S Curve

A family member  decided to help me with the laundry recently.  I wish he had warned me so I could have rescued garments in the laundry pile that needed special treatment.  As a result a silk chiffon blouse was agitated to death in the washing machine by a load of jeans and towels. It emerged a shrunken, faded semblance of its former self. I made a replacement blouse and chose the fabric for its colors.  It is a polyester and yes, I am a poly snob.  I wish this print was available in silk.  I was half tempted to scan the fabric and send the scan to a “print your own fabric” service like  Spoonflower to  have it printed on silk.

 

 

 The blouse pattern is a semi fitted tunic with front and back gathered into band collar. The front buttoned band forms a pleat. The full length sleeves have elasticized wrists. I always choose raglan sleeves for  fast sewing projects andam then reminded that they are not a flattering style for my small shoulders.  Ah well.

Once the blouse was done and I had worn it with my magenta wool pants, I wondered what else I could wear it with.  Black pants certainly and possible a black skirt, if I had one.  A black skirt is a versatile wardrobe basic, but they always remind always me of the black skirts I had to wear for girls’ chorus and waitressing jobs in my youth.  Leather and fabric is big this year, so I decided to do a black skirt using the black leather and fabric in my stash. The pattern is Burda skirt pattern 103 from  5 2006.

.


  It is a basic straight skirt with contour waist band and center front seam with kick pleat.   The interesting bit is the “side seams” are S-curves. Because of the odd pattern pieces and darts, I made a muslin of the skirt out of a mid weight cotton to test the fit.  The fit was good except my high hip caused the center front seam to hang off vertical. This was easily fixed by adding 5/8 inch to the top of the skirt on the high hip side.

 

To accent the seaming I used leather for one section of the skirt and black wool gabardine for the other.

Some construction details: I marked the darts on the back of the leather with chalk

darts marked on leather with chalk

 and I  used an iron-on woven stay tape to stabilize all seams on the leather pieces.

Fusible woven stay tape on seams of leather

  Yes, you can iron leather.  Test on a sample to determine the best heat setting, and if steam is any benefit.  The thread used for construction and top stitching was  Coats and Clark poly thread. The needle, a size 12/70 Top Stitching.  Darts, hems and non top stitched seams in the leather were glued flat with a glue that dries flexible and is designed for porous surfaces.  I used leather adhesive, but SOBO or rubber cement can also be used.
The original skirt had zippers the entire length of each curved side seam. A 20 inch one from back hem to just below the pocket on the front,  and a short zipper from waist to the bottom of in-seam pocket. Talk about air conditioning, No way on the whole seam zipper, but  I did  mentally dither over adding the in seam  pockets with zipper openings because of the unfamiliar  insertion process and hand sewing required. And the uncertain success of top stitching through 2 layers of leather and the zipper tape.  In the end I knew I would be unsatisfied with the skirt if I did not put in the pockets, so one weekend I just did it.   I sewed the seams together, basted the zipper to the seam allowances, top stitched 1/4 inch from seam on both the leather and fabric through the zipper tape.

Zipper basted to seam allowance



Top stitching with Teflon foot 

  Sewed the pocket facing to the zipper tape on the lower side, and the pocket lining to the upper zipper tape by hand , and then sewed around the outside edges of the pocket by machine.



pocket facing slip stitched to zipper tape

   I also created a lining pattern by eliminating the curved side seam. There is an invisible zipper inserted in the center black seam in the leather.  I thought this might be tough to do but it actually was done quite easily since the stay tape kept the leather from stretching.

zippered pocket

Curved Hip dart



Skirt back

 

 

Black and Blue

I got into one of my closet clean out moods recently, and as I reached the back recesses of the cedar closet, I found a pair of  never worn,  me made wool pants. And there next to them was the jacket they were to have been worn with.  Made from Vogue  2952, an  Issey Miyake pattern from 2007.



The jacket is pretty plain in the front, but the center back is cropped with lacing over the opening, I remember making the pants in the same color as the jacket to make the lacing less obvious. But I never wore the jacket because I did not feel comfortable in it.

I tried on the pants and they fit great. I had some soft poly knit that matched the pants perfectly.  I have always wanted to make Vogue 8323 and had just seen it modeled at a recent ASG meeting "Show and Tell".  I liked this pattern for the shoulder princess seaming, which is great for shaping and fitting.

 I decided to make a muslin, probably because I had just finished watching two classes at Craftsy.com, Lynda Maynard's Sew the Perfect Fit  and Barbara Deckert's Plus Size Pattern Fitting and Design, both of which used muslins to resolve fitting problems. And both great classes BTW! I am glad I made the muslin. The shoulders were too wide, the sleeves too short and the neckline, shown as standing up along the neck in the pattern drawing, sagged and caused the front to gap. Also on my copy of the  pattern, there seemed to be misprint on the part of the center front piece that folded over to make the facing. It was not the same shape as the part it was supposed to face.  I corrected the facing shape, lengthened the sleeves and shaped the collar to fit up against the lower neck and then folded over.   I also shortened the shoulder seam. My first impulse was to take the extra shoulder length off the armhole edge, but I remembered how Cynthia Guffey altered my princess seam jacket for the same problem by taking in the excess at the princess seam.  That also keeps the placement of the princess seam in the middle of the shoulder seam. I am quite happy with the top and the way it  coordinates with the pants. Our ASG group is having a 5 piece SWAP challenge and I do believe these two pieces will be the start of my SWAP.

 So the top and pants are the blue of the post title. What is the black?  And why don't I have any pictures of me in the top. Because of these guys, who suddenly showed up  and decided to take up residence on the deck outside my sewing room  where I take my pictures.

They are black vultures. I sew three feet from the door where this picture was taken. Kitty decided she wanted to go out one day. I was looking down, trying not to step on her,as I opened the door. I  looked up, and we both froze. I quickly shut the door.  Day 1 they sat all day on the railing in the drenching, freezing rain. Day 2, I heard a sound at the  door and was unnerved to see one standing on the welcome mat, tapping on the glass of the door.  

 When I sent out our attack cat in full bristle mode, or DH yelling and waving his arm like a lunatic, they would fly to a nearby tree.  But back they would come.  Screaming and waving at them is one method suggested by a Google search of the problem,  Vulture eat carrion, or garbage in populated areas. I checked the garbage cans to make sure the covers were tight and looked  under the deck in case some animal  had crawled under there and died, but all was clean and tidy.   After 5 days they quit coming to the deck,  but they are still in the neighborhood. I see them and a bunch of their buddies perched in a neighbor's tree.

Burda Back Issue Benefits

I have a large collection of Burda World of Fashion pattern magazines. I started my subscription in the 1980's after I discovered a Spanish language issue on the newsstand in Cancun, Mexico. It was my favorite souvenir of that vacation trip. Yes, in the early days I was intimidated by the need to trace the patterns, and though I admired the garments featured in the magazines each month, many were beyond my skill level.  But now  I consider those old issues to be a wonderful extension  of my pattern collection. While I might not have been able to use them to their full extent back then, they have since proven to be a wonderful resource as my lifestyle, size, and sewing skills  changed.   Many of the garment styles are classics  and  look current when made in the latest fabrics. I can now trace a pattern in about 30 minutes and I appreciate the benefits of fitting and altering a pattern with no seam allowances. My sewing skills have improved. I don't need to rely on the magazine instructions which can sometimes be difficult to follow. My size has changed over the years, but whatever size I am is available in those magazines. When my sons came into my life, I searched  the  back issues for baby clothes and later pants and shirt patterns.  The Burda kids patterns always fit my sons better than those of the  big 4 pattern companies.  And as my sons grew, I just traced a bigger size of a favorite pattern.  When I read that someone is giving away old issues of Burda WOF magazines citing reasons like "no styles I like" or "too much work tracing the patterns and adding seam allowances", I shake my head and think to myself, "They don't realize the value of what they are giving away!" At least in the blog sphere, there is a good chance their discarded issues will find a loving, appreciative home.

  Where am I going with all this? Well, the last two additions to my wardrobe were inspired by recent fashion photos, but the patterns were from Burda WOF back issues. The first was a blouse. I loved this Jennifer Chun blouse, from her Fall Winter 2012 collection, in a silk foulard print with contrasting paisley print trim.

Finding the fabrics for a similar look was not an easy task. The main silk fabric came from Fashionista Fabrics, which unfortunately is shutting down its Internet site. And the contrast silk fabric was purchased from an Etsy shop. The pattern, a classic woman's blouse with bust darts, shoulder yoke and sewn on placket is from Burda 9-2009.

Burda 9-2009 105

I drafted the pattern pocket myself. I love the fabric combo and it really livens up a black suit.



The second item was a pair  of color blocked pants. Many designers showed color blocked pants for Fall 2011, and the same styles have  shown up in RTW this winter.

Derek Lam

The pattern  I used is from Burda 5-2006, pants pattern  112. They were shown made from one fabric, but the style lines matched those of the color blocked inspiration pants. I modified the curve of the pocket opening. Curved pocket openings are often found on jeans and casual clothing.  A slanted opening is more tailored and replicates the inspiration pants.To keep the color blocking somewhat subdued,  I used black and dark green worsted wool that has been in my stash for ages. 

Burda 5-2005 112

 

 

 

Colored blocked pants are showing up for spring.   But I will leave this particular fabric combination to tall, young girls like Taylor Swift, who is wearing them in the photo below .

Glam Up a Dress

It is holiday party time again.  My plan was to wear a dress made in a previous year,  but that went out the window when I did a try on of the dresses in my closet.  All okay, but not exciting.   Butterick pattern 5780 was lying on the top of the pattern pile, having been a recent purchase.

 I bought it for the style lines of the neckline. It is described as” the bodice side front bodice extending into back collar”   I have pictures of similar necklines in my inspiration file.

Christian Dior Jacket

Pattern Magic 2

  I thought it would be interesting to make the side front and back out of a different fabric, something sparkly and festive,  that coordinated with the fabric used for the other parts of the dress. It would give the illusion of wearing a short jacket over a scoop neck dress.  The dress is made out of a medium weight ponte knit from Hancock. The coordinating fabric I made myself by layering a sheer fabric over the ponte knit.  I auditioned three sheer fabrics with the  black knit fabric.

 My favorite was a flocked scroll design on a sheer woven.  I chose a sequined tulle instead because the tulle stretched like the knit I was going to use as a base.  I cut the tulle and the  ponte knit using the same pattern pieces, layered the tulle on top of the ponte, serged around the edge to hold the two pieces together and treated them as one for the rest of the construction process. I did not have to remove any sequins from the seam allowance like I did for another recent project.  The sequins on this tulle were tiny and scattered.  They did not cause any problem with serging or sewing. Sigh, this project reminded me of why I do not sew Butterick patterns very often.  The neck, shoulders, bust and torso length always require so many alteration to fit me. Ultimately I used my sloper and drafted the bodice pattern from scratch, but copied the Butterick style lines.  It was a good learning experience.  I did use lining/stay pieces in the bodice  just as the pattern did. They are necessary to hold that fold in place as it starts at the bust and wraps around the neck.  I used the pattern skirt pattern with my bodice.  I did  not insert a zipper. The dress pulls over my head easily.

 

 

 

Sewcial Butterfly

 Last weekend I attended a meet up of local (VA, MD) bloggers and sewists.   You have probably already read about it on the blogs of other attendees.   It was organized by Lisa, another  Richmond, VA blogger.  I have read her blog for several years, but never met her in person.  We drove up to MD together and the two hour drive gave us time to get acquainted. She gave me new sources for patterns and the scarf  she was wearing ( her own design) was a wonderful holiday gift idea.   Robin hosted the get together in her home.  We had a fantastic time talking about all things sewing and  blogging.   Robin told us more about her New York Vogue magazine editor experience and we had a good laugh about the props and poses Vogue magazine has used recently in their photo shoots.  You know the ones I mean,  the giant leaves and odd poses in front of a big picture windows. I had hoped Trena would share her organizational  secrets. The ones  that enable  her to sew so many great garments, write in depth blog posts and reviews, and work a full time job.  And then I find out from cidell ( who was rockin a purple shift dress)  that Trena  also finds time to read and review books too. I am in awe. Just about everyone wore something they had sewn and we got to see and touch garments  that we had seen on blog posts.  Robin couldn’t wear her wonderful Style Arc coat indoors, but we convinced her to leave her coat closet door open so everyone could see it as they came in the door.  We all brought patterns and fabrics for a swap.  Though the piles of fabric and patterns were impressively large,  I was very good and only walked away with one length of fabric and 3 patterns.

I wore a new blouse to the meet up.   I wear a lot of blouses and decided recently to update my wardrobe with a couple of new ones. While browsing the blouses on high end Internet shops,  I was attracted to loose fitting tunics, in large scale print fabrics, with contrasting plackets and collars. 

Inspiration - Tinley blouse

Vogue pattern 1323, a Rachel Comey design,  had similar style details.

Vogue 1323

 Last year, Vogue magazine featured garments made from silk butterfly prints. I loved them.  G Street Fabrics has  several of them,  but with prices way too high for my budget.

  The butterfly prints remind me of an amazing incident that happened 20 years ago. DH and I were staying at a Bed and Breakfast in Berlin, MD. There were fig trees, the 4 ft tall variety,  growing along the side of the B&B.  As we came back from our afternoon walk, we saw the trees were covered  with hundreds of dark blue iridescent butterflies feasting on the overripe fruit, their wings slowly moving in the sunlight. It was a magical sight. I wish I had had a camera.When I saw a 1.8 yard length of silk butterfly print for sale at a very reasonable price on Etsy.com, I hit the "buy now" button.

Construction  details - I lengthened the shirt by three inches. The original length was a bit short for me.  I narrowed the shoulders about half an inch and took the side seams in about an  inch. Normal changes for me with unfitted garment styles. While I like tunic styles, they can easily overwhelm my body shape if they have too much ease. The placket collar and cuff in black fabric give the eye somewhere to focus/rest on when looking at the very busy print.

Vogue 1323 in butterfly print silk

  It is a fun top to wear and I  get  lots of comments and smiles on the butterflies.