the whole thing off.

Along the top is my lovely red wood crepe which will be a jacket to coordinate with all.

Love Burda, Still Hate Polyester

2006-11-16T17:27:00.000-04:00

I spent all afternoon doing about an hours worth of work on the black jacquard shirt. In spite of cutting it out with a pinking blade, it frays all over the place, mostly over me and my clothes. I went off to tai chi class this morning needing a wipe-down to get rid of the little black bits that fell out of the pinking points. Better that than the long theads which followed, in spite of care-taking to not handle the stuff too much.

I am practicing Hong-Kong seam bindings, and spent about an hour putting lovely black satin bindings on the shoulder seams. Was it worth an hour? Not likely, but it was fun. Besides, it gave the rest of the garment a chance to ravel some more. I don't particularly like the look of seam edges overlocked on my regular machine, though I may have to do that anyway, as binding seams takes a long time, especially for a casual garment. But I hate those frayed, home-made looking edges that happen with almost any fabric. The pictures in the books always use some beautiful stiff tightly woven edge to show the zig-zag or stitched under edges. Welcome to polyester folks. It has a mind of its own.

This is my first Burda Pattern (8360) except for the velour tank top aforementioned. It seems to fit better than other, or at least require less adjustment. Maybe I'm getting better; I'm certainly getting smaller, so that helps I suppose.

The pattern is not made for the fabric I am using, so I have a rather bulky collar assembly, however the fit is right, and that it what I am doing this for. I moved the shoulder seam 1/4 inch to the front, which made everything hang well. Don't know what this will do to the sleeve gathering, but it should not be enough to make a big difference. Hopefully.

While I was admiring myself, or rather my shirt collar after clipping neckline seams, and pressing carefully, I was quite disappointed to discover the the width of the collar on one side is 1/4" more than on the other side. One should never be too proud. I have no idea how this happened as I did pull it up at the front corner before sewing, and make sure it was in the right place. Fudged a bit to correct it somewhat, and decided it was time for a computer break. Now my computer area is also covered in black polyester threads. Time for a serger I guess. It would make me a good Christmas present.

Polyester, Interfacing, and Procrastination

2006-11-15T15:09:00.000-04:00

Today got off to a slow start, sewing-wise. I finally got back to the black jacquard shirt and got it cut out quite without incident. I used the pinking blade on my rotary cutter which I may turn out to regret. I started with the interfacings which put me in a muddle requiring a computer break.

The Pain of Polyester
This is a lovely fabric which I bought at Fabricville in the summer for $2.99 a meter -- so a great bargain for a test garment. I can't say that I really like jacquard -- looks like old-lady fabric to me, even though some might say I AM an old lady. I bought it shortly after I started sewing and was experimenting with various things. Also looking for bargains to experiment with.

So as I work with this, I realize what I have always known, even when I did not sew: I really don't like polyester! I find it uncomfortable to wear in hot weather and cold. For spring and fall it isn't too bad. I have a few things that are fairly comfortable most of the time; but my goodness, there must be a better way.

I try not to buy polyester fabrics, but it's like not buying pre-packaged food at the grocery store. It doesn't leave much to choose from. I have some poly in my SWAP -- the shirt stuff I bought yesterday, a green faux suede, the panne velour and a poly-viscose black which has yet to prove itself comfortable or otherwise. The rest are cottons, linens, and a wool crepe....so far.

Anyway, I will tough this one out, and the shirt ultimately will look fine. It's only a muslin anyway---and if I can make it of poly, then surely I can easily make it from whatever else is here.

Interfacing Woes
Toughing it out. Yes. Interfacing is not one of my favorite things to do. I recently gave up on fusible interfacing because it shrinks up, sometimes under the iron, and it seems like a great bother to pre-shrink, steam or whatever the rules are about interfacing pre-treatment. I think I have a mental block. Anyway, for this shirt, I decided to use a piece of fusible from my stash, cut out the facing bits and didn't have enough for the collar. Ah-ha, I said to myself. Use some of that knit fusible you have upstairs. It should be better for the collar anyway. (Why I thought it would be better is anybody's guess because interfacing is one of the gaping holes in my knowledge base.)

Carefully I cut the collar shape, then read the directions that said to trim the seam allowances to 1.8" Not to worry. Still on the ironing board which I was using for my cutting surface I trimmed the edges of the slippery slidey knit, which I discovered leaves all sorts of bits of fuzz on the black jacquard and on the ironing board cover. Without thinking much more about the fuzz, I carefully followed the rest of the application directions, using a damp cloth and appropriate pressure. I even remembered reading somewhere not to move the piece until it was cool.

While waiting, I thought I would use my iron to steam the pellon fusible pieces to be sure they would not shink later. No problem except that this is what I hate about preparing interfacing. I interfaced the back neck facing, and was about the steam the second long front facing. I picked it up and noticed the edge had gone all shrunken and squishy. Remember, I am working on my ironing board. I had taken the hot pressing cloth and placed in in the vicinity of the pellon facings. I tugged a little and managed to rip the stuff. Good grief.

Back to the drawing board. I think I'll put some sewn-in stuff in the facings, or maybe even just an extra layer of Fashion Fabric. I guess I just have to go off and study this topic, but whatever I read seems so daunting that I put it off till another day.

Meanwhile, I decided to brush the fuzz off the collar piece. Indeed! The fuzz of course, was from fusible knit -- and had nicely fused wherever the heat hit. Ah yes. Thinking IS an important part of this journey.

Still no answer from the forum on my seam-edge interfacing, but I did find out on another message board that "Fuse and Fold" is a bias fusible that has a chain stitch down the middle for stability. The writer suggested using twill tape instead, but I'm not sure that would work in this application. Maybe I can find a source of fusible bias somewhere and give it a try.

Time for supper and another tai chi class, so likely not much more progress today.

End of Day Progress

After 10:00pm is not the best time for sewing, as evidenced by the seams being picked out, but I did start the shirt, and got the interfacing finished, the edge of the front and neck facings bound, and the collar sewn together and topstitched. Only 2 short seams had to be completely removed and redone.

It's an easy pattern, and tomorrow should see most of the shirt finished -- with luck and a little time, then I will get back to the velour tank top and see what can be done there.

Testing 1-2-3

2006-11-14T18:16:00.000-04:00

1. Panne velour tank top from the Burda WOF November Issue, Pattern #111:

Today I decided to finish this simple project, except that I do not know what "Vilene/Pellon Fuse and Fold" is, or exactly how it is to be applied to the neck and armhole edges. I posted a message to Stitchers, so I know I will get a response sooner or later. I find it odd that googling that product produces essentially nothing useful.

I have learned from this tank top that velour is NOT a good fabric to test a pattern with. It is too slippery, too hard to cut carefully, and when all is said and done, there is really no guarantee that both sides of the garment are the same when you're finished. In spite of flaws, though, it looks really sharp, and is quite forgiving on the body. I did get a bit of pattern adjustment settled, but I will have to do another 'muslin' in a more cooperative fabric to finalize the shoulder seams. But, I've travelled a short way down the road to a TNT Pattern.

Because of my interfacing dilemma, I left the project until an answer comes my way.

2. Rearrangements to SWAP fabrics:

I took an early morning trip to Walmart, where I NEVER go, to check out their fabrics. There, I found something for a drapy shirt for my SWAP in a greenish taupe. When I got home, I concluded that the 'ecru' color of my cotton/linen blend was not working well with the other colors. Moved my Egyptian Linen to the 'bottoms' category, and moved the creamier color out. I have it already cut out for One Seam Pants, so I will use it as a Muslin. It will ultimately coordinate with most of the items in my SWAP, so definitely not a lost cause. If the One-Seams work out, I'll include a black pair in my SWAP....maybe.

3. Testing the poly/viscose:

Today I also tested the poly-viscose blend that feels so soft and wonderful, but which is supposed to be dry cleaned to prevent bleeding when washed. I tried a piece in water, and a piece in vinegar/water. I could not see much difference in the amount of bleeding, so I will throw both of them in the wash with some dark towels and see what happens. If the fabric washes ok, I will use it, but perhaps not as planned. The plan was for it to be half of a reversible skirt. Not a good idea to have one side run into the other.

4. De cluttering and starting another test garment.

I cleaned up my dining room table from ends of cutting, and parts of various patterns and fabrics cluttered about. Sometimes it feels good to just sort and order things. After this I was able to start tracing a shirt pattern for my SWAP, fiddling with adjustments, and having to stop to get supper. This shirt I think I will test on a red cotton that I deleted from my SWAP because I can't see wearing a red shirt with olive pants -- both are too strong, and too complimentary to go well together -- but, the red will go well with my print, and with black pants and ecru linen pants, so it, too, will be a Muslin that becomes add-on if all goes well.

Sometimes it feels like I have to do a SWAP to do a SWAP.

Later in the evening, after a meeting at the Quilting Guild, i finished tracing the Burda shirt pattern, and pinfitted it. It seems to fit amazingly well, at this stage anyway. During tracing I added an inch above the bust line to accomodate a low bust point, and I traced a size 14 top, with size 16 side seams, adjusting sleeves to accomodate this. During the pinning, I had to take in the back seam to almost the size 14 point, so there will be some additional adjustment there getting it all to hang correctly. Back and shoulders have been a problem in patterns I have tried to far. Until I tried Burda, I have needed an FBA, or a 14/16 combo of sizes. I am still trying to work around the simplest way to accomodate a full bust and narrow back. Maybe Burda will be the answer. I have read somewhere that they are designed for a C cup.

Before heading for bed, I laid out the pattern on some black jacquard that I had originally purchased for my SWAP, but which proved to be the wrong color of black to go with my print. I decided to save the red cotton for an upcoming course on reversible quilted jackets.

Current Clothing UFO's:

One Seam Pants (muslin for possible black pants in SWAP)
Grey Pants (just need hems) - this was a muslin for the green cords in SWAP
Velour tank top (muslin for something in SWAP as yet to be determined)
Black jacquard zip front, short sleeved shirt. (muslin for print shirt in SWAP)

SWAP Planning Merry-Go-Round

2006-11-12T19:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my SWAP blog. Who knows how long I will be able to keep posting and sewing, but right now, it's one way to organize my organization, which is going way more slowly that I expected, and spiraling into various unexpected directions.

I think my SWAP color scheme is almost settled. I've been muddling a lot, changing my mind about which colors are the 'main' ones, and which are 'coordinating;' about whether to include the print as a skirt or not; about which item will be reversible; about whether to try to include a fantastic fur-trimmed vest that I found in a magazine picture.

My plan has been stalled by the notion of a 'theme' or purpose for the collection, even that it should 'be' a collection -- my goodness, what is that! Then there's input from a friend that all jackets cannot be worn with all skirts -- short or long, yet another decision, or maybe more.

My theme is "Clothes for home and neighbouhood." My intention is to spruce up what I wear around the house, shopping for groceries, going to the dentist, heading out for a local lunch or a visit to a friend's house. Nothing fancy, but a little bit more class than my usual baggy pants and T-shirts.

It's good to have family and friends who are willing to be honest, thus I deleted a lovely piece of dupioni purchased from Julie, and a wonderful red cotton from the local quilt shop -- neither of which were quite the right coordinate for my olive greens. I have found it unbelievable how much work (and fun) it is to go through this planning process - far more work than the sewing I think. I've never had any fashion sense, and it sure shows now as I struggle with colors and textures and patterns.

Hopefully, I will not change my mind on the following:

Olive green corduroy pants
Ecru linen pants
Olive green faux suede skirt
Skirt from my floral print, a red/black/olive/taupe poplin
One of these skirts reversible with plain black poly/viscose

Red wool crepe jean jacket interlined lined with my print

Black velour, 3/4 sleeve knit cross-over top
Ecru linen, zip-front short sleeved shirt
Print top from main print

As yet undecided:

Taupe knit top
Ecru long sleeved drapy blouse
??? another jacket?; the cool embellished vest? a muted green something-or-other?

Obviously I still need at least one more trip to the fabric store.

Soon I will be revising my story-board, and adding pattern info. The original version is at www.kodakgallery.com/bettyfleet in the Sewing album.