SWAP Tops

Sewing time has been sparse in the past two weeks. My husband has been traveling a lot for business, working on windmill farm construction in Indiana and W. VA. So after getting home from my job each day, I had full responsibility for dinners, homework supervision, driving to sport events, music lessons, hair cuts, etc. I did manage to complete two more tops for my SWAP. Both were very easy patterns.

Vogue 8392 includes a view with three tiers of ruffles on the sleeve which I liked a lot. The fabric for this blouse came from a large size RTW skirt, bought on sale, specifically to be cut up. It had two layers of crinkled grey/silver silk, with three rows of ruffles at the hem. I cut the sleeves so the ruffles were at the bottom edge. This saved me a lot of work and gave a similar look to the pattern.

The second blouse is Vogue 9771, is a bias cut cowl neck top made out of out of a woven polyester. The fabric is cross woven, with bright “Safety”orange (the color that hunters are required to wear in many parts of the USA) threads in one direction, and turquoise blue in the other. This makes the fabric iridescent, changing color when I move. Funny, the orange and blue combine to look more like mauve with blue accents. This top was super simple to sew. Cutting it out took a bit of time as the front and back pieces had to be cut from one layer of fabric, and I had to make sure the fabric stayed on the straight of grain while I am pinning and cutting the pattern pieces on the bias.
My youngest sister flew in from Arizona this weekend and all the siblings got together at my parents house in Maryland for a visit. We haven’t seen her in a couple of years. It was great fun reminiscing, eating Mom's cooking, and sis got to meet her new niece and nephew, adopted shortly after we saw her last.

Hopefully there will be more sewing time this week. I think I will change my SWAP wardrobe pattern and go with a diffent jacket in the same fabric. The collar of the current jacket is hard to coordinate with tops.

Designer Knock Off

There is a RTW/Designer Knock Off contest in progress http://www.patternreview.com/ A couple weeks ago I spent some time on various websites selling designer clothes, looking for inspiration for a contest entry. At one site I was drawn to jackets by a company/designer called Akris. I had never heard of them before so I did some more web searching and learned they are a small Swiss design house. This is my knock off of a $1200 Akris jacket that was featured on the Bergdorf Goodman web site. I like the simplicity of the jacket, with it's hidden closure, and interesting tubular collar. I found a princess seamed, hidden closure jacket pattern with a narrow stand up collar, in the April 2004 issue of Burda World of Fashion. I shortened the jacket to upper hip length and shortened the sleeves to just below elbow length. The collar neck edge was 18 inches long.
To duplicate the designer collar, I basically made a length of large diameter piping the same length as my collar pattern. The 5/8 inch diameter cord was made by rolling up a 18 inch by 4 inch piece of fusible fleece jelly roll style. Fusible fleece is about 1/8th inch thick, made of polyester, and pretty dense. One side is coated with a fusible adhesive. I use it a lot to make my own shoulder pads. I rolled the fusible surface to the inside, but actually whip stitcheded the edge of the fleece to the roll to maintain the shape. A strip of bias cut fashion fabric 19.25 by 4 inches (which included seam allowances) was used to cover the cording. The ends were finished before the cording was inserted. I treated the collar like piping and inserted it on the jacket collar edge using a piping foot. The fabric is a woven wool with black grey and cream threads from Fabric Mart. The lining is a red and black silk twill print from the same source.

I think my jacket looks remarkably like the designer jacket. What you cannot see are the alterations I did to fit the back of the jacket to my rounded shoulders, and prominent shoulder blades. The last couple of jackets I have made had large circular wrinkles that started on the back where my shoulder blades stick out and came down under my arms and ended at my bust. Adding .75 inches of length to the upper center back seam and putting in small darts from shoulder seam to shoulder blade makes the back fit like a glove and eliminated all the wrinkles. Guess I will have to do this to all my jackets in the future. Getting old is not for sissies!

Birthdays, ballgames, and books

This past weekend was supposed to be a work weekend, but the software upgrades planned for all day Sat. went surprising well and we were finished up by noon. So on the way home I stopped at Hancock Fabrics and JoAnne’s to see if the new Vogue patterns were in. Hancock’s had them and they were 75% off! I was able to get most of the ones I wanted. Then when I arrived home the mail contained lots of sewing related reading material. The latest issue of Burda World of Fashion, Pattern Magic Vol. 1 & 2 Japanese fashion sewing books by Nakamichi Tomoko, and Fashion, A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, Vol. 1&2. Pattern Magic was purchased from http://www.yesasia.com/ after I saw a review of it on www.patternreview.com. And the Fashion, A History …was on sale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art web site. So far I have only been able to look at them briefly. I loved the Pattern Magic books and wanted to start playing right away. The Fashion books are huge, with loads of beautiful clear, detailed photos of real clothes from that time period. I can't wait to spend more time looking at them.

This rest of the weekend was busy with preparations and cooking for birthday celebrations and Super Bowl festivities. We celebrated second son’s 13th birthday on Sunday, as his Dad will be away on business on the actual day of his birthday. The hat is a family tradition and everyone has to wear it on their birthday, no exceptions. When asked what he wanted for his special birthday meal, he replied, as his Dad had earlier predicted, "McDonalds cheeseburgers and ice cream cake". Well, he got mom’s best attempt at McDonalds cheeseburgers and fries, and homemade ice cream cake. This is the first time I have assembled an ice cream cake. The layering went well. Homemade vanilla cake layered with Death by Chocolate ice cream, covered in homemade chocolate frosting. Dad, you would have loved it. It tasted great, but looked like a mess. I had a hard time making the frosting stick to the ice cream layers. Next time the ice cream will be totally encased in cake, because the frosting sticks to the cake. His birthday present was a new cell phone with a QWERTY keyboard for text messaging, and a camera. I spent the first hour of the Super Bowl on the phone with Virgin Mobile support switching the number from the old phone to the new phone. The 3 other times I have attempted to use their on line switching, it didn’t work either. The ID number of the new phone is never recognized by their system. I suspect some company the Far East assembles the phones and batteries and sends a data file of the ID numbers to a database. The data never gets loaded or the query from the online system isn’t accessing the data in the database. Grr!
I had a sewing disaster last week, but I was able to salvage it. I really liked this pattern from a 1997 Burda Tops issue. I made it out of a white and gray floral stretch lace. However the dolman sleeves style was not flattering for old sloped shoulder me and the lace was too light weight. It looked like I had cobwebs draped over me. I decided that lining the lace with a colored knit fabric would beef it up, but I needed a different style, one with pattern pieces that could be cut from the original top and the fabric remnants. I picked a blue rayon lycra knit from my stash. And this Vogue 8477 top pattern.

I realized with a little planning and a change in sewing order, I could have a reversible top. So side one is blue with white trim, and side 2 is grey and white lace over a blue background with white trim. I lengthened the sleeve so the bands were at the same level as the under bust band. And I shortened the top by about 3 inches. I like to keep untucked tops to about1/3 my body height, with the hips and legs the other 2/3.

Humbled by Interfacing

Last weekend was a three day holiday weekend and I was able to do a lot of sewing. I completed a pair of lined pants, a skirt, and most of a jacket which may become part of my SWAP. They were all made from the McCalls wardrobe pattern 5597. This pattern is fairly new and the jacket in particular appealed to me because it was a fitted, collarless jacket with interesting tucks on the upper neckline. I thought it would be fast and easy to sew. But you know, even after all these years of successfully picking compatible patterns, fashion fabric, and interfacing, I have a sewing experiences that tests my confidence and resolve. The fashion fabric for this jacket was a lovely dusty teal brushed wool with a teeny bit of lycra. The pattern instruction said to fuse interfacing to all the body pieces. My first interfacing attempt was a fusible "Armo" type weft. I have used this type of interfacing successfully for jackets I have made from all kinds of fabric, from silk and rayon suiting to wool boucles and flannels. It adds stability without stiffness. Based on my experience, it should have worked fine. After sewing the jacket seams for the first fitting, I noticed the interfacing was not adhering well. Further attempts to make it stick firmly didn't improve the situation, so I unpicked the seams and pulled it all off. I went to my stash looking for sew in interfacing. All I had was some very stiff tailoring canvas. None of the local fabric store carry woven sew in interfacing any more. What is up with that? I knew of some online sources, but I didn't want to wait. So I went looking for light weight but firm, woven blends that resembled the sew in interfacing I remembered. I found some in various weights and colors on the dollar table at Walmart. I cut out all the pattern pieces in the woven interfacing and basted them to the fashion fabric. Then I sewed up the seams again. The woven interfacing was fine around the shoulder and neck, but not in the hip area where there was a lot of curved seams. Lots of puckering, despite much clipping and pressing. After several days of mental debate on whether this jacket was worth continued efforts, I decided it was. I carefully removed the interfacing below the upper back and chest, leaving it in the shoulder area, upper chest and under the arm hole. That worked well and I was able to finish the jacket without any other problems.
The skirt is made from a wool acetate fabric from Timmel Fabrics. One side of the fabric is smooth and shiny, the other matte. I used the shiny side to make a contrast band at the top of the skirt. The fabric was supposed to be mostly wool, but when I soaked a piece in nail polish remover (acetone) the "threads" in one direction melted into a sticky black goo. Seems to me if half the threads melt, then the fiber content is 50/50. I am not sure what the purpose is in combining these two fibers. What properties from each were enhanced by the merger? Acetate has to be ironed using medium heat with no steam, and wool is pressed at a much higher heat with steam. To get flat seams, I had to use the higher heat, and the acetate side changesdcolor temporarly when I pressed it, Wool breaths, acetate doesn't. Wool resists wrinkling, acetate wrinkles. I wonder if this fabric would make a good coat lining with the shiny smooth side as the right side. Maybe the wool would providing some warmth, but the slippery side would facilitate pulling the coat on over other clothing.

The pants are made of a black and white wool tick weave, with a contrasting black pleather band at the top. I did morph the McCalls pant pattern to look like the Vogue 2087 (green suede jacket) pants with a center front zipper opening. And removed large quantities of fabric from the outer hips and inner thighs. McCalls pants patterns do not fit me well without these alterations.

I finished the suede jacket and am pleased with how it turned out. It was not fast and easy sewing. What follows are the equipment and methods I use when sewing suede and leather. The jacket was made of mossy green (Pantone 16-6324) "velvet pig suede" from a local Tandy leather store. Suede has a nap, and so I laid it out and cut the pattern pieces using "with nap" rules. I made sure they were all oriented in the same direction top to bottom. No turning a pattern piece upside down to reduce waste. Pieces that were to be sewn together were placed next to each other on the skin and cut out to keep the nap consistent. Pieces were cut in a single layer and weights (cat food cans) were used to hold the pattern pieces down during cutting. I cut it out using scissors. Long blade shears I buy by the dozen at the dollar store and throw out as soon as they get dull.
The jacket is lined in acetate from my stash. Many people do not care for acetate as a lining, saying it is hot to wear and eventually weakens at the seams and needs to be replaced. I don’t find it hot; it is cellulose based fabric just like rayon. It is firmer than other lining fabrics and easy to crease, which was important to me as the jacket was lined to the edge and I wanted a lining fabric that could compete with the suede at the turned edges
I had very little problems sewing the suede. My machine, a Husqvarna Designer 1 has a setting for leather, which I used. In addition I used.

Needle - Size 12 Microtex sharp
Thread - Mettler - Polyester 30 weight (cotton will deteriorate due to the tannins used to tan skins Hmm, I wonder if this will affect the lining, as cellulose is a plant fiber too)
Interfacing – light weight iron on
"Pins" Large paper clips and binder clips were used in place of pins to hold pieces together for seaming and fitting.
Presser foot – quarter inch quilting foot. I found that a pressure foot with a small needle opening was critical for the even feed of the suede under the pressure foot. This foot worked better than my Teflon or general purpose plastic foot. The only time I had trouble with skipped stitches was when I forgot to change from my general purpose foot to the quilting foot, after sewing on the lining. The suede was not feeding evenly under the foot and the stitches were skipping.
Sewing speed – slow and steady, no jackrabbit spurts of speed.
Snaps- Dritz Mini Anorak I get very nervous when applying snaps to a garment. Once you have the hole (needed for the male parts of the snaps) in the fabric, there is no going back. Long ago, after many botched applications using hammers and little holder gizmos sold in fabric stores, I invested in a Vario Plus Snap kit by Prym, still available at http://www.birchstreetclothing.com/ , with special pliers and parts needed to apply a wide range of snap types and sizes. This was years ago when my boys were small and I was making baby clothes for them. I remember it being pricy for my budget, but it was well worth it. I still ruined 5 snaps in applying the 15 on this jacket, and it took me two nights to complete. It was either that or button holes in the suede, and that really intimidated me.

Am I Shrinking?

I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday season. For me Christmas is over, the visitors have come and gone, and I am heartily sick of Christmas cookies. I got my sewing machine and serger back from the shop, where they went for minor repairs and a long overdue tuning. They were gone for a little over a week, but I was so busy getting ready for the holidays, I didn’t miss them much. They positively hum now. I am working on the Vogue 2987, Anne Klein jacket. In November, I was following along with Ann’s blog http://annsthreads.blogspot.com/and her “adventures” as she worked on this jacket. But she left for a overseas trip before finishing, so I had to go forth on my own. Based on Ann’s experience, I decided to pin fit the pattern on my dress form. I found that the pattern pieces fit together well, but that there was a lot of ease in this pattern. It is described as semi fitted which by Vogue Patterns definition is 4 3/8 - 5 3/4" for lined jackets. I prefer fitted lined jackets to have no more than 4 inches of ease in the bust and 2 inches in the hips based on the fit of favorite ready to wear (RTW) jackets. I typically make a size 16 in Vogue patterns, and taper out to an 18 at the hips. When I pin fit the pattern on my dress form, I was shocked to see the size 12 had the best fit in the bust area, and the 14 in the hips. Because I am using garment weight suede which is thicker than most fabrics, I cut out a size 14 on top and 16 on the bottom. The following picture shows the final fitting on the dress form. I used binder clips, since pins could not be used. I need to take 1” seam allowances on the side seams and there will still be plenty of room for the lining and wearing ease. Just to make sure I hadn’t stretched the suede while sewing, I measured the flat pattern and compared the measurements to those printed on the pattern pieces at the bust point and waist. The printed measurements are the finished garment widths. Size 14 finished garment bust was printed as 42”, flat pattern measurement was 43.75 inches. No wonder the size 14 was still too big for me. My bust is 38”, a size 14 would have been almost 6 inches of ease. Long story short; I am making this jacket two sizes smaller than I normally do in Vogue Patterns. Before I cut out the sleeves I need to shorten the length, not something I normally do but they are really long, and reduce the sleeve cape ease to zero to accommodate the suede. I also need to do some top stitching on the back and front seams before sewing the jacket pieces together . I can’t decide to do matching topstitching (green) or contrasting (gold). I am going to use snaps in an old gold finish rather than buttons.

As of today, I am planning on participating in the Timmel 2008 SWAP, but I am not in the throes of cutting and sewing preparation like many of the other participants. I have a couple of garments I made several years ago that will work as the presewn garments. I am going to take my 2007 SWAP on the road again when I visit the Charlottesville, VA ASG group in a couple weeks to help present a program on Wardrobe Planning. It should be fun, and there are some independent fabric stores in Charlottesville.

Pinks, Purples, Postcards, and Posies

I had a busy weekend which started shortly after work on Friday with the Holly Ball for my son’s Junior Cotillion. Cotillion, for those who may not be familiar. is a program designed to give young people instruction and practice in the courtesies that make life more pleasant for them and those around them; to give them thorough training in standard ballroom dance; and to provide opportunities to practice and enjoy these skills at memorable parties, balls, dinners and events, complete with decorations, refreshments, favors and prizes. Can you tell that description came from a publicity brochure? Cotillion has nothing to do with coming out in society or debutants, though I suppose it is good training if your social circle participates in such things. We tell my son it is preparation for the day he is invited to dinner at the White House. Which I just realized is what my mother told me when she corrected my manners. Oh no, another example of me turning into my mother!

Since the Holy Ball is a special event, we started off the evening with dinner at The Jefferson Hotel, a historic, 5 star establishment located in downtown Richmond. The holiday decorations were beautiful, the service and food were wonderful, and the boys, my 12 year old and 4 friends, comported themselves well. The ball includes fund raising for the Christmas Mother Fund and an opportunity for parents to dance with their children, boys with their mother, girls with their father. My son was asked to greet folks at the door with the contribution box, and later to present the contributions to the Christmas Mother, a person who represents the fund, which provides needy children and families with toys, clothing, food and other assistance during the holidays. It was a job well suited to his personality. He loved greeting his friends and their parents, and cajoling donations. He stood on the stage during the presentation with a big grin on his face the whole time. I wish I could say I was as successful in my dancing, but I never had training in ballroom dancing. My dancing was terrible, but we had a good time. The Governor of Virginia was there dancing with his daughter, and it was nice to see him just being a dad.

My weekend sewing was to make a bunch of fabric post cards that needed to be in the mail on Monday. The theme of my post card was “Stop and smell the flowers” because lately I wish the pace of my life was more relaxed, and in warmer months I do relax by futzing in my flower garden. The design for the postcard is an image I found on the Internet and the fabrics, with the exception of the white, were scraps from an Amish style wedding ring quilt I made about 10 years ago. I enjoyed working with the purple and pink fabrics used for the flowers. The flowers remind me of the dark purple ‘Thomas Edison” and pink, name unknown, dahlias I grow in my garden. While I don’t dislike making fabric post cards, I find I regret the time it takes away from my garment sewing. So I probably won’t participate in any more fabric post card exchanges.





The 2008 Timmel Fabric SWAP will start next month, and I am still ambivalent about it, for various reasons. I have several piles of coordinating fabrics I love, but I haven’t seen any fabric on the Timmel site that I want to purchase in order to qualify for the SWAP contest. I am not excited about making basic skirts and tops. They are actually cheaper for me to buy than to make. I may go with the SWAP option which includes 4 bottoms, 6 jackets and a coat. I enjoy making jackets, and I need a real winter coat, but they are quite a bit of work. Another option is to do an extension to my summer SWAP, which would give me lots of new clothes to wear in the spring. I have a month to work it out.