Challenge 6 - Judges's Choice

Using the fabric the judges selected for us, we were challenged to make a unique garment and work with a material we may not have used before.

The fabric was in the judges words “ a pretty chiffon panel print” My description is “polyester chiffon, stripes in 1980’s colors of muted forest green, mauvey pink, milk chocolate brown with a border. I believe the challenge was to work with chiffon, which can be difficult. For me this challenge was the fabric print.



Challenge Fabric

Immediate ideas for garments were a maxi dress, or beach type cover-up, neither of which I would wear So I asked myself what to I like to wear in silk chiffon and one of the answers was thigh length, body skimming tunics, over cami's and skinny pants. They make me feel elegant, lean, and covered up at the same time. So I went looking for a tunic pattern that would somehow use the border. After much internet searching and looking through back issues of all my pattern magazines, I found the one that inspired me, that motivated me to move beyond my dislike of the fabric. It was in issue 154, (2009) of Mrs Stylebook.



Mrs Stylebook Tunic

 Mrs Stylebook is a quarterly Japanese magazine  full of drafting instruction for women’s garments that are slightly different styles than what you would find in other pattern magazines. No patterns, but diagrams that show you how to take your sloper and by dropping the armhole 2cm, extending the bodice length 18 cm, or drafting a sleeve based on the length of the your front and back armhole, you end up with a pattern for a garment that will fit you perfectly, because it was drafted using your sloper as a starting point.





Mrs Stylebook tunic drafting instructions

  This pattern was a fairly easy draft. It is a basic un-darted shirt with shaped flounces added to the bottom edge. The collar is a simple rectangle that is gathered to fit the neckline. There are two layers of flounces, one shorter than the other, both with points that hang down in the center of each front and back side panel. I cut the body and sleeves from the striped part of the fabric. I cut the flounces on the border print area. One of the problems I have with this print is that it is busy. There is no one shape or color my eyes want to focus on. And if made it into a garment, an onlooker would have the same problem. So I happened to have a polyester organza ombre fabric colored from light tan to milk chocolate brown. I made the front button placket in this fabric starting with the tan at the bottom and ending in the darker brown near the face with the collar in the same shade of brown. The flounce edges are finished using a serged rolled hem. I have used sergers for 30 years and this is the first time I have used a rolled hem on a garment. You can teach an old horse new tricks! Though I need some more practice, the stitching was not as pretty as the quide book pictures. French seams were used on all straight garment seams and serging finishing on the armholes. I actually like the finished garment. And it is fun to wear, very flowy with lots of movement. The pattern is definitely a candidate for making again.

Mrs Stylebook - Pleated Neckline Jacket

I am still having fun with MRS Stylebook. My latest creation is a short cropped jacket with "V" shaped yokes in back and front, neckline pleats held in place with beads, and pleated cap sleeves. That is my description because I can’t read Japanese. Issue 145, page 25. This is the third garment I have made using the same sloper as the base for drafting the pattern. In answer to a question Anna asked. "If I understand it, one could use an already personalized sloper, modifying it with the drafting measurements from the magazine. What do you think? My answer is Yes, but to get the same look and fit as the pictures in the magazine, you will need a sloper similar in fit and style to the MRS Stylebook sloper. In this case I am using the undarted sloper that has 10 cm (4 in.) of ease at the bust line. The sloper can be drafted from a drawing in the magazine, which is what I did, or you can print one to compare to a sloper you already have from the download provided by TwistedAngel. MRS Stylebook Sloper Download

I liked the bead detail at the neck line of this jacket. It looked comfortable and cool with just enough coverage to look professional worn over a sleeveless top, on a hot humid summer day. I went with a shorter length, 18 "center back length, to get a 1/3 top to 2/3 bottom ratio in a outfit, where the jacket is 1/3. I was a little concerned about the cap sleeves on 50+ year old arms. I chose to ignore the voices in my head because the cap sleeves add a horizontal element at the top of my body, where I need it.
The fabric is a tightly woven, light weight, shirting material, probably a blend, from a Fabric Mart Fabrics free bundle. The changes made to the basic sloper to draft the pattern include scoop out the neckline. Adding V shaped yokes in both front and back, with bust dart/shaping incorporated into the front yoke seam. Drawing slash lines from the yoke bottom edge to the neck line, and opening the top at the neck line to add extra fabric which will become tucks between the beads. Caps sleeves were drafted using the partial armhole dimensions, so that the sleeve front edge matches the yoke seam at the armhole.

I lined the jacket. This made it easier to finish the sleeve and armholes. The sleeves are lined to the edge and then inserted into the top of the armhole openings. The body lining hangs freely. It is not attached at the hem. This allowed me to easily sew the lining to the sleeve hole opening by machine, cleanly finishing the bottom armhole. For the beading at the neckline, I had hoped to use the eyelet button hole stitch on my machine to make small finished holes through which I could thread the cord for the beads. I thought this would make it easy of switch out the beads for different looks. Here is a sample of gold beads with black cording.
But no matter what I did with stabilizer, stitch width, etc., the eyelet stitch would not end where it started, on either my Designer 1 or my trusty Viking 1100 backup machine. So I went to Plan B, which was to use a large sharp needle and lots of tugging to thread the hemp cord through the pleats of the fabric. I bought both the bone beads and the cord at Walmart. They are permanent.




Here are other examples of bead/pleats embellishment on RTW garments. One is a print tank top by D Collection with beads of alternating colors. The latest issue of SewStylish magazine had an article on Snoop Shopping and had a blouse with pleated bands with beads. I think the bead/pleats could also be used for re-purposing or altering RTW clothing that is too big at neckline edges, sleeve edges, waists on dresses; anywhere you want to take in fabric.


I am so encouraged by my pattern drafting success that I have decided to try drafting a pants pattern using the MRS Stylebook instructions. Last night I took my own hip, waist, crotch depth measurements with the help of a mirror. I made some interesting observations. 1. My waist is rising. I had noticed the length of my tops from front neck to waist has gotten shorter in recent years, but assumed it was because of back curvature. My fat reserves are at my waist and are in a tube shape. If I lost them my waist/natural indentation would be lower. Back near the top of my hip. (Chanting to self. "Sew for the body you have now, not the one you wish you had!") 2. My front waist to crotch measurement is the same as my back waist to crotch. That doesn’t surprise me, as I have no butt. So it will be interesting to see what my crotch curve looks like.

Mrs Stylebook - Lands' End Jacket

Gosh, this summer is flying by. We just got back from our annual beach vacation at the Delaware shore. It was lovely, but this week it is back to work. Right before I left, I completed my second project from the Japanese pattern magazine MRS. Stylebook (MSB). A jacket from Issue 150, pattern 179. It is a fairly simple style, no collar, no front fastenings, princess seaming with a side panel, and ¾ length gathered sleeve. It was drafted from the same unfitted (undarted) sloper as the blouse shown in my last post. The challenge in drafting this pattern was adding double pointed darts to the front and back, and creating a side panel using the darts as the edges.
Some of the international pattern magazines contain patterns for copies of designer garments. About every pattern in Patrones is attributed to a hip European designer. What tickles me about the jacket pattern I chose from MSB is that it is one of the few with a "designer" label, and it is Lands’ End! You can see the label in the photograph of the jacket. (The blotchiness of the photo is because my scanner had problems with the shiny page and dark color of the jacket). For those readers who might not know, Lands' End is a USA based Internet and catalog retailer known for it basic, conservative styles, very good quality and excellent customer service. Not what I would call a "designer". The jacket style was simple, but current. And nothing like any jackets I had seen in Lands' End US catalog or web site. On a whim I googled "Lands’ End Japan" and found this information.

The catalog and online retailer of classic American casual wear has flourished in Japan. The key to the company's success has been a thorough localization of its website, products and services while keeping with the company's breezy and accessible identity.
Lands' End established a wholly-owned subsidiary in 1993, beginning its local catalog sales with only five or six people. After its website content was carefully structured to fit the Japanese consumer, the company launched its online shopping venue in 1999. In addition to localizing the website, Lands' End tailored its clothing to fit Japanese body shapes and offered more styles that satisfy local preferences for a more refined look. Its call centers practices were also changed to adhere to local conversational formalities as hours were extended to accommodate later shopping hours.


The jacket was not shown on the Lands’ End Japanese web site either. However, I spent some time browsing the web site, translated to English, and copied Japanese characters for different sewing related words, like "pleats" and "linen", to add to a list I use when trying to translate MRS Stylebook.
The jacket is made out of a dark red, coarsely woven, burlap type material in a mystery blend. It has been in my stash since the 80’s. I shortened the jacket 2 inches to high hip, and lined the body, since the fabric was so ravely and slightly see through. I did not line the sleeves. I did have to make my normal alterations for jackets made from US patterns. I added back shoulder darts and length to center back for curved upper back and prominent shoulder blades. Then because I was so inspired by recent mini wardrobes done by Robin Robin's Capsule and Sheila Sheila's Capsule, I pulled some other fabric out of my stash and made a few coordinating tops. A tank top in a red/cream silk knit print from Simplicity 4192

and a top from brown cotton with red and gold embroidery using Butterick 4549.

I wear the brown top with brown slacks. Both the brown and cream slacks were sewn last year.

I actually read sewing books on the beach during my vacation and did some sewing, which I'll tell you about in my next post.

Mrs Stylebook blouse

Pattern Review Get Together

Since my last post, I attended a Pattern Review get-together in Baltimore, MD. It was so exciting to meet some of the folks that moderate discussion topics and post at PR. PR members KatieN, ChrisBryant, and Paula and I headed north early that morning. We met up with the others at The Fabric Place, a small independent fabric store packed with lovely fabrics. Michael of Michael's Fabric , as well as his family, was there to greet us. They gave us lots of discounts, deals, and great service! We got to meet Deepika, Cidell, JaneS, RobinD, Kiva, Karen1234, Cindy Lou. ChristineS, and many others. I must say that people in the flesh do not always look like their avatars or review picture. I did not recognize Robin until she introduced herself. Deepika is much more petite than I expected, Cidell taller, and on and on. As people walked into the store, many were greeted with guesses as to both their PR name and the patterns used to make the outfits they were wearing. After the shopping, many of the attendees met at a nearby restaurant for a wonderful meal and lots of sewing talk. We discussed how the Internet was improving our knowledge of sewing, and pushing us to higher levels of achievement (and spending). We talked about dress forms, industrial machines, where we did our sewing, sewing for others, etc.. It was all about sewing! Wonderful! Our group stopped at the Rockville, MD G Street fabric store on the way home. Each of us had printed off extra copies of the online G Street coupons, in case the others forgot theirs. None of us had, but we had no problem finding takers for the extras. I kept to my “no more fabric” resolution at The Fabric Place, but by the time I reached G Street, my will power was gone.

Mrs Stylebook Blouse

In my continuing quest to use international pattern magazines, I made my first Mrs. Stylebook garment. I have two Mrs. Stylebooks (MSB), Japanese pattern books, Issues 149 - 2008 Spring and 150 – 2008 Summer. I bought them from eBay vendor "pomadour24" for about $25.00 postage paid, but she sells them on www.Etsy under the same name for half that price. Of course I didn’t find that out until after I bought them on eBay! There are about three printed patterns in each magazine. For the other 60+ garments, there are only instructions for drafting the patterns using a sloper as the starting point. There are also instructions for drafting the sloper in the magazine. There are two different slopers. One is unstructured, falling straight from the bust, with no darts. The other is very fitted, with many darts. Some of the patterns use the unstructured sloper, some use the other. I do not have any pattern drafting experience and I found it fairly easy to draft the sloper using only the pictures.

I drafted the loose fitting sloper using my measurements. The only measurements needed are full bust and back length. All the rest of the measurements are based on these two. My sloper was drawn on a 25” x 30” sheet of easel pad paper with ½ grid lines. Because I used cm measurements, the grid lines were used only for maintaining horizontal and vertical consistency. I did not cut the sloper out.

When I completed the sloper, I compared the arm and neck hole openings to the Palmer Pletch sloper that I recently had fitted by a professional. They matched almost perfectly.





For my first attempt at drafting a pattern, I chose a loose fitting blouse with a slightly gathered neck, elbow length sleeves with a sewn on frill. Number 11 on page 79 of Issue 150. Pattern drafting instructions are on page 196 and 197. To draft the blouse pattern, I laid a piece of pattern making paper (I use the type of paper that is rolled out on the Dr’s examination table) over the sloper, traced the essential sloper lines and made the drafting changes per the diagram, keeping the pattern paper over the sloper the entire time. The grid lines on the sloper paper were helpful when drafting the pattern. For the most part I was able to understand what changes needed to be made and why. The picture below has the drafting diagram. The original sloper shape is shaded blue. I added my written notes describing the changes.
I know I sound like an analytical nerd when I say that I enjoyed the drafting process immensely. It was almost like doing a puzzle. There is an order in which the changes must be made. Some measurements are given and some derived. And because I was working from a diagram with no explanation, I had to work through the order of the drafting in my mind. There were some ‘ahah” moments where it suddenly clicked in my mind as to the purpose of the drafting step; such as moving ease to a different place, drafting the sleeve head from the armhole measurements, etc. I am hopeful that if I do enough pattern drafting using Mrs Stylebook, I may reach a point where I have a feel for the location and magnitude of changes needed to produce my own design details. Below are the pattern pieces.





I used a sheer, supposedly rayon, fabric from Fabric Mart. It felt more like polyester, but it worked well for this wearable muslin. I do plan to decrease the sloper shoulder width based on how this blouse fits. Other than that I am very pleased. Especially with the amount of looseness in the blouse. It is just enough to look airy and cool, but not so much that it is overwhelming, which I sometimes experience with similar styles in the big 4 patterns.


My next project is the semi fitted jacket that uses the same sloper as the blouse. It is a bit more complex, with double pointed darts in the front and back, a standup collar, and two piece sleeves. My guys are away at camp next week , so in theory I should have lots of time in the evenings after work for sewing, or shopping, or going out with girls or......