In Progress
Two duds in a row
4 July 2008, 16:04It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a pattern that just did not work for me at all, but strangely, I’ve just had two in a row that I’m giving up on entirely.
I fell in love with the chic styling of the Hot Patterns Monaco Top – the slit opening, the slim lines, the angular bib, the pieced bottom, and all sweetened by the cute gathered sleeves. At least, that’s what I thought the pattern was for…
I should have really listened to the earlier reviewer of this pattern (who also didn’t make it past the muslin stage) and just cut my $18.50 losses and run far, far away.
I’d sewn up Hot Patterns’ Nairobi bag loads (it’s my go-to handbag pattern!) but I’d never sewn one of their envelope patterns before, so I wisely opted to sew a muslin for this to check the fit. So please excuse the busy print on the bedsheet and my Sharpie marker points, as this is the muslin in the photos.
oh my.
Things wrong with this pattern:
- The 3 bust points (two darts and a corner of the bib) form an AWFUL bust space that’s both floppy, pointy, and flat all at once. It’s deeply unflattering, and completely different than the technical line drawing suggests. I cannot stress how enough awful this bust shape is! If you can image a step pyramid or mesa mountain made of tissue paper on a windy day, then you’re halfway there.
- The hems at the side seams are different lengths. I double checked this, and for size 12, they’re off by about an inch. I couldn’t see anything in the instructions about easing the side seam, either (which would be strange in itself…).
- The sleeves are only long enough to stretch the whole way around the armscye and still meet the shoulder point if the back of the sleeve isn’t gathered at all. Even if you make it a cap sleeve and leave the underarm open, the gathering is really uneven between the front and back to get the marks to align properly.
- The overall fit is really baggy in order to make it fit over your head without a zipper, but this styling really needs a closer fit and a zipper to make it flattering (everything else nonwithstanding)
End conclusion: I’d be better off drafting this from scratch than to correct all these problems, which is a shame, because I love the style in the drawing. The drawing just has very little to do with the pattern, as it turns out. I’ll be using the earmarked blue stretch poplin in the Summer 08 sewing plan for another pattern since it’s already prewashed and ready to go.
Next up was the BWOF tulip skirt (05/08 #108) made from the rest of the white coating fabric I used to make this Simplicity jacket. The pleats went in nicely (though mine are mirrored to the magazine due to one-sided fabric and the constraints of using scraps), the fit was spot on – I even added a lining and introduced a centre back seam in order to add a walking pleat. It was all going really well right up until the point I removed the pleats’ basting stitches and put on the finished skirt and actually tried to walk in it.
And then I realised that this skirt only looks good if you don’t move. Or breathe. Or let the wind blow. Frankly, blinking your eyes is a bit much for this skirt, and the pleats go funny and bulbous and the hem flips out and it all goes very wrong indeed.
We actually took more photos of me looking unhappy and doing some “I’m holding my breath and not moving and possibly also a little teapot, short and stout” poses but frankly, I’m not sure this skirt deserves more than one photo. This is a skirt designed only for a model’s photoshoot. No action shots possible here, I’m just trying desperately not to upset the pleats and fixing it between nearly every shot. Which is 100% incompatible with my life, and so to the ash pile of history this tulip skirt goes!
I’ve just had two dismal pattern failures, both in wovens, and so I’m declaring the rest of July to be a knit-only zone (with the exception of any work on the the winter coat, which I’ve just finished a second muslin for). I shall be putting my new overlocker through its paces, sewing up tons of teeshirts, dresses, and activewear, in an attempt to rid myself of this terrible sewing bugbear….
Tags: bwof, hot-patterns, skirt, topComment [8]
Been up to...
19 June 2008, 11:54Phew! It’s been a very busy week, both in my sewing room and elsewhere on the boat. Parties, film nights, more deck grinding, music selection for a friend’s wedding, gardening, broken water pumps, gifts, muslins, and BIG shopping, but to name a few!
The deadline for the finished instructions and my bio for the “Pillowcase Challenge” book were also due this week, so I devoted a big chunk of Sunday to getting that perfect, and then the rest of the weekend was spent making a twin blue KnipMode shirt for my mom:
She wanted short sleeves and I added a bit of width in places, but other than that, it’s a spitting image of my original… It’s already on its way to her so hopefully I’ll get a photoshoot as nice as the Christmas one in due course (hint, hint!).
I also stole a bit of time to trace some of my upcoming summer sewing patterns (I need to buy more craft paper for tracing patterns very soon!), and in short, ten minute snatches of time before work and after dinner, I’ve been able to sew together most of the BWOF tulip skirt.
My folds go in the opposite direction due to constraints of working with leftover fabric, but unless you have the magazine, you’re not going to know that anyway! I’m just waiting on my invisible zipper to arrive before I can sew up the centre back seam (which I created so I could have a walking slit) and attach the waistband. If I actually had a spare chunk of a few hours, it’d be done by now – it’s a really quick skirt to throw together once you get past the origami front panel! So if you’re looking for something to sew up for Stacy’s skirt sewalong, then this could be a great choice!
And speaking of sewalongs, if you’re involved with the Great Coat Sewalong (currently closed), you’ll have already seen that I’ve sewn up my (first) muslin of my winter coat. Thank god for the expert advice over there, though, because I’ve got so many alterations to do on this! The waistline’s too low, there isn’t anywhere near enough ease to wear thick sweaters underneath, nor enough room for shoulder pads, and the chest pulls when I move my arms. And stylistically, I’ve realised I can’t shove my hands into the flap pockets, so I’m changing those to be in-seam pockets instead.
So I’ve got my plate full of unpicking and letting out seams, slicing and spreading, and folding and tucking to hopefully get a much better fit before I cut into my beautiful wool! I don’t normally have to do any alterations beyond taking in the waist or letting out the hips a half inch or so, so all these changes are making my head spin! It’s really great to have so much help with the fitting – I’m really looking forward to seeing the end result already!
My upcoming sewing for this weekend depends largely on what the postman brings – I’ve got my aforementioned invisible zipper and other bits of haberdashery coming, plus June and July’s KnipMode magazines (June has a swimsuit pattern TO DIE FOR!), and my big purchase I’m giddily awaiting by courier tomorrow…
Tags: book, bwof, coat, knipmode, s08, shopping, skirtComment [1]
Summer Sewing
13 June 2008, 15:48Back in September I laid out my plans for my fall and winter collection, and for the most part, I followed through with the plans (though I did make some midseason changes). This was the first time I attempted to SWAP (sew with a plan), and, while I appreciate the focus it gives me in concentrating on pairing fabrics to patterns and thinking about what my wardrobe needs, I really didn’t enjoy such structured sewing for such a long time. The problem with loving pattern magazines is that you get a constant influx of new patterns that scream “make me now!” and take your attention away from your best laid plans… And if I feel like the sewing is controlling me instead of the other way around, it stops being fun (which is the whole point of all of this!).
So with all those things in mind, I’ve laid out my summer sewing plans. I’m not imposing a strict set of rules on myself, but it’s a way for me to focus a bit more and make the most of some of the fabrics in my stash…
So without further ado, I present, the FehrTrade Summer 08 Collection!
(or click here to open it in a new tab so you can refer back while you read along!)
The tops:
- HotPatterns Weekender Monaco top, sewn in a blue stretch cotton poplin from fabric.com (one of the very few remaining fabrics from last summer’s US fabric glut).
- BurdaStyle Sadie (using the faux-cowl view), sewn in a faux-Pucci print knit from my stash.
- Burda WOF 06/08 #109 sewn in a lilac cotton interlock from Pennine Outdoor
The skirt:
- Burda WOF 05/08 #108 sewn in off-white coating from my stash
The dresses:
- A hybrid of KnipMode 04/08 #13 (top half) and Burda WOF 05/05 #125 (bottom half) sewn in a green and white chestnut print lycra from Crybaby’s Boutique
- Burda 7783 sewn in a silver linen/lurex blend from Hickey’s in Dublin
- Burda WOF 02/08 #103 sewn in olive double knit from fabric.com
So what am I tackling first? Actually…. none of the above (boy, this is a bad start)! This weekend I’m tying up some loose ends and making my mom a matching blue KnipMode twist top and I’m going to tackle the muslin for my BWOF winter coat.
(And for the elephants amongst you, my Patrones Jean Paul Gaultier skirt did not fall into the aether! I wore it once, but I’m not happy with some point-bubbling at the side seams despite three attempts to fix it, so it’s been sat on my dressform since February, thinking about what it’s done…)
Tags: s08Comment [6]
Coat interlining
10 June 2008, 11:54As part of my project to sew my winter coat, I’m finding it tricky to source suitable interlining and lining fabrics here in the UK without resorting to expensive overseas shipping prices.
Following Kay Y’s experience with the 150gsm Thinsulate, I rang up Pennine Outdoor who stock it here in the UK and got their advice on suitable warm interlining fabrics. They stock a huge range of outdoor and sport fabrics, so I spoke to a lovely lady on the phone who helped me through my choices. She ultimately recommended microfleece as the best warm, lightweight, and draping choice for me, but conceded that it wasn’t windproof (but that using a silk twill lining would probably help the wind anyway). The only windproof fabric they stock is very bulky and doesn’t drape nicely, and when I enquired about Meraklon, she said that it was tubular and stretchy and also had a bad drape and that it was more suitable for linings of close-fitting garments.
So my black microfleece arrived (along with a bunch of other fabrics I’ll show off later), and I’ve been doing some experiments to see how it behaves with my wool coating. Holding the fabrics, one in each hand, the microfleece is clearly much, much lighter than the wool. I didn’t have time to dig out my hanging luggage scale, but I’d wager that the 3m of microfleece weighed less than half than the 3m of wool coating. This is good, as I really want the microfleece to add warmth, but not much weight.
I then tried blowing on the fabrics (good thing I was all alone, as I felt a bit silly!) to simulate the wind. With just one layer of the wool, I could clearly feel the “wind” on my hand through the coating, but if I layered the two fabrics together, I could only feel a slight movement of the fabrics on my hand, but not any of the “wind” itself. This is better than I was expecting, frankly, as I’d been told the microfleece isn’t windproof.
And then onto the draping. Because the microfleece is pretty lightweight and thin, it actually drapes very well on its own (MUCH better than the regular fleece I’m used to working with).
For a comparison, here’s the grey wool coating on its own next to the black microfleece on its own. To my eye, they seem to drape to about the same degree. I hung both over my dressform, but I was having problems getting the drape to show up nicely with my phone’s camera in there, but you can see the same effect here.
I then aligned a cut and selvedge edge of the two fabrics and kept the layers together as best I could (luckily both fabrics are a bit “grabby” and like to stick together), then draped these together as one layer. In the next photos, you can see the wool coating with microfleece underneath, draped as one:
Now there’s certainly some loss here with the two layers together, but it’s in no way stiff, and I think for the style coat I’ve chosen, this degree of drape certainly isn’t going to look awkward, especially considering all the warmth and wind-proofing I’m gaining by adding the microfleece as an interlining.
So I’m counting this as a success, and the next step is to make my muslin for this coat and pre-shrink the fabrics (luckily Rosenberg’s ripped the wool so it’s already true to grain at the edges!).
Tags: coat, fleece, woolComment [2]
A wool coat in July?!?
28 May 2008, 12:23I’ve been planning on sewing myself a new winter coat for a while now, and I’ve been lurking on Marji’s Great Coat Sew Along site (currently members-only) for a bit, but after I saw her timeline, I finally realised I can jump right in and sew this alongside all my other summer sewing! So the month of May is where we’ll be gathering supplies, then doing muslin fitting in June, and finally starting the coat construction in July in order to hopefully finish in September.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt confident I could stick to that schedule, and now our boat renovation plans are looking likely to include the demolition of my temporary sewing room in the fall (to make way for our bedrooms and our lounge) so I may not have a place to sew my coat if I delay any longer!
As you know, I’ve already bought my exterior fabric – some gorgeous charcoal grey, 100% wool coating fabric from Rosenberg’s.
I will also soon be buying Thinsulate for my underlining, as soon as payday comes and I can finance all the other fabrics I want from that site alongside it! I’m still undecided on my choice of lining fabric because I’m so tough on the linings of my RTW coats. I’m trying to sew only with natural fibers these days, but I think silk will be far too fragile for me, unless I go for dupioni or silk twill.
As far as my coat needs go, I walk to work about 35 minutes each way every day, and my commute takes me over the very windy Tower Bridge! So I need my coat to be very windproof and warm (which I think the Thinsulate will provide) but also very long so my legs don’t get too cold. I know from experience that the wind goes right through jeans and corduroys, and god help me if I’m wearing a skirt!
Keeping all this in mind, I’ve decided I’m going to sew #102 from September 2005 Burda World of Fashion magazine, though I haven’t decided whether to keep the external buttons or not…
I don’t think I’m too far behind schedule here so hopefully I won’t need to play catchup! I’ll be posting these coat updates simultaneous on the Sew Along blog and here so you can follow along with my progress even if you’re not joining in!
Tags: bwof, coat, woolComment [3]
A shirt, two dresses, and 10,000 meters
27 May 2008, 16:37This past weekend was a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, so technically I got another day though it doesn’t really feel that way! I did manage to get some sewing in amongst the DIY, cleaning, baking, running, and hosting, however. I finally finished James’s linen shirt, and even made myself a new day dress from La Mia Boutique using some of his excess linen/tencel fabric and some raspberry tablecloths…
Unfortunately the weather was just dreadful all weekend so we’ll have to do our photo shoots some night this week!
I didn’t get as far as I wanted on the Prima dress, however, but I did cut out all my fabric pieces using this lovely pale blue linen/cotton weave instead of the vintage duvet cover I had originally planned (which, after careful inspection, had way too many stains to be usable and hence went on the muslin pile). It’s a really simple dress so I’m hoping I’ll be able to sew and press a few seams here and there in the snippets of time I find in my day…
I also had a chance to mend a pocket in one of James’ pairs of jeans (for the second time, argh) and make a top from an awkward “too long for a tunic yet too short for a dress” garment. I even got to play with my new twin stretch needle on its hem, proving that you really CAN teach an old sewing machine new tricks!
And thanks very much to everyone who enquired about yesterday’s 10k – I ran in a constant downpour and it felt like I was standing still with the constant stream of runners overtaking me on the entire route, but I managed to beat my personal best by a whopping two minutes and finished in 51:13!! I haven’t watched the BBC’s coverage yet, but you can see some photos over on our boat blog (and I’ve just found out I’ll be featured on the RNLI’s site in a few days, too!). Hopefully they’ll tweak the starting waves next year so we’ll get to run along those with similar finishing times, but I had a fantastic run despite that and especially despite the worst weather imaginable!
Tags: dress, linen, menswearComment [1]
Hands in many pots
21 May 2008, 11:22I’ve got my hands in so many different projects right, it’s almost hard to keep up with myself!
My first priority was re-creating my piece for the upcoming book, which (as I’ve seen it talked about elsewhere online) I believe I can now reveal is tentatively titled “Pillowcase Challenge” and is all about recycling vintage pillowcases into other items. You’re going to have to wait until next spring to see my creation in the flesh (along with a few other pillowcase-related tutorials I’ve got tucked away), but here’s a teaser of my sample ready to be posted:
Lark Books are actually still seeking submissions for the book in the form of photos of your vintage pillowcase stash, or memories of your childhood pillowcases, though you’ll have to get your skates on if you’re a stasher as the deadline is today!
I’ve also been working on James’s linen shirt a few minutes at a time, still following David Page Coffin’s “Shirtmaking” book to the letter. It’s slow going, but I’ve passed what I thought would be the two biggest hurdles – the sleeve-body seam, and the flat felled side seams. Both required lots of concentration and accurate measuring, but ended up being not nearly as difficult or intimidating as I thought when I read through the directions.
The flat felling foot is an utter lifesaver, though so I can definitely see why he urges buying one. I’m finding I have to really trim the fraying edges of the linen before starting the first sweep of the flat felling, though or I end up with furry seams later on… Ask me how I know!
So now that I’m starting to see the end of this shirt approaching (only another side seam, cuffs, hem, and still-yet-to-be-chosen buttons to go!) I traced off two patterns for my next projects. I swapped my winter wardrobe over for my summer clothes a week or so ago and realised I really need day dresses and skirts, so I’m focusing on the former with my next two patterns.
I’ll be making this La Mia Boutique day dress (#31 from April 08) using the leftover lemon yellow linen/tencel blend for the top half, and some fuschia tablecloths for the bottom. I think I may possibly be channelling Spring colours, or perhaps I’m just craving sorbet.
The other is a cute and very casual shift dress from the May 08 issue of Prima magazine. I don’t think I’ve mentioned Prima much here before, but it’s a UK women’s magazine that features one sewing pattern each issue. If you subscribe you get sent them automatically, but if you pick up an occasional copy at the newsagents like I do, then you need to ring a premium rate number to have it posted to you (it usually works out to a pound or two on your phone bill, which is very reasonable).
Hopefully I’ll be able to finish James’s shirt as well as make up these two dresses over the long weekend, but I’m also running my first 10k on Monday morning so I’m not sure how much energy I’ll have left for sewing that day! I’m running to raise funds for the RNLI (the Royal Lifeboats), so if you’d like to donate, then myself and countless others on UK coastal (and tidal Thames) waters would be forever in your debt.
Tags: book, la-mia-boutique, linen, menswear, primaComment [4]
Collar Me Bad
12 May 2008, 11:41Yesterday was a beautiful, warm and sunny day – I’d already done all my DIY work on Saturday (plus cooked and hosted a three course charity dinner for 5!) so the day was all mine to relax and sew for a change!
I’ve been slowly working on making BurdaStyle’s Jakob pattern in a lemon yellow linen/tencel blend for James, but it’s been slow going because I’ve been trying to unlearn all my bad habits and follow David Page Coffin’s “Shirtmaking” book to the letter. I cannot say enough fabulous things abut this book – really, within 5 pages I knew I could never, ever go back to my old ways. Even if you never sew menswear, it’s still a must buy in my opinion for its techniques in dresses, shirtwaisters and the like.
My only problem, however, is that I was paying a bit too much attention to the book and not enough to what I was actually doing, and after sewing the collar, attaching it to the collar stand, then sewing BOTH sides of the stand to the shirt, I discovered I’d made a really stupid mistake:
It’s an indication of my growing Anglisation that the first words out of my mouth were actually “Bollocking bollocks!!” and not one of my usual repertoire of choice sailor words. So I walked away, had some lunch, and unpicked both of the stitching lines that attached the collar stand to the shirt. I then made sure to press AND BASTE both front facings in before attaching the collar stand again.
I then moved on to the next step in Coffin’s order of construction, attaching the sleeve plackets. BurdaStyle’s pattern only calls for a thinly bound sleeve slit, but I figured since I was doing everything properly this time around, I should just go ahead and make the full sleeve placket, too. So I drafted one based on his instructions and diagrams, and the placket came out beautifully, like magic!
Really, I was just SO pleased with myself for this! I then went on and did the other sleeve, whose placket turned out even neater than the one pictured above. I continued to feel pleased with myself until I pinned the sleeve onto the dressform and realised that somehow I’d done all ten steps of the sleeve placket construction on the wrong side of the sleeve fabric!
So out came the seam ripper AGAIN, and I had to remove all the stitching on the sleeve placket, being incredibly careful around the Y-shaped slit, because linen really doesn’t like being handled on its cut edges. I then flipped the sleeve fabric over and constructed the sleeve placket for the third time (let me tell you, I could do those by heart now!).
At this point I decided that I was clearly a danger to myself and that I should not be behind a sewing machine with my sun-addled brain, so I turned off the machine, unplugged the iron, and headed up to the wheelhouse and read my book, The Tailor’s Daughter, eventually finishing it after a lazy few hours.
The next step in Coffin’s construction is the sleeve-body seam, which he sews in a truly unique way to get that flat-felled look without actually flat-felling it, so I have a feeling I might be in for a bit more seam ripping before the shirt is finished. The funny thing is, I’m still really enjoying this shirt despite all the setbacks (all of my own doing!) and the new techniques I’m learning are going to be so applicable for other projects.
Tags: burda-style, linen, menswearComment [1]
S'Update (Spring Update)
9 May 2008, 12:02I had the day off yesterday, but I did not sew a single stitch. Yes, I am feeling okay, but I was looking a bit green yesterday…
This week I’ve been mostly busying myself with gathering materials for future projects. I ordered some gorgeous charcoal grey, 100% wool coating fabric from Rosenberg’s (they’ve got lots more fabric than what’s listed on the site!) which will be made into a new, long overcoat for next winter (I doubt I’ll be ready in time for Marji’s coat sew along, sadly!):
In looking for suitable outdoor waterproof and fade-resistent fabrics for the boat, I came across a UK Thinsulate supplier so I will have the warmest underlined coat ever! I’m still undecided on the lining fabric, but I know I’m really rough on my RTW coat linings, so I think silk will be too fragile and snag-prone. Anyone have any suggestions for hard-wearing, slippery lining fabrics? I’m trying to stay on the side of natural fibers these days, but I think the use of Thinsulate throws that out the window anyway!
Oh and remember that secret project I was working on a few weeks ago? Well, I’m very happy to report that my work was on a few submissions for an upcoming book, and one was accepted! I’m going to be published!! So I think I’m going to save the other two projects and post them here as tutorials around the book’s release next Spring, but I don’t want to give too many details until everything’s signed, sealed, and delivered. No need to jinx it all, you see… So if I’m quiet for the next few weeks, you can bet I’m putting all my sewing energy into meeting that deadline, with occasional forays into James’s yellow linen shirt, which is proving to be quite a good project to sew ten minutes at a time (ten minutes isn’t enough to become frustrated!).
Tags: shopping, woolComment [4]
A Walking Advertisement
21 April 2008, 16:19I was out all day Saturday hiking near Guildford with our monthly walking group, but a friend staying at ours said it snowed back in London. Ugh. It’s still too cold to wear either the silk blouse or the ikea skirt apart from their hurried photoshoots, so of course I’m sewing practical winter clothes to suit the weather…
Ha! Gotcha! No, I’m sewing a sleeveless, cotton halter-top dress, out of this vintage Porsche duvet I bought on eBay:
I left a friend’s birthday drinks early on Sunday so I could have some downtime in the evening (if I’m away all weekend, I just don’t feel like I’ve had a weekend at all and I get cranky), and I made great progress on the dress, finishing the bodice:
First reaction: Wow, I’m glad I took my time with the fabric placement! Second reaction: Wow, Susan (my dress form) looks stacked! This may turn out to be the Wonderbra of dresses…
It’s completely lined (with a plain white cotton bedsheet!), so I actually won’t need to wear a bra at all, which is great considering the open back, and I added lots of boning in the front midriff to match the boning in the back. I’ve just got to add the skirt pieces, the back zipper, and hem, but it may take a few evenings and mornings of accumulated sewing time to get that far. And I’m running out of hope that I’ll ever get to wear this before August at this rate! If you’ve got warm weather where you are, could you please send some our way? I should start a warmth fundraising appeal, as we Londoners are definitely in a warmth drought, situation critical!
Tags: boning, dress, recycled, simplicity, vintageComment [7]