Great basic - grey flannel trousers
24 January 2012, 15:03As I mentioned last week, I got gifted some wonderful grey flannel from Claire (however did she know I like grey? ha!). It’s so soft and lovely that initially I thought it should become a dress, but then realised I’m likely to get much more wear out of a really chic, comfortable pair of dress trousers.
I had just received the January edition of Burda magazine and so these jumped out at me – #122 (also now available as a pdf download if you missed this issue).
There’s nothing particularly earth-shattering about this design, but I just thought it looked nicely versatile, and something I could wear to business meetings as well as just team with a teeshirt if I fancied it. These also have the illustrated instructions for this issue, but I could sew trousers blindfolded by this point, so the instructions didn’t make much difference to me.
I did notice, however, that they do the particularly dumb construction technique of tucking one leg inside the other and sewing the crotch seam last – this makes NO SENSE to me, as it means you can’t check the fit until you’re 95% done. Whereas if you do the outer seams last, you can pin and adjust the fit in the thighs and hip before you sew it up…
These photos were taken after sitting in a car, then sitting through a big Sunday roast so there are more wrinkles here than I usually have! The fit on these feels a bit closer than with most Burda trouser patterns I’ve sewn, but it also might just be because I haven’t sewn trousers in a non-stretch fabric in a while.
The silk blouse is a favourite I made for my birthday last year! I only tucked it in so severely so you could see the waistband – I had it pulled out in real life…
The only real change I made was to add 11+ cm onto the hem so they’re full length rather than the awkward “ankle length” of the original pattern… The finished length feels just about right to me.
The back is really plain, just with two darts. I thought about adding back welt pockets, then realised I was highly unlikely to ever put anything in them, and so I took the lazy option.
There’s a fly-front here, and the waistband fastens with a trouser hook so there’s no exposed button or buttonhole. I always think this makes the trousers a bit dressier than those with a button…
And, as I said before, the pockets, fly underlap, and waistband lining are all done in the pale green silk leftover from my Ruby Slip.
The pockets feel wonderful to slip my hands into!
I was hoping to pair these with the Manequim sweater in this photoshoot, but we did too much work on the boat this weekend (we built a wall, plumbed in a new water tank, fixed a sink, plus going to dinner at the inlaws, a rare trip to the supermarket, and I ran 12km in there, too) so I’ve only just finished the Manequim sweater now. You’ll have to wait for a weekend photoshoot to see them together…
tags: burda-style, bwof, trousersComment [5]
Morphing the Manequim sweater pattern to my size
20 January 2012, 13:56If you remember from earlier in the week, my next project is to make this collared sweater from the June 2011 Manequim magazine:
Since the pattern is only in one size, “Small”, my strategy was to take an existing long sleeved teeshirt pattern that I know fits me well, trace that, then trace the neckline area from the Manequim pattern overlaid onto it and morph the two together. For simplicity’s sake, I wanted to keep the collar piece as unaltered as possible.
Here’s that wonderful diagram again showing how the Manequim pattern fits together, so we all have an idea in our head of what we’re aiming towards:
While overlaying the Manequim pattern onto mine, I wasn’t quite sure what I should use as the “frame of reference” to align the two patterns together – should I use the Centre Front & Centre Back? Or the shoulder seam/armscye corner?
In the end, it turned out that sorting out the Back first was the key to making the bigger changes on the Front piece work, since the Back of my teeshirt and the Back of this pattern were much more similar.
I’ve shaded my final pattern shapes in blue here to try to make it clearer. The original teeshirt pattern is (mostly) at the cut edge of the paper. Ignore the red lines – they were misaligned tracings!
First, I placed mark 1 at the shoulder/armscyce corner, then measured the distance between 1 and 2 on the Manequim pattern and placed it the same distance apart on my pattern. Then I measured the distance between 2 and the corner on the collar pattern (I labelled this “a” for my own sanity), and marked this distance on my pattern as the edge of the shoulder seam, also marking this “a”. I then realised that the distance between “a” and the Centre Back (5) was absolutely going to be longer than between “a” and 5 on the collar piece, so I drew a nice neck curve there, measured it (with my Japanese pizza wheel tool), and had to add a bit of length into the collar piece to make it match. C’est la vie.
Addition to the Collar piece…
Having completed the Back piece, I then moved on to the Front, which only has a very short shoulder seam (between marks 1 and 2), because the collar takes up the rest of the width there. This is actually really similar to the shoulder seam on Paco’s Draped collar tunic pattern actually!
So I aligned the shoulder/armscye corners of the Front and Back, and marked that 1 on my Front piece. I then marked 2 at the same point where it matches up with the Back:
On the Front neckline, there’s a mark 3 midway down which shows where the collar overlap stops, so I measured the Collar piece between 2 and 3, and drew a line of the same length on my Front piece. Then I measured the Collar piece between mark 3 and mark 4 (the Centre Front), since I knew that whatever neckline curve I drew on my piece between marks 3 and 4 had to be this same length (unless I changed the Collar piece again, which I didn’t fancy doing).
So with a bit of finagling with my French curves, I got a line that was the same length, though you can see my neckline will be slightly higher and wider than the Manequim pattern, but I’m thinking that shouldn’t be a big deal.
Here’s the pattern pieces again:
I did all of the above on Wednesday night, but I also went and traced that Burda February dress at the same time. You may have seen me tweet about it at the time, but this was a total beast to trace. I must’ve traced at least a hundred Burda patterns in my day, but following red lines printed over pink shaded areas was really tough, even for me. If you don’t normally trace your patterns with the pattern paper on top, you may want to make an exception for this one!
And finally, a link for your Friday afternoon – I’m totally fascinated by this interactive analysis of US and UK high street clothing brand sizes! Give it your measurements, and it’ll show you how you correspond to various brands’ sizes. Though I found it kinda unnerving that my exact measurements were the default! Am I really Ms Average??
tags: drafting, manequimComment [7]
KnipMode January 2012
19 January 2012, 14:39I’m totally bored with this issue, so I apologise for going through the motions here. KnipMode have really taken a turn for the dull over the past few months, as far as I’m concerned, and this issue really just highlights what’s wrong with the new leadership at the magazine.
This issue is almost entirely comprised of “mix & match” garments – if you’re familiar with the Simplicity Project Runway patterns, then it’s the same concept here: choose a bodice, choose a collar, choose a sleeve, etc, and put together the garment you prefer. In principle, this is a great thing, and I’ve been enthusiastic when they’ve done this with cocktail dresses and blouses in the past.
The problem here is that every single one of these garments is b-o-r-i-n-g to start with, so choosing between several boring customisation options just doesn’t make it any better. It’s like someone at the top heard the concept was popular with readers, but didn’t actually go so far as to make sure the underlying patterns were desirable before running away with the concept…
Case in point – the jackets. I’m not particularly a jacket person anyway, but I swear KnipMode have already published princess seamed jacket patterns for every single one of these variations in the past six months anyway. And the sleeves – changing the length is NOT a variation, as far as I’m concerned. I mean, why aren’t they changing the sleeve cap to gathered, or making one a wide cape sleeve, or a cap sleeve on one or something?? There’s so much you could be changing here but they’ve just missed the opportunity.
Dresses – again, those bodices and skirts are just not different enough. This is the same freaking dress across all the options.
Trousers. These are all wide-legged trousers, and tucking them in at the ankle does not hide the fact that it’s the same damn trousers pattern over and over again! Seriously, there was way more variation in their January 2011 “Trouserpalooza” issue than in this.
Complaining is really hard work. I’m just going to post the rest of the mixes and let you fill in the rant.
The only part of the magazine that wasn’t mix & match was the “Take 5” feature, where they show a pattern made up in five different fabrics. But I’m not even fond of the top or skirt here, bah.
In fact, the only reason to buy this issue is to get the enormous, fold-out, poster of all the tech drawings from 2011 (this scan is just a very small portion of it)
They started this in 2010 and it’s a really useful reference – already I’ve seen some patterns from early 2011 that I’d forgotten about, and it’s nice to see everything categorised by garment type rather than issue.
My subscription still has about 7 or 8 months left, so I still hold out hope that KnipMode can turn things around the way Burda did at the end of 2011 after an entire year of “Blah”. I mean, the February 2012 issue is amaaaaaaazing!
UPDATE: My February Knip just arrived this week, after writing this post but before it went live. February’s issue is a little better, thankfully.
tags: knipmode, magazineComment [6]
Upcoming January sewing
17 January 2012, 14:36I’ve finally emerged from the craptacular flu (which then turned into bronchitis) that I’ve been under since Dec 28 – thank you for all your well wishes! For me, it really feels like the new year, 16 days late!
The Ruby Slip was my first garment of 2012, but my second and third aren’t far away…
Grey flannel trousers
Just before Christmas, I met up with Claire for lunch and she gifted me a massive length of wonderful dark grey flannel. It’s so soft and lovely that initially I thought a dress, but then realised I’m likely to get much more wear out of a really chic, comfortable pair of dress trousers. So on Friday night I traced and cut Burda Jan 12 #122, mostly because the issue was handy, but also because they looked to be a great basic. These have the illustrated instructions for this issue, but I could sew trousers blindfolded by this point, so the instructions didn’t make much difference to me.
I sewed this on and off over the weekend and nearly completed these despite hardly being at home. As a nice tie-in to my previous garment, the pockets, fly underlap, and waistband lining are all done in the pale green silk leftover from my Ruby Slip.
These are finished apart from the hem – I added 11+ cm onto these to be full length rather than “my god my ankles are cold” like the original pattern…
Manequim sweater
Mentally, I’m already on my next garment – the collared sweater from the June 2011 Manequim magazine:
The pattern is only offered in size “Small” (whatever that is, I doubt it’s me!), so I’m going to trace the collar piece and the neckline shape, and morph these onto a standard long sleeved teeshirt pattern (either my KnipMode one or BurdaStyle’s Lydia, whichever traced pattern I find first).
Happily, last year there was a discussion thread about this pattern on PR, during which there was a lot of discussion about its construction. User aonori made this super useful diagram, which really gives me an “Ah-ha!” moment for how the collar goes together:
I’ve got some awesome ex-Versace sweater knit from Ditto in Brighton that I’ve been wanting to sew since I bought it last winter, but it’s really narrow so everything else I’ve tried hasn’t fit on my 2m piece. I did a preliminary, pre-tracing layout and it looks good for this, though.
(No, I’m not sick of grey yet, thankyouverymuch!)
February Burda dress
And finally, like a ton of other sewing ladies, I am head over heels in love with this dress from the February 2012 Burda magazine. My issue arrived this weekend and I want it even more now. LOVE. Because I’m trying not to buy more fabric, I’ll be making it (probably) in some royal blue viscose jersey from my stash (also from Ditto), though temptation to buy some nice ponti roma from Tia Knight is strong!
PS: A big hello to my granddad, who’s learning to use the internet for the first time and apparently checks FehrTrade every day. Hi Pop!
tags: bosco, bwof, dress, knit, manequim, trousersComment [9]
Manequim November, December 2011 and January 2012
16 January 2012, 15:17I’ve got a bumper stack of Manequim magazines to show you! A few turned around the same time in December due to the holiday post office disruption, and then the summer styles didn’t really inspire me to review these right away, and then the flu struck me down for a full fortnight… but it means you get to see a bunch of Brazilian summer fashions all at once!
There actually should’ve been a fourth issue here, too, but the other November issue (629) never turned up, and was presumably lost in the post. Bummer. I don’t really understand why Manequim always do two issues in November, but it seems that this one was lost for a lot of people – when I requested a replacement, they didn’t have any more in stock, so my subscription was extended instead. I’ve since seen that Melissa‘s copy of this issue was also lost but turned up months later, so I still live in hope! In any case, if you want to see photos, you’ll have to check out her review…
November 2011 (630)
I quite like this teeshirt with the draped hem, though I have no idea why they decided to hide its defining aspect by tucking it in…
I really like the cut of this relaxed tee, especially the shoulder seaming, but I’d love to see this in an unexpected fabric, like a silk crepe or linen instead of the usual jersey.
Manequim and Patrones tend to produce a fair amount of bikini patterns each year, but I hardly ever see interesting one-piece patterns – I really like the gathered detail on the straps here, though I think most women would want to raise the neckline a bit.
And finally, I really like the asymmetric mesh insert on this otherwise basic teeshirt pattern – it’d be a great use for swiss dot or stretch lace, too (like I’m so fond of!).
December 2011 (631)
The way the model is standing pulls this sheath dress in a rather distorted way, but I like the sleek lines in the tech drawing.
If it were hot and summery here now, I’d be all over this floaty, chiffon top with its cute ruffle sleeves…
These look like a great pair of basic trousers – I’ve not tried any of Manequim’s trouser patterns yet, but the fact that this one is multi-sized is a big plus, especially for anyone who’s different sizes at the waist and hips!
Speaking of Plus, the larger ladies get some amazing evening gowns in this issue, and omg one of them is actually a free download, too!
January 2012 (632)
This issue is actually my favourite of the three!
In the “Inspired by soap stars” section, I rather like this Grecian-styled draped dress, and unlike a lot of maxidresses, I think this one could be shortened without ruining the look.
I really like the tech drawing for this little blue sheath dress. The feature was entirely miniskirts, but it’d be really easy to extend the hemline on this to add some extra coverage. I mean, how many of us really like our cheeks bare when we sit down? (if you’re keeping track, I’m in the “Not me!” camp!)
The Designer inspiration this month is Celine, and I quite liked the linear colourblocking on this top, though the sleeves/bands remind me a lot of the original sleeves on the Burda September cover dress (which I made twice and loved, but I never used the sleeve flap/bands).
This skirt remind me a lot of the La Mia Boutique pleated skirt I made last year – it’s even got pockets hidden in some of the pleats, too! The main difference here is that the front is open, though, but it’d probably give more walking ease than my LMB skirt.
This one-shoulder dress is by far my favourite pattern in all these magazines! I absolutely love the way the back extends over and the pleating and overlay hide the seam. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the dress is is the same muted, pale gold colour as my high school prom dress, either! This is only available in a 40, but it would be pretty straightforward to morph the shoulder detail onto a size 44 dress elsewhere in my magazine archive, even adding a standard strap to the other side if I wanted!
And finally, this blue top doesn’t look like much until you check out the tech drawing – the sleeves are ever-so-slightly different, but I think it’d be enough to really dress up your average pair of jeans.
Phew! That was a lot of Manequim! Next up, I’ve got some updates on garments, both in-progress and coming up, plus a quick rundown on the January KnipMode.
tags: magazine, manequimComment [3]
A seafoam green Ruby Slip (and matching panties)
11 January 2012, 14:03The Ruby Slip is a free pdf pattern and comprehensive set of tutorials over at Pattern Scissors Cloth, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was just the most perfect pattern ever for me and I had to sew it ASAP!
I had 2m of seafoam green silk in my stash that I’d bought at Bhopal Fabric on Brick Lane over the summer (at £6/m), so I took a swatch of that along with me to MacCulloch and Wallis just before Christmas to buy lace specifically for this. Their lace selection isn’t great, but I totally fell in love with this stretch lace, made up of seafoam green, grey, and brick-red flowers, and it was the required 18cm for the pattern. It was pretty eye wateringly-expensive at £14/m, but I ended up with a silk matching lingerie set for £40 exactly, so I think the economics of my decision were sound.
Sherry has done an incredible job going through all the ins and outs of lace cutting, bias silk sewing, how to do an FBA, etc, but I did get a surprise when I found that 18cm lace is not wide enough for the side front:
Since I went out and bought the lace specifically for this, I was a little annoyed, but I was also feeling flu-ish so I sat down with my copy of Bridal Couture and hand-pieced some lace from my scraps to make up the missing corner. It involved a ton of tiny hand stitches in both seafoam and brick to get everything to match seamlessly, but I’m pleased with the end result (she’s since posted some ways of dealing with narrow lace).
I also wanted to demonstrate how much you need to pay attention which cutting lace. I was paying heed to all of the scallops in order to get them in join up nicely at the seams, but I totally didn’t see that my motif was off at first. Happily, I had enough to re-cut that piece to have a nicer join over the seam (seen on the right).
Right, all that aside, and let’s see some finished photos! But, er, not modeled on me since there’s see-through lace and I’m not an exhibitionist. So you’ll just have to take my word that I squealed with delight when I first tried this on, because the fit is just perfect! The bias skirt really just hugs my curves without being tight, and everything just fits like it was meant to be. I made the “short” version, and the hem lies about 3-4 inches above the knee, which is perfect for me.
I had a bit of bias silk tube left over after I cut my straps down to size, so I tied these into two little bows and attached them as motifs on the centre front of the slip and panties. Oh, and I chose to have a centre front seam in my bodice rather than a crossover because I really liked the symmetry of my lace in the front. I probably wouldn’t have thought of this as an option had she not mentioned it in this post on variations on the pattern.
Throughout all of the tutorials, Sherry suggests using a serger/overlocker to finish the seams, but mine is threaded black and I really am that lazy to not want to rethread it just for this. So I finished my lace seams by trimming the allowances down, pressing to the side and narrowly topstitching. On the skirt, since it’s cut on the bias, there’s really no need to finish these at all since they won’t fray, so I just pressed the allowances open after letting the skirt hang for the requisite three days. On the lace/silk joining seam, I trimmed the seam allowances and pressed them toward the skirt, then topstitched on the silk to keep them from showing through the lace.
As alluded to earlier, I had some leftover lace and silk, so I made a pair of matching panties. Because I can!
I used my general TNT/go-to/whatever KnipMode thong pattern, but deleted the height of the lace (9cm, because I used one half for the back and the mirror edge for the front) from the pattern and made the rest in the silk. It was just a total stroke of good luck that I happened to have silver lingerie elastic in my stash that matched the grey in the lace fairly well…
In any case, if it’s not obvious – I totally love this pattern! So yeah, go and download it and make some luscious lingerie for yourself, okay? You deserve it!
tags: lace, lingerie, silkComment [20]
The silk chiffon maternity maxi gown
9 January 2012, 13:10I finished Holly’s silk gown on New Year’s Eve, so this is officially my last project from 2011. If you recall, it’s Burda 08/2008 #125 and is one of the designer maternity patterns from this issue (and in my opinion – a really nice maxi dress whether you’re pregnant or not!).
We muslined the bodice portion of this (minus the drape pieces) back before Christmas, and made a few changes: taking a few tucks out of the neckline here and there, and increasing the bust space on the standard size 44.
I totally missed the chance to finish this for her Boxing Day birthday, but I figured I’d be still in time for any January parties before the birth in late January, and we were even scheduled to go over for dinner last Friday, where I was going to bring the dress along and sew up the hem on my little red machine after we ate (the hem is just raw here, as I can’t do that without her wearing it).
Only she gave birth early, on the morning we were supposed to meet! It’s a good thing this dress is not obviously a maternity dress, and I think it’ll still look really good on her for the next few months at the very least.
She picked out the most exquisite dark purple silk chiffon from Ditto Fabrics for this dress, and it’s entirely lined in black silk satin (charmeuse), which means it just flows and drapes like an ethereal dream. It was my first experience sewing silk chiffon, and I was expecting it to be a PITA, but it was surprisingly well behaved. The narrow hem edges on all five drape pieces took a while, but it took a crease nicely and didn’t shift which sewing. Even the invisible zipper in back was easy to install since I cut the Centre Back pieces on the selvedge to avoid fraying. I treated the lining and chiffon as one at the zipper (since the chiffon didn’t seem stable enough to support the zip on its own) and then completed the centre back seams separately further down.
To be honest, the hardest part of this entire pattern was dealing with the ginormous skirt pieces. I mused on twitter during the process that sewing the skirt felt like sewing curtains! The skirt pieces were far too big for me to cut at home, too, so I brought them into the office while everything was quiet over the holidays and cut them out on the big lunch table there!
I hope to eventually get photos of Holly wearing this to show you, but until then, I thought I’d just get these on my dressform before I forgot all the details. And since we can’t go see the new baby until we’re both over this *#&%^% flu, it might be a while…
PS: Why is it that there was no wind at all until I went to photograph a wispy maxi dress outside??
tags: bwof, dress, maternity, silkComment [7]
My Colette Clover jeans
8 January 2012, 17:34A few months ago, I went and sewed up the Clover trouser pattern for the first time, in dark green sateen. Having fixed the zipper (my own mistake), I realised that I love the great fit of these trousers, but they’d be even better with traditional pockets and a front fly more like jeans… in fact, I’d actually just like some Clover jeans.
So that’s exactly what I did!
I first altered the pattern to create the front pockets (and I extended the pocket lining piece to the centre front to make a “gut slimming” panel), add a fly-front, and extend front waistband to match the fly underlap. I also added back pockets and belt loops off another jeans pattern. I didn’t bother to draft a back yoke as I actually prefer the look of jeans without them, and the back darts just disappear into the pockets anyway.
This stretch denim is ex-designer from Ditto Fabrics and it’s the exact same stuff I used in these designer jeans (I loved it so much I bought more). The pocket linings and waistband facings are fun Spoonflower cotton prints – Rainy Day Doodles for the pocket linings and fly underlap, and foxes for the inner waistband (the latter by my mate Galia!).
As per usual, I topstitched with bronze Gutermann upholstery thread (not “topstitching” thread!!) using my vintage handcrank Singer, because it is the best machine EVER for topstitching. And I used my awesome vintage buttonholer attachment to make the keyhole buttonhole, too. (Seriously, I linked to a LOAD of jeans-sewing information back in this post if you’re hungry for more)
I used the same metal zipper with pull from Walthamstow market I used on my Jalie jeans, plus an all-metal button (no plastic shank here!) and rivets from Junior. You can read my earlier tutorial on installing jeans rivets here.
K-Line was musing recently on how to topstitch jeans leg seams without everything bunching up in the machine, and my answer to her was to throw away the pattern instructions that say to insert one leg into the other and sew the crotch as the last step. I always sew my trousers in Fashion-Incubator’s “Order for sewing pants” (Sew the CF, then CB seams, then the inseam, then the outer leg seams, and finally attach the waistband) – it means you topstitch the inseam while everything’s nice and flat. In any case, I thought it was a good question and one that I’m sure others are wondering, too.
I’m not sure entirely why (maybe the denim is stretchier?) but the fit on these is a bit looser than my previous dark green staeen pair. You can definitely see this in the back of my thighs, but they’re also a bit loose around my waist, and around my hips when I sit. I don’t think I’ve lost that much weight, anyway, so it’s probably just an increased Lycra content in this fabric.
Oh, and about the black shirt in these photos – that could be an entire post unto itself, but the short version is that it’s a self-drafted, lined silk jersey top made as part of an assembly line back in 2009. It was a journey of self-discovery wherein I discovered that sewing the same item multiple times bores me to tears and that’s why I only just did the hems on this one a few weeks ago. The other 4 still just need hemming, but I don’t know if I can be bothered to sell them after all this. Family, you may get presents…
One last photo for you, since it amused me so much to get attention from the London fire bridgade boat!
Comment [23]
Patrones 309 & 9
5 January 2012, 13:52Happily, I got a chance to catch up on my magazine scanning over the holidays (expect to see a boat-load of Manequims and a rather boring KnipMode as well), so I can finally show you some highlights from the two Patrones issues my inlaws very kindly picked up for me while they were holidaying in Spain at the end of last year.
First up is a new(ish) issue, full of fall and winter fashions!
Patrones 309
I think this Cos coat is really interesting, though with it open on the model and a vague tech drawing, I’m not really sure how the finished coat would look. I mean, I like asymmetry, but does this mean one thigh would always be cold?
I love the cut of this motorcycle jacket and mixing the leather and tweed together like this, but omg did they have to use just a cheap and nasty pleather here? I can practically smell the petrochemicals from here, and the sleeves just make me want to cry! Still, how nice would this be in good leather?
There was a pretty funny feature in this issue with rainwear, though on closer inspection it was mostly trenchcoats (I’ve got too many patterns for already!) and capes/ponchos (bleck), but I rather liked this traditional, hooded raincoat.
And finally, there were a lot of great pencil skirts in this issue, but my favourites were these two, which I could equally see myself wearing!
Patrones 9
This is one of the “greatest hits” issues which reprints patterns from earlier issues.
It’s difficult to see in the photo since they used black fabric, but the tech drawing here shows this little sheath dress has some amazing angular seaming in the front. I can see this would be so flattering, and can you imagine how lovely this would be if you did an ombre effect with slightly different shades of fabric for each piece? (Shame the “coffin back” is so boring, though, but that could be easily fixed by extending those seam lines around…)
File under: Things I’ll never sew, nor wear, but just like to admire.
Whereas this is something I have made, holy crap! Look, they’ve reprinted the Toypes top I made in purple silk back in 2008! (back then Patrones could name the designers…)
Now this is probably my favourite design of both issues – I just adore the draped insert panel here, plus the weird pleating. I’ve shown the pattern pieces here as well because I found them really interesting, and not at all obvious from the tech drawing or photo.
And finally, just for a laugh, I had to include one photo from this awful, stereotypical 90s Versace-style photoshoot. That hair! That makeup! The excess! You can almost be forgiven for overlooking the rather classic coat pattern hiding under all that…
Comment [3]
Draped collar winter warmer
4 January 2012, 14:53Paco Peralta is a Spanish couturier who has recently started making some of his designs available to buy as patterns. Late last year I purchased his “Draped Collar Tunic” pattern when he was having a special offer, and I’m so glad I found time to sew it already!
It’s an oversized, hip-length tunic with dropped shoulder and large, draping collar. All his patterns are hand-traced by him, with Spanish and English markings on the pattern tissue, but no included instructions – he’s got good photo instructions for this pattern on his blog though. I made size Medium here according to my measurements, though I could’ve easily gone done to a Small, as there’s a lot of ease in this style.
Bonus – All Paco’s patterns are 10% off right now with the coupon code here!
(Sorry, there’s no tech drawing provided and I’m too lazy to draw one!)
I had a 80% wool / 20% polyester purple sweater knit I bought at Ditto in Brighton last winter that was SO lush and soft and I just had to use it for this! Funny that Tany also chose to make this in a sweater knit, though she lengthened hers into a dress!
Could this be the most perfect, comfy winter loungewear? As it turns out, I caught the flu last week (well, it was still a “cold” when I took these photos), so I’m in need of warm slouchies right now! Apologies for not answering as many comments as I’d like while I recover…
But alas, the 2m of sweater knit I had bought was nowhere near enough fabric for this pattern! I was too pig-headed not to use it, so I introduced a back seam, and also had to seam the sleeves in order to “make it work”. In hindsight I could’ve lopped some length off the body instead, and probably would’ve only had to piece the sleeves once. But my main objective was to not mess with the collar piece at all, and for that, I feel I made the right decision.
The main attraction of this pattern is the big, floppy collar. The pattern piece is deceptively simple-looking but is actually beautifully drafted with lots of nice curves that make it fall beautifully:
Here you can see the dropped sleeve seam, plus my two additional seams further down towards the wrist:
This pattern is for wovens or knits – the only difference is that the collar is cut on the bias in non-stretch fabrics. Since my knit is very stretchy and quite thick, I must say that I didn’t do a very good job stabilising or getting the differential feed 100% correct here – I can see lots of waviness in these photos that wasn’t apparent in real life.
So I thought I’d distract you with photos of our big, lumbering famous neighbour!
Next up: Photos of my Clover jeans (which you can partly see in these photos), which were also sewn before New Year’s…
tags: knit, paco-peralta, woolComment [8]