Donna Karan Cape - Day 3

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 Vogue 2924 - Beginning

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

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.