tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11576945397884025502024-03-13T03:32:03.793+00:00Confessions of a Sewing NoviceOne woman, one sewing machine, and a very large stack of fabric. What could possibly go wrong?westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.comBlogger381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-76180762768219556392020-12-30T06:00:00.165+00:002020-12-30T06:00:05.638+00:00A Wardrobe Review: 2020<p>For the last three years at least, I've written one of these wardrobe reviews and said something like "this
has been the best year ever!" at the end of every year. Truthfully though, every year
since I started this process has genuinely been a little better than the
last from a wardrobe perspective, and despite everything bad about 2020, this year is no exception.</p><p>For most of this year, due to the whole 2020 thing, I've really stuck to my casual/at-home wardrobe, and tried to maintain and/or refine that. I've broken it out here into: (a) continuing to work on refining my colour choices; (b) making good functional choices for the life I actually lead and making sure my wardrobe is the "right size"; and (c) working on durability/reducing discards.<br /></p><p>(a) <b>COLOUR</b>: My colour
palette is basically navy, grey and white neutrals, with other shades
of blue, turquoise, green and patterns that mix these colours for
accents. Over the last few years I have gradually discarded, mainly
through wear, garments that don't fall into those categories in my main,
everyday wardrobe. At this point, I have just 3 older, non-compliant garments left. I still wear them because I like them and they still fit
into my wardrobe quite well, so they'll stay in until they wear out.<br /></p><p>I've been
near this stage for a couple of years, but I really am now at a point
where, in theory at least, there are nearly endless combinations of outfits in my
wardrobe, and I have no orphans and very few outliers. In practice, sometimes
there is still a clash of shapes/styles, and I don't
always love every single shade of my chosen colours next to every other.
Those are pretty much insurmountable problems unless I were willing to
get even more restrictive with my wardrobe and either limit the shapes
of the garments I wear or be more strict about colour, and I am absolutely not willing to do either. </p><p>My future plans on this front are therefore mostly
just maintenance -- I love these colours and see no reason to change anything at this point. My fabric stash is nearly 100% in line with my colour
palette, so really this should be very easy to accomplish. When (if) I get to make my work wardrobe in 2021, it will follow exactly the same colour scheme -- the aim is to make my whole wardrobe completely cohesive and work together seamlessly.<br /></p><p>(b) <b>FUNCTIONALITY AND WARDROBE SIZE:</b> </p><p>By functionality, I mean: does my wardrobe contain the right clothes for the climate I live in, the day to day activities I actually perform, and the life I actually lead in general? My biggest, dumbest breakthrough on this front was asking myself: what if I didn't pretend to myself I am ever going to wear a lot of skirts or dresses at home as casual wear? I'm not saying there's no place in my wardrobe for skirts or dresses, especially at work, but in my casual/at home wardrobe I basically never choose to wear a dress, and only wear skirts a few times in high summer. I needed to abandon the idea that I'm suddenly going to find the perfect style that is going to change my mind about skirt/dress wearing: it doesn't exist. I wore the skirts I already owned on a few very hot days, just like I do most years, and that was fine.<br /></p><p>Size: Overall this year my wardrobe decreased in size by 11% this year. There were a handful of extras throughout my whole wardrobe that I got rid of for various reasons and didn't replace. If 2021 is the year I go back to work, I anticipate that this number will grow again quite significantly. This year I only added 20 items -- the smallest number since I started planning -- 15 of which were made by me. My RTW purchases were knitwear and activewear, neither of which I want to make myself.<br /></p><p>One completely new functionality/size statistic I thought up this year was looking at how many things I wore at least once this year. Initially I thought this was an obvious and easy calculation: if you count every unique garment I wore at least once, I wore 95 different things in 2020. On average I wore each of these items just under 10 times (9.6, to be exact), with a range of 1-55 wears.<br /></p><p>However, this overlooks the fact that some of those unique garments were direct replacements that I wore consecutively, not concurrently. So, if you pick a garment type, like "navy short-sleeved t-shirt" where I had one, it wore out part-way through the year, I recycled it and then started wearing a completely identical new one, and count those two things as a single garment, I wore 85 garments at least once, and the average wear number shifts upwards just a bit to almost exactly 10. </p><p>The thing about this is: is 85 a good number, is 10 wears a year a good number? Who knows! Given the seasonality I experience where I live (about 20 weeks of summer, 20 weeks of winter and 12 weeks of mid-season split between the two changes of season) it means on average I wear anything seasonal about once every two weeks. That seems pretty reasonable given my laundry cycle. <br /></p><p>Beyond the average number though, there are an awful lot of things that I actually only wore 1-3 times this year on that list: 19 things, to be precise. And there's another 12 things in my "casual/at home" wardrobe I didn't wear at all this year. How many of those 31 items would I even miss if I didn't have them?<br /></p><p>Looking at what those 31 garments actually were, there's a mix of reasons I didn't wear them. Some are down to the 2020 effect: there are some things that I just didn't need this year because lockdown was a whole new level of not going out, even for me. A second category is garments that I keep for rare periods of very hot and very cold days: by design I don't have frequent opportunities to wear them, and that's OK. I definitely have too many hot day items, due to an excess of enthusiasm for sewing them a few years ago, but I like them all and they don't take up much space so I live with it. These and other excuses take my "why do I own this" list down to 11 items. Would I notice if I didn't have those 11 things? I think I would notice if I didn't have ALL of them, but I could probably consolidate my numbers. If I own 4 woven summer tops that I collectively wear 8 times in total, could I have just one that I liked much better and wear 8 times?<br /></p><p>Overall I tend to think the problem with most of those 11
less-worn items -- and actually this is specifically the case for those 4
woven tops -- is that I like them least of everything in my wardrobe. That's not to say I don't like them at all, because then it would be easy and I'd just get rid of them. I just like them a lot less than other choices. In a few cases this is
because there is a good reason to prefer and reach for other things -- mainly that they have small fitting and sewing flaws that annoy me just enough to put me off wearing them.<br /></p><p>On
the one hand, since I am not, and will never be, an absolutely perfect
fitting master, and I'm human and I'm going to make mistakes, there's
probably always going to be something in my wardrobe that isn't 100%
right and that I like least. On the other hand, I probably could stand to be more ruthless about
getting rid of things I don't like enough to wear but that I'm hanging
on to for some reason, probably because I liked the idea so much and/or it represents hours
of work.</p><p>Another function/wardrobe size issue I have though is that I definitely got very bored and annoyed of my summer wardrobe by the late summer this year, even with all those tops I didn't wear,
and I am already sick of my winter wardrobe with most of the winter still to go. But again, that could just be a 2020 problem. Am I bored and annoyed by my wardrobe or just generally fed-up? Would making my wardrobe even smaller make me more bored and annoyed, or just the same amount of bored and annoyed (since last time I was apparently not bored or annoyed enough to wear little worn items or buy/make anything)?<br /></p><p>As you can probably tell, I have no answers at the moment for these questions, but I will possibly report back at the end of 2021 with further thoughts.<br /></p><p>(C) <b>DURABILITY</b>: This is the big one! For
the last few years I've talked about discards in my end of year
summaries a lot. As I've said frequently in the past, when I first saw
the statistic that women in the US/UK throw away 65 garments on average
per year, most of which went goes into landfill, I truly believed that
I could not possibly be one of those women. In 2016 I decided to track
what I discarded to prove it to myself. I was then suitably horrified to
discover that I was, in fact, absolutely average, if not worse, and had discarded almost 90 garments. I've been trying for several years to try to reduce the numbers of clothes I discard each year, but this is the first year I've really seen a big impact of the things I've been trying to do on both the numbers of things I've discarded, but even more importantly, how many times I wore things before I discarded them.<br /></p><p>The reason for this is that most of the effort goes in at the acquisition stage, and only a little bit at the point of discard, and as a result I'm only just now seeing the effect of changes I made 2-3 years ago as those are the things that are finally wearing out. I worked on making sure I never bought or made things that really didn't fit or work with my wardrobe, to reduce the numbers of things I discarded almost unworn. When I made things I tried to pick construction methods that would be sturdy and long-lasting. I tried to choose better quality fabrics for both RTW and handmade, especially knits. I tried to look after my garments more effectively, particularly in the laundry, and tried to repair things and/or remove marks and stains more. The only thing I did at the latter end of the process was try to see if something could be worn some more e.g. as active wear even if it was no longer suitable for everyday wear. </p><p>In 2020 this all seemed to bear fruit: I discarded a total of 42 garments which is the smallest number since 2016 (last year was my previous low, at 59 items). Of these just under three quarters (30/42) were discarded because they were worn out or, in the case of 4 of these items, damaged beyond repair (3 wool items that had been eaten by moths D: and a cardigan that was smeared with tar). </p><p>Of the 26 things that I discarded
because of wear, I had worn
them on average 46 times, with a range of 22-130 wears (both ends of the
range are outliers -- the 22 wear item was a poor quality knit that pilled and faded
horribly within the first 5 wears, the 130 wear item was a pair of
ponte knit trousers apparently made of iron that I only discarded
because the seams at centre back and inner thigh went shiny). Without the highest and lowest values, the average number of wears was 43. Even at the lower level, this is another <u>big</u> improvement on last year, when the average number of wears was 33. I previously said I wore my clothes on average 10 times per year, so in effect I got an extra year worth of wear out of my clothes compared to last year. <br /></p><p>The other 12 items were: "Size/Fit Problems" - 8 garments; and "Why Did I Ever Own This?" - 4 garments, which I wore on average 5 times each. I'm disappointed I had any of these, but again these are my lowest numbers ever in these categories and hopefully they will continue to decrease over time.<br /></p><p><b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b></p><p>1. I'm a giant nerd with a lot of spreadsheets. </p><p>2. I like my wardrobe <u>so much</u> more than I did 5 years ago, and if that took being a giant nerd with spreadsheets, then so be it.</p><p>3. It would be hard for me to go back to not having a plan for what I want my wardrobe to look like. I really considered if 5 years of tracking my wardrobe etc was enough and if I should go back to "normal", no-spreadsheet life and call my experiment over. However, I feel like my wardrobe spreadsheets give me so much discipline, they are worth the minor hassle of keeping them updated.<br /></p><p>4. I'm probably going to go round and round the problem of "what is the right size for my wardrobe" forever and never reach a conclusion.</p><p>5. There is one elusive thing I wish for my wardrobe, and that's for the kind of X-factor that would take me from "has a plan" to "has a style". I do think quite often that there's a danger that my kind of planning makes for a very bland and conservative wardrobe, and I wonder how I could add some really one of a kind pieces it, probably things I make myself. That is one of my 2021 goals, in fact, to try to add just a few really interesting things to what I own, although it's hard to get enthusiastic about it in the short-term because we're all going to be locked down here until spring by the looks of things. :|</p><p>6. If you have any questions about anything I've written about, please ask, I love this stuff and nobody in the real world would listen to even 1 minute of me talking about it. :D<br /></p>westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-89349057300806840192020-12-29T16:51:00.000+00:002020-12-29T16:51:26.610+00:002020 Roundup & 2021 Plans<p>Hello! Hope everybody reading this is enjoying the end of year festivities as well as they are able this year! After almost 6 months I am back again to tell you about how the rest of my year of sewing, and to recap 2020 from a sewing perspective. </p><p>Truthfully, it's not been a great year for sewing for me. In addition to the limitation of just really not needing very much variety in my clothes this year, I also really didn't feel like making anything for long, long stretches of time. I had basically zero creative spark for most of the year, and when it did strike I either (a) sewed things I knew would work out and that I could wear immediately, which, because I was at home and not doing anything, meant I wasn't sewing anything very interesting; or (b) did something completely different with that energy (mostly drawing and baking). The only good thing was that, unlike in other years where the sewing enthusiasm failed me, I didn't keep buying fabric. Although my stash is still larger than I'd like, it hasn't doubled in size or anything, which is a genuine risk at times. I don't feel bad that I wasn't particularly creative in my sewing in
2020: I think we can all agree that it was a tough year to live through,
even if you've not been directly affected by the very worst things it has
throw at us. </p><p><b>Sewing Output 2020</b></p><p>I sewed 20 garments in 2020, 2 of which were gifts for my mum.<br /></p><p>Of the 18 things I made for myself, 3 were wadders -- one Burda magazine pattern sweatshirt (I had MAJOR fabric problems and am inclined to think nobody would have been successful using it) and 2 simple knit tank tops (I really messed up the bindings at the armholes on BOTH of them). </p><p>Of the remaining 15 items, 10 fall into the category of "easy and/or TNTs": t-shirts, simple casual trousers, a caftan, pyjamas, and -- the most complex but in this category because at this point I am so familiar with the pattern -- a couple of pairs of my favourite stretch woven trouser pattern, Jalie Eleonore. </p><p>I think it's worth saying that I actually love all 10 of the easy/TNT garments I made. I know a lot of people don't bother to make their own basics because they find it dull, but I find it exceptionally rewarding that so many of my staples are handmade. A highlight for me in this category is a pair of ultra-lightweight stretch denim Jalie Eleonore trousers that I made late summer that I ADORE and wore constantly in the late summer and autumn. I never took a photo of them though because truly, nobody cares about a pair of plain blue stretch woven trousers made with a pattern you've used several times before!</p><p>The last five items consisted of 1 fancy peplum jacket (for a wedding that has been postponed into 2021 and that I probably won't be able to attend) and 4 woven tops, which were varying degrees of successful. Sometimes I think I enjoy the sewing challenge of making woven tops more than I like actually wearing them. I wouldn't call any of the tops an outright failure, but definitely I wore them less frequently and overall enjoyed them far less than I expected.<br /></p><p>My highlights of the year are the un-photographed Jalie trousers I've already mentioned, and these two garments, at wildly different ends of the complexity spectrum:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9gTr-G9-6pc/X-sQHfakKZI/AAAAAAAAEyI/m2amz1AzjxAIuiJC_6uGkm8NEcMoLGRlACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Highlights.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9gTr-G9-6pc/X-sQHfakKZI/AAAAAAAAEyI/m2amz1AzjxAIuiJC_6uGkm8NEcMoLGRlACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Highlights.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2020 Highlights<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>On the left, the McCall's 7513 blazer I made from a turquoise brocade fabric that mimics sequins, intended to be part of a Wedding Guest outfit at Easter that was, of course, cancelled. I've never worn it, but it's still a highlight to me because it turned out exactly the way I imagined it would and I love it.<br /></p><p>On the right, the back view of a pair of StyleArc Anna trousers in a grey pin-striped linen-mix trousers. This is an incredibly simple 2-piece pattern -- I've made more complicated pyjama patterns! However, this is the first pair of trousers I've made where I am genuinely proud of the fit that I achieved, after YEARS of struggling with the pattern pieces for the back of the body in particular. <br /></p><p><b>Spending & Stash<br /></b></p><p>This was probably the lowest spending year I've had for sewing since I started back in 2011 -- about 60% of a typical year -- and that decrease is down to the fact that spending in my biggest category, fabric, was very restrained this year. Most of the money I spend this year on fabric was in Feb/early March, mainly buying in anticipation of sewing a work wardrobe. After it became clear that 2020 was not going to go according to anyone's plan, I basically stopped buying, making only a handful of purchases thereafter and mostly for immediate use. After fabric, my biggest purchase was my magazine subscriptions, although I also went on a weird cross-stitch kit spending spree mid-year. </p><p>In total, I spent 43% of my total sewing budget this year on fabric, adding 50.40m of fabric to my stash. Of this, 44m was purchased in February and early March before the coronavirus implications really hit home. I've only used 26% of the fabric I bought in 2020, which is much lower percentage than usual, but like I said: I bought fabrics for workwear, not for spending the vast majority of my time in the house.</p><p>Over the year I used 38.8m of fabric, meaning my stash increased by 15.6m to 214m, which is... not a number I like! After years of goal-setting around stash reduction, however, I have given up. I won't make a dent in the size of my stash until I start making my extremely-long-planned work wardrobe and I'm not spending all day every day in the house. Some huge percentage of my stash is intended for smart casual/business casual/business formal wear, including a lot of fabric I bought for that very purposes even before I initially became ill in late 2013. I'll use it one of these days, but for sure 2020 wasn't the year for it!</p><p><b>Planning ahead </b><br /></p><p>Looking ahead, well, I think like most people I'm very hesitant to say what 2021 is going to look at from any perspective, sewing included, and any plans I have are at best tentative! I have just a couple of gaps/replacements in my "depths of winter" wardrobe I'd like to fill in the next few weeks, and looking further ahead I have a few gaps in my spring and summer wardrobes too, mostly because I discarded some things at the end of last season that I'll need to replace. Making those replacements, keeping my wardrobe at my preferred level, and maybe making one or two more interesting extras is my "nothing changes", minimal 10-15 garment sewing plan for 2021. On my "interesting" list is something to commemorate to myself that this will be my 10th year of sewing, and I am going to try to make something quite complicated to mark that mini-anniversary.<br /></p><p>Let's also try to be optimistic for a moment! Maybe things will get a lot better, and plans I had at the start of 2020 can be resurrected. I have a whole plan (and associated fabric/pattern stash) just waiting in the wings for the day when it seems like I need to pull together a whole new work wardrobe. Also, if things go back to anything like normal, I think like many people I'm planning to make the most of it and go out and about doing things as much as I am able, and that will require some subtle wardrobe changes and therefore some fun sewing. </p><p>I'm not giving up on blogging about sewing, and though I'm unlikely to ever go back to my once-a-week posts from back in the day I would like to aim for a little more frequency than I managed this year. I barely even used Instagram this year, though I look at it everyday. I am good at liking things (which of course people never see, especially those of you who are super popular) and I comment only occasionally. Still, one of my goals next year is to try to reconnect a bit with the sewing community online, so if you follow me on Instagram you might see a bit more activity. I also have another Insta account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/calathea.draws/" target="_blank">(@calathea.draws)</a> where I post drawing stuff, which is also very low volume at present. I am absolutely NOT good at drawing, but apparently I enjoy being mediocre in public. :D</p><p>I'm going to talk about my overall wardrobe in another
post including what I wore, how my tracking project is going, my general
thoughts on the subject of planning my wardrobe, so look for that
tomorrow if you're interested. </p>westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-60804008053627351312020-07-09T16:13:00.001+01:002020-07-09T20:24:38.920+01:00Summer sewing, part II: Trouser victory (at last!)Hello again sewing friends! :D<br />
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The last time I posted was in early April, and at that point I quite genuinely planned to binge sew my way through the quarantine blues. It didn't really turn out that way because.... I don't even know how to describe it. Because of the howling pit of despair created by Covid-19 on top of the ordinary, horrendous state of the world right now? Something like that, anyway. At any rate, I did drag myself out of my funk occasionally over that period, and feel somewhat less like howling along with the void at present, so I have finally started making some progress on my summer sewing.<br />
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My most notable success since my last post is that my many MANY attempts to figure out how to make trousers that actually fit (mostly) wrinkle free suddenly and wholly unexpectedly bore fruit!<br />
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On this occasion, I started with the StyleArc Anna Pant pattern, an extremely uninteresting wide-leg, drawstring waist trouser. This simple style (loose fitting, wide-leg, linen or linen/blend) is my preferred type of light weight trousers, and I wear trousers of this type frequently on warmer summer days. I have several similar RTW pairs and they tend to get a lot of wear each year. Since linen is not the most robust fabric, I also replace them fairly often (historically, I have discarded similar garments after 50-60 wears). One of my preferred RTW shops for these trousers recently changed their design very much for the worse, in my opinion, and this created the impetus for me to try (again!) to make my own.<br />
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As far as design changes go: I do not like drawstring waists because I always feel as if I am one snagged tie away from being de-pantsed in public, so I replaced it with elastic. I also stole an in-seam pocket from a similar Ottobre pattern because no, really, who doesn't put pockets in a trouser pattern?! And then I made so very VERY many fitting adjustments.<br />
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This was the outcome when I made the much-adjusted pattern up in grey pinstriped linen:<br />
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Just for context, let me remind you what my attempts at fitting had produced previously:</div>
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I took these photos over a year ago (April 2019) At the time, I was absolutely delighted at the improvement I'd made moving from the version on the left to the version on the right. However, my new StyleArc Anna trousers are a whole new level of wrinkle free. There are, to be fair, some differences between the patterns that affect fitting success: the pattern I was using at that time has a slimmer leg and closer fitting patterns tend to show up more flaws. I also still haven't got the shape of the centre seam quite right even on my most recent trousers. However, the clear and obvious improvement is that the ALL wrinkles running from below the butt to above the knee are GONE. <br />
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I knew from recent attempts to improve my previous fitting pattern that the fish-eye dart was the answer to this wrinkle problem. However, although I figured out how much I needed to sew out in a muslin I had never successfully managed to integrate it into a pattern, and this is not an adjustment you can make after cutting out. This time I made a specific effort to look for a clear explanation of how to adjust the paper pattern and found <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7370831@N07/sets/72157600004811376/with/424123221/">this ultra-simple photo tutorial</a>. Hey presto! Less than 5 minutes of pattern work and my trousers now look astonishingly smoother and nearly wrinkle-free!<br />
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The less obvious improvement, or the improvement only obvious to me, is that my new pinstriped trousers are so much more comfortable than the similar RTW pairs I have been wearing up to now. I have always joked that people who say you should disassemble well fitting garments you own to use them as a pattern have an altogether different set of problems to me: I've been sewing for 9 years this year, and I've not owned a single pair of RTW trousers in that whole time that I could honestly say fit well.<br />
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For a while this lack of experience of a well-fitting trouser made me think that the pursuit of (relatively) wrinkle free fitting was more about aesthetics and, I don't even know, earning some kind of sewing merit badge, rather than really being necessary for comfort. I don't know that the fish eye dart specifically contributes massively to comfort level, but I am absolutely certain that changing the height of the rise, the shape of the crotch seam and side seams, and the width at the upper thigh to accommodate my actual body shape, rather than some designer's idea of what the "average" body looks like, produces life-alteringly more comfortable clothes. (And also, I do like knowing that my trousers look really good!)</div>
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It also just goes to show that sometimes you just have to keep going with fitting. I have been trying, off and on, to make trousers that fit well and are a genuine improvement on RTW, for FOUR YEARS. Sometimes I gave up in disgust for months at a time and declared that I would only ever make e.g. joggers and PJs and rely on RTW for everything else. Sometimes I made a little progress but I was still disappointed by the final project as well as completely exhausted by the process. This time, however, I seem to made some genuine progress. Let's hope it's not an isolated outcome!</div>
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Other clothes I have made since my last post include:</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-G0wuBhui0/XwcfICQj3gI/AAAAAAAAEsQ/zNQGD7ymW0kRyYSM3mEEuhP11sJTalVpgCK4BGAsYHg/s3264/tentacle%2Btop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1830" data-original-width="3264" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T-G0wuBhui0/XwcfICQj3gI/AAAAAAAAEsQ/zNQGD7ymW0kRyYSM3mEEuhP11sJTalVpgCK4BGAsYHg/w640-h358/tentacle%2Btop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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1. This wacky top from Burda (04-2020-121), which I affectionately call a Tentacle Monster top because the single pattern piece looks more suited to a kraken than a person.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rK3YxWzOLw/XwciWxAVt1I/AAAAAAAAEss/1tAT5_VnyFgfvlDSPod0m40jNbWJGh0MgCK4BGAsYHg/s3264/vogue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1830" data-original-width="3264" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rK3YxWzOLw/XwciWxAVt1I/AAAAAAAAEss/1tAT5_VnyFgfvlDSPod0m40jNbWJGh0MgCK4BGAsYHg/w640-h358/vogue.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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2. View B of Vogue 9360, a super dramatic shirt with a long tail. I like this somewhat but I regret my fabric/view combination. It's made of a navy polyester with a tiny white polka dot. Ordinarily I steer clear of polyester altogether, although I am willing to wear a very limited amount in winter when it's cold. I don't tend to wear it in summer at all because it's too sweaty. To get maximum enjoyment from this top I should have made either this short-sleeved view in a different fabric for summer or else made a long-sleeved version in this fabric for winter. That said, I have worn it, sweatiness notwithstanding, because I enjoy swooping around in it dramatically. If you plan to make this pattern I recommend using something drapey for maximum swoopability.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nj0u6aTJoGM/Xwcj8Cu_F2I/AAAAAAAAEtI/8hqTPo6Ap3kL7mWKR8mEd5LF4KYUJPHqgCK4BGAsYHg/s3264/jules.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1830" data-original-width="3264" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nj0u6aTJoGM/Xwcj8Cu_F2I/AAAAAAAAEtI/8hqTPo6Ap3kL7mWKR8mEd5LF4KYUJPHqgCK4BGAsYHg/w640-h358/jules.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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3. The StyleArc Jules tunic in white cotton sateen. This is MUCH more ruffly than my typical choices! I saw someone else's version of this on... idk, Instagram probably, and thought it looked so good on her I had to get the pattern even though it's not my usual sort of thing. I really like my summer cotton version and I'm glad I made it, but I do NOT know how people who do bridal sewing keep anything white looking good. I swear mine looked like a chimney sweep had worn it by the time I was done sewing, despite all my best efforts!</div>
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4. Another pair of Jalie Eleonore trousers (no photo). I made them before I had the fisheye dart epiphany, so the fitting quality is at best okay. I love them anyway, though. It's one of my favourite patterns. I've made it three times in under a year and plan to make a fourth pair very soon.</div>
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Next up for me: a couple more pairs of trousers (do we sense a theme?!), one knit and one woven top. The weather here is super cold (truly: it's like 14C (57F) here today) and I am at the point of the summer where I feel like anything I don't have now is not going to get enough wear to make it worth sewing this year, so that's likely to be the last of my summer sewing. I do have a bigger project in mind for August in preparation for autumn, so depending on the state of the pit of despair, I will come back to talk about that soon. :D In the meantime I hope everyone is keeping safe and well despite the increasingly trying circumstances in which we live. ❤️</div>
westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-23762910503653498252020-04-05T18:02:00.000+01:002020-04-05T18:02:05.358+01:00Spring and summer sewing #1: Caftan and stripes and a failure, oh myHello again, how is everyone coping? I feel like everyone I know had a really tough week this week, now that the novelty of working at home (or trying to) and kids being off school unexpectedly has worn off and the reality of the lockdown has really set in. Plus I have several friends who are sick/have sick family members, and many many friends who are facing serious economic uncertainty. Times are very hard, friends. Take good care of yourselves, whatever that means to you right now.<br />
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On a more positive note, spring is finally here in the northwest of England! I broke out my spring wardrobe last weekend and put a lot of heavier clothes away until winter rolls around again. I'm also sewing up a storm here in anticipation of warmer weather and sunshine. Bizarrely, despite the constant flow of grim news and ever-present anxiety, I am having a pretty creative period. The big tension right now is between my goal to keep control of the overall size of my wardrobe and my desire to distract myself from the news by sewing ALL the things. At the moment, wardrobe control is losing that battle.<br />
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Thus, after <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2020/03/sewing-in-time-of-epidemic-or-not.html">finishing the Not-Wedding Guest Jacket</a>, I immediately decided I wanted to make several easier garments. Here are 4 successful easy garments and one sad failure from the last couple of weeks.<br />
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<b>1. The Umbrella Caftan</b><br />
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Decades ago, when I was a kid in the 80s, my mum made me a really simple caftan style dressing gown that I ADORED and wore until it was quite literally threadbare. I decided now is the perfect time for a caftan revival. (And I'm not alone: I've seen one or two other people on Insta who obviously had the same thought!) My specific version was made with the intention of using it as a sort of throw-it-on house-dress/cover-up/dressing gown for the summer.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9iLuiugnPFQ/XonYB-P4V6I/AAAAAAAAEng/oaHiAnlEL9wyPeHG28DYc0UVyenA5YLWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1170x1470_BS_2011_03_125_front.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="720" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9iLuiugnPFQ/XonYB-P4V6I/AAAAAAAAEng/oaHiAnlEL9wyPeHG28DYc0UVyenA5YLWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1170x1470_BS_2011_03_125_front.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 03-2011-12 pattern technical drawing</td></tr>
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I used Burda 03-2011-12, a pattern in the great tradition of Giant Rectangles in Burda magazines. I actually had several possible patterns to choose from in my Burda stash, but I rather liked that this one is not quite as Giant-Rectangle-y as some, and has the placket feature (although that actually disappears into the print fabric in my finished garment).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_hLzxzlwtX4/XooLpacyRCI/AAAAAAAAEpE/MMOS1oL2-McExv1j0TR9foxqwMYF0DzDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/caftan%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_hLzxzlwtX4/XooLpacyRCI/AAAAAAAAEpE/MMOS1oL2-McExv1j0TR9foxqwMYF0DzDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/caftan%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished Umbrella Caftan</td></tr>
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For fabric, I used this block printed super light-weight cotton I bought in 2018 mail order from India, with an
umbrella and rain motif. (And yes, I did spend the whole time I was
sewing singing Rihanna's Umbrella under my breath.) I made one adjustment: the stitching lines (shown above as a dotted line) as written were perfect if I planned to wear this as a dress or over e.g. just a swimsuit, but as I want to use it as a cover-up over PJs among other things, I added some extra width between the two lines so I could throw it on as a outer layer. The big down-side of this pattern is that the hem is about 30 miles long. I did a rolled hem using my rolled hem presser foot because trying to turn and press it all would have ended up with me losing my mind. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6sHujwdAAk/XooLrn9RUbI/AAAAAAAAEpI/eUsxXC_dVMgYPo_EyAD1wh3iwC8fvfZ3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/caftan%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6sHujwdAAk/XooLrn9RUbI/AAAAAAAAEpI/eUsxXC_dVMgYPo_EyAD1wh3iwC8fvfZ3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/caftan%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Umbrella/raindrop pring close up and the "wings" of the caftan</td></tr>
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I really like this caftan. Actually, if I were in the habit of buying massive pieces of fabric I'd probably have made a dozen more of this pattern, I like it so much. (This particular version took 4.5m of 110cm wide with almost nothing left over, and even if you used 150cm wide fabric you still need 3.5+m) Alas, I rarely buy huge pieces of fabric, and the few pieces I do have are not right for the pattern. India is on total lockdown right now, of course, but if/when my favourite Indian cotton print vendor returns to selling, I will be ready and waiting with my credit card so I can make at least one more.<br />
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<b>2. The Multi-Direction Stripe Shirt</b><br />
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This is honestly my favourite thing I've made in a LONG time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jl0zhNkiqOY/XooAbfN9TDI/AAAAAAAAEoM/FvdOVmrxVx43-DhiIyfpZk1uK4YakVgXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/striped%2Bshirt%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jl0zhNkiqOY/XooAbfN9TDI/AAAAAAAAEoM/FvdOVmrxVx43-DhiIyfpZk1uK4YakVgXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/striped%2Bshirt%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new multi-direction striped shirt using a vintage pattern (Vogue 9906) and striped linen</td></tr>
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I am having a love affair with stripes at the moment, and just keep buying and buying striped fabrics. This shirt and the t-shirt below are just the START of the stripes I have planned for this year. However, in some cases I bought the striped fabric ahead of any kind of sensible plan for what I was going to do with it, and I have therefore been searching for inspiration images on and off for a few weeks on Pinterest.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r4QQSqDZ3kM/XonZTFKnvfI/AAAAAAAAEns/h7fjQnBxqPYNImeLiAo3nVyn87feTH_qQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/striped%2Bshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="563" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r4QQSqDZ3kM/XonZTFKnvfI/AAAAAAAAEns/h7fjQnBxqPYNImeLiAo3nVyn87feTH_qQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/striped%2Bshirt.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inspiration image</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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This particular garment came about like this: late Thursday night I was scrolling through Pinterest in an insomniac haze when I saw this photo and really liked it, although it wasn't really right for the linen striped fabric I had earmarked for my next project. I saved it and carried on looking at other images.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/7558/15719290340_91b3b65171_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="487" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7558/15719290340_91b3b65171_b.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattern envelope for Vogue 9906 -- though not my personal pattern envelope (which is a size 14 and also much more beaten up!)</td></tr>
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On Friday morning, I woke up with a Eureka moment. My subconscious apparently put together linen striped fabric + contrasting directions + ??pattern?? and came up with: Vogue 9906, a vintage pattern I have pulled out of stash about 20 times since I bought it back in 2014. Every time I'd look at this 1970s pattern and think: I love this, but I don't know how that centre front seam is going to work out. Except now I had an idea that NEEDED a centre front seam as a feature. I decided I would look at making View A (top left in the pattern image -- short sleeves, no drawtring at the hem). (I left off the pocket, because I never add bust pockets.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tNeScCEh18/XooAAZUckvI/AAAAAAAAEoE/0OJcufWjO2A1U6aAxiYXInZcA7Q_nxrHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/drape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tNeScCEh18/XooAAZUckvI/AAAAAAAAEoE/0OJcufWjO2A1U6aAxiYXInZcA7Q_nxrHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/drape.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very dubious attempt to see what a contrast stripe front would look like</td></tr>
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On Friday I did a dodgy "test drape" on Flossie to see if I still liked the idea, pulled out the pattern and did some fitting adjustments (square shoulder, forward shoulder, rounded back, added 5cm to the overall length), and cut it out. Not on that list? An FBA, even though my copy was a single size 1970s size 14 and I am not a size 14, at all. This was meant to be a very over-sized top. However, on one of the previous occasions I tried to use this pattern, I did an FBA and added a side dart to adjust the pattern to the size it "should" be, in terms of ease, made a muslin and: NOPE. This time I just made the smaller version that fits totally differently to the way the designer planned but which I like a lot. The other change I didn't have to make was to narrow the shoulder, which is a constant refrain most of the time. I could <i>maybe </i>have shaved off another 0.5cm from the shoulder, but it's fine. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPCNzdgnq10/XooA-uRAIaI/AAAAAAAAEoY/CD3ML_Bm51otRjqxxztQzDapfe4DY5PGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/striped%2Bshirt%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPCNzdgnq10/XooA-uRAIaI/AAAAAAAAEoY/CD3ML_Bm51otRjqxxztQzDapfe4DY5PGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/striped%2Bshirt%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of shirt, and the collar/shoulder detail. The photo on the right is actually a better colour match to the real thing</td></tr>
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And then Saturday, I sewed non-stop and got it done. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vld_eDvIB5Q/XooBYyi0o9I/AAAAAAAAEog/SDYl5fIJyuYk_dULAqDjcjc_1JF4rApCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/striped%2Bshirt%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vld_eDvIB5Q/XooBYyi0o9I/AAAAAAAAEog/SDYl5fIJyuYk_dULAqDjcjc_1JF4rApCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/striped%2Bshirt%2B3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishd shirt on Flossie. I actually like how the collar looks when it's popped like that.</td></tr>
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I love how this turned out. Seriously. LOVE it. And I really REALLY love the contrast/multi-direction stripe on the front. The hidden joy this project was that the sewing went really well also. I didn't sew much at all for the second half of 2018 and most of 2019, and so I felt pretty rusty when I started again this year. This shirt felt like the project where my skills came back to me and everything just flowed. This is not one of those things where I look at it and think "I love this in spite of all the pain it caused!" for once!<br />
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<b>3. Loose Fit Tee x 2</b><br />
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Every couple
of years I pick a new looser-fitting tee pattern and make a couple of
them. This time I decided to use a pattern from the book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Makers-Atelier-Essential-Collection-Sewing/dp/1849499047/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+maker%27s+atelier&qid=1586093311&sr=8-1">The Maker's Atelier</a> (Amazon UK link, but I'm not an affiliate or sponsored, also, I did NOT pay that much for it!) produced by the pattern company of the same name. I'm not sure
what I was thinking to buy the book because it's really not all that
exciting, pattern content-wise, but since I already own it and I liked
the look of the slightly shaped t-shirt pattern called The Oversized Tee, I decided to give it a
go.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3LNo9q1G_yY/XooFG7-J9lI/AAAAAAAAEo4/CWU8yNcaxP080R9QhTr19-gCz9LGn6PnACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/t-shirts1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3LNo9q1G_yY/XooFG7-J9lI/AAAAAAAAEo4/CWU8yNcaxP080R9QhTr19-gCz9LGn6PnACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/t-shirts1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2x Maker's Atelier Oversized Tee</td></tr>
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I made two tees, one striped, one plain. The only change I made is
that the patttern calls for a turn-and-stitch neckline, which: no,
absolutely not. I bound mine the way I usually do instead, which also
gave me the opportunity to contrast-bind the striped version. I don't
mind the higher-than-I-usually-make neckline but I think if I made it
again I'd scoop it a little bit. I've already worn both of these and I really like them.<br />
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<b>4. A failed sweater</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2vumri5xh5A/Xond9T97AYI/AAAAAAAAEn4/sAQOF6kis7kgfSI4e6ieMnVN7nVgjsKCACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sweater%2Bburda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2vumri5xh5A/Xond9T97AYI/AAAAAAAAEn4/sAQOF6kis7kgfSI4e6ieMnVN7nVgjsKCACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/sweater%2Bburda.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 04-2020-116 garment photo and technical drawing (from Burda.de)</td></tr>
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I picked out a few patterns from the most recent (04/2020) issue of Burda, among them this simple sweater with a collar detail (04-2020-116), for future use. I hadn't really thought to make it immediately, but on a whim, I decided to use it with a piece of medium weight royal blue fabric. It was one of the very first fabrics I bought when I started buying knits back in 2012, but somehow I never got around to sewing it up.<br />
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<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TfrTWGhvwbw/XooMd8EeoxI/AAAAAAAAEpQ/xD_jBcJVLYEe7v6KVpgx9wE6PgBqKxzhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/failed%2Bblue%2Bsweater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TfrTWGhvwbw/XooMd8EeoxI/AAAAAAAAEpQ/xD_jBcJVLYEe7v6KVpgx9wE6PgBqKxzhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/failed%2Bblue%2Bsweater.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look how much that neckline GREW D: The one fitting measurement Flossie and I are identical on is shoulder width, so you can see how this would be a problem!!</td></tr>
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I am really not sure how to apportion blame for the disaster that followed. Part of the problem is the unwise combination of a fabric that slowly relaxed more and more as I sewed and did not bounce back AT ALL, and a pattern with a fussy neckline that required me to perform multiple passes over the neckline seams. I also made a mistake early on in the neckline sewing and had to unpick, adding to the stress along that seam. Also the pattern did not call for any kind of interfacing and I thought of adding it in far too late for it to be any use. No matter why it happened, the end result is the same: beautifully sewn
neckline, but twice the width that it was when I originally cut it out. :(
Shame, because I loved the colour!<br />
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I'm dismayed that I failed so hard on such a easy pattern but... I'm actually not sure that anything I tried to make with this fabric would have been successful, so in that sense I am glad that this was an on-a-whim project rather than something I had really planned and looked forward to making.<br />
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So that's my recent sewing round up. Next time on my sewing table: more stripes! even MORE stripes! and also me vs. trouser fitting, round 87. <br />
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Stay well everyone!westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-6869035924205138802020-03-25T15:40:00.000+00:002020-03-25T21:40:19.892+00:00Sewing In a Time Of Epidemic, or, The (Not-)Wedding Guest Jacket CompletedIs this the most "fiddling while Rome burns" thing I have ever written? Possibly. Truthfully, though, for most of us there comes a point when you have done all the things you CAN do that will actually make a difference to the current situation, and then you are left with too much time on your hands. At that point, you can either use that time to work yourself up in a frenzy of anxiety over the things that are happening that you CAN'T change or affect, which will make you feel awful and yet also not improve the situation in any way; or you can distract yourself at least some of the time. My second favourite distraction (nothing will ever beat reading to first favourite) is of course sewing. If I end up documenting sewing my way to a whole new wardrobe over this spring/summer and burning through half my stash in the process: well, so be it. <br />
<br />
So, let me kick off with a completed project I've talked about before: the (Not) Wedding Guest Jacket. <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-wedding-guest-outfit-part-i-fabric.html">I last posted about it at muslin stage</a> as I prepared to make it to wear to a family wedding in April. Alas, by the time I was even halfway through construction it already looked unlikely I'd be able to attend, and at this point the wedding has been postponed until 2021.<br />
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Nevertheless, I decided to keep going to finish the jacket, partly for the distraction, but mostly because I'm not someone who keeps a pile of part-finished sewing projects: I tend to work on things consecutively rather than concurrently. I really wanted to finish this before I moved on, and I wanted to finish it as nicely as possible, because I do think it is still a fun garment and a useful addition to my wardrobe.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNLH6UgNhRM/XnM0ys7BgVI/AAAAAAAAEmE/GQWMoScxcyw8B-E1iK2ZeeDNMXGNg2SGgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/7513.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1164" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNLH6UgNhRM/XnM0ys7BgVI/AAAAAAAAEmE/GQWMoScxcyw8B-E1iK2ZeeDNMXGNg2SGgCPcBGAYYCw/s640/7513.webp" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCalls 7513 cover art. I made the modelled version (A) with the pleated peplum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As I described in my last post, I had decided to make McCall's 7513, a semi-fitted jacket with a peplum, with the variations in the pattern being mostly in the length and style of the peplum. I made the version in the modelled image, A, with the shorter, pleated peplum, although I left off that little band you can see on the back. I made no other significant changes to the design that weren't about fit or comfort. However, I did make a great many adjustments, after running through multiple bodice muslins, as described previously, and then subsequently many, MANY sleeve muslins.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXQzTI0CqWg/Xnt2UVCKhzI/AAAAAAAAEmM/RqJ2DJiCsAErD-GotKaSMn1Ned4-fWPMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-03-25%2B14.42.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXQzTI0CqWg/Xnt2UVCKhzI/AAAAAAAAEmM/RqJ2DJiCsAErD-GotKaSMn1Ned4-fWPMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/2020-03-25%2B14.42.10.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front view of my version of McCall's 7513 on my tailor's dummy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
As far as the fit adjustments go, I started with the things I now tend to do automatically: rounded back, squaring and narrowing the shoulder, and adding length to the bodice. As I mentioned in my last post I also changed the front waist darts to shoulder princess seams, matching the construction of the back, because I thought this fit better and was more aesthetically pleasing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N8VoTDWpPoY/Xnt2g1bdkGI/AAAAAAAAEmQ/kMs7Hh5RIrU5TrgwDRC_mlrRorSUeRl2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-03-25%2B14.42.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N8VoTDWpPoY/Xnt2g1bdkGI/AAAAAAAAEmQ/kMs7Hh5RIrU5TrgwDRC_mlrRorSUeRl2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/2020-03-25%2B14.42.27.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view, which shows the peplum a little more clearly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have to admit I struggled more than usual with adjusting the waist. As you can see on the envelope cover, the jacket is intended to be very nipped in at the waist. Great theory, shame about my actual waist measurement! I ended up grading out from the smallest size in my pack (14) at the shoulder and neck to the largest (22) at the waist, which is ridiculous and produced some wacky looking pattern pieces. Also, the front and back are supposed to ease together, and on my tailor's dummy this makes it look weirdly blouson at the waist seam -- it's not in real life!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sks9LpG3CXg/Xnt3lMVMhuI/AAAAAAAAEmg/lp6saLlV4Ak7M6nZrLnBWwKT3zu2PBUeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/back%2Bview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sks9LpG3CXg/Xnt3lMVMhuI/AAAAAAAAEmg/lp6saLlV4Ak7M6nZrLnBWwKT3zu2PBUeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/back%2Bview.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After my last post I also spent a LOT of time figuring out the fit of the sleeves. Although this turned out to be a lot of effort, I learned a huge amount from doing so.<br />
<br />
I had started out by doing my ususal large bicep adjustment without thinking too much about it. I have always historically done this adjustment using the pivot and slide method. If you've ever used this method, you'll know that if you make more than a tiny adjustment, the pivot/slide process of making the sleeve wider also results in a much flatter sleeve cap. After a lot of googling (and seam ripping), and some helpful advice from online sewing friends, I discovered that I was to a very large extent creating my own sleeve twist problems by not restoring the height of the cap after the adjustment. The shortened length of the cap drags the sleeves askew in wear. The fix is luckily really simple: stop doing that! On the plus side, I've got a fix now for a sleeve problem I've had in nearly every woven long sleeve garment I've ever made. On the minus side, it's galling to realize that it was always entirely a problem of my own creation. Oops!<br />
<br />
I would say 80% of the twist was resolved by re-doing the bicep adjustment so I got the extra width but kept the original sleeve cap height. I then got another 10% by attempting a forward shoulder adjustment for the first time. I want to refine how I use this adjustment a little more but the 1cm adjustment I did on this occasion seemed to make a visible difference. And finally, I added just a tiny bit of extra room at the elbow (because apparently I have big elbows, who knew) and that resolved the twist another percentage point or so more. I still feel like the sleeves want to twist a tiny bit, but nothing like they did before, and only in the way that a straight, undarted sleeve will always want to twist a bit with the more complicated shape of an arm inside. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdW7U3w3y9M/Xnt4c1O2PWI/AAAAAAAAEm0/KrCfkcablFgXRi9zWfkoONW1doGxa07yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-03-25%2B14.42.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdW7U3w3y9M/Xnt4c1O2PWI/AAAAAAAAEm0/KrCfkcablFgXRi9zWfkoONW1doGxa07yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/2020-03-25%2B14.42.56.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up of the fabric. The shiny part is created by the silver thread in the brocade catching the light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I also want to talk more specifically about the fabric. The pattern I ended up with was all curves and angles, because of the aforementioned fit adjustments and princess seams. I made some limited effort to pattern match when I was cutting out, but I definitely did not have enough fabric to really make a solid effort at it, and also, frankly, pattern matching perfectly across curved seams often feels beyond my spatial reasoning capabilities.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwbXDXRaly0/Xnt4CXCf_OI/AAAAAAAAEmo/LMUAp11E7f8m66L3S6ULiX3CEI8kZ1irACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/seam%2Bmatching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwbXDXRaly0/Xnt4CXCf_OI/AAAAAAAAEmo/LMUAp11E7f8m66L3S6ULiX3CEI8kZ1irACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/seam%2Bmatching.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the left, one of the few places the "stripe" actually lines up. Not going to lie, this does look better, certainly in close up. Most of the rest of the garment, the seam "matching" looks like the image on the left. /o\</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But why am I pattern matching, you might be thinking? Well, that's because when you're up close to the fabric, it's a stripe. About a quarter of the way through construction, I panicked. As I was sewing, the fact that the stripe matching was terrible seemed really glaring and I felt like the jacket was going to look hideous. But then as soon as I stepped back from the sewing to look at the jacket from a normal viewing distance, I calmed down again, because I don't think the overwhelming impression at a normal viewing distance is of a badly matched stripe. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most people wouldn't consider it a stripe at all at a glance from normal viewing distance.<br />
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Would the overall finish of the jacket have been better if I'd done a better job of pattern matching the stripe? I mean, maybe? If I'd had a lot more fabric and spent more time on it, and above all else if I had cut the fabric out single layer, I might have produced something a bit more stripe matched, and maybe the jacket overall would have looked just a little more beautiful and better made. As it was I had to do some pattern tetris just to get the pattern onto the fabric I had, and I am not sure that I cared enough about this particular garment to go to all that effort. This feels "good enough" for this project.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koSSbWEab-4/Xnt5uE0iCpI/AAAAAAAAEnA/tdCC1DS_SQs3Ti1Cuk4uHHko7q73XoB_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/seam%2Band%2Blining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-koSSbWEab-4/Xnt5uE0iCpI/AAAAAAAAEnA/tdCC1DS_SQs3Ti1Cuk4uHHko7q73XoB_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/seam%2Band%2Blining.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lining fabric, the faux Hong Kong seams (bottom) and the bias edged hem (on the right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
One final change I made to the pattern that was also driven by the fabric was that the pattern calls for the bodice and sleeves to be fully lined while the peplum is left unlined. I picked a white lining with a subtle circular jacquard for the bodice/sleeve lining, which I like a lot. Initially I was enthusiastic about leaving the peplum unlined because the wrong side of this fabric is even more startlingly shiny than the right side because of the silver embroidery thread. I thought flashes of that would be fun.<br />
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However, as I was constructing and periodically trying on the shell, I realized the wrong side of the fabric was HORRIBLY itchy. Just the thought of the unlined peplum accidentally coming into contact with bare skin for an instant was appalling. The right side is fine -- the wrong side is death by a thousand prickles. So I interlined the peplum using the fake hong kong finish edges (where you cut the lining a little wider and fold it over the cut edges of the main fabric) and added a bias tape edge to the hem to finish it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m9leqVnBVhA/Xnt60G8eowI/AAAAAAAAEnM/1aNA45yZ7qEHETkf_BdFAsjRzzQdnRqvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Me%2Bin%2Bturq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m9leqVnBVhA/Xnt60G8eowI/AAAAAAAAEnM/1aNA45yZ7qEHETkf_BdFAsjRzzQdnRqvACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Me%2Bin%2Bturq.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then I pranced around the room in my jacket with my camera clicker taking a million photos. Truly awful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall, I am pretty pleased with this jacket! I think it looks great with jeans so I am not sorry I own it as an option for any future going out sort of occasion, even if the original event I made it for did not go ahead. And who knows, maybe it can be part of my outfit for my family member's wedding when she eventually ties the knot next year.<br />
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Next up in my sewing room: a super easy summer dressing gown, which I have actually nearly finished already.<br />
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In the meantime, I hope everybody reading is well and stays well, and that you all find your own healthy distractions to keep your mind occupied while we all struggle through this period of our lives.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-28317516356464539872020-03-01T16:25:00.002+00:002020-03-01T16:26:33.560+00:00The Wedding Guest Outfit, Part I: Fabric and jacket muslinIt's March, and I have PLANS for the month, mostly to do with the outfit I am wearing to attend a wedding in April. I have been trying to decide what to make for a while now, with only partial success.<br />
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I feel like I should point out that this is a wedding where literally nobody cares what I look like. I'm a member of the bride's extended family but she's a lot younger than me (9 years) and our families aren't close. I'm not in the bridal party, I'll only know a handful of people, and just. Nobody cares. If I'm honest, the only reason I am focussing so hard on this stupid outfit is because, you know, the world is on fire (metaphorically) and I need the distraction. Also the first two months of the year have been appalling, weather-wise, and just the thought that it might one day be spring wedding season was something to cling on to through all the rain and (thankfully not directly affecting me) flooding.<br />
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What I'm trying to say is: my life does not actually depend in any way on making a successful wedding guest outfit, but you'd be forgiven for not realizing this based on the amount of mental effort I've put in so far.<br />
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At any rate, I have three well-defined priorities for the outfit:<br />
<br />
1.
It has to be suitable for the actual event: a spring wedding (late
April) in the far north-east of England. There's always a chance that
the weather might be nice, but it's statistically more likely it will be
relatively cool and possibly wet. The wedding venue is indoors,
however, so I don't need a full on coat. The wedding dress code is "dress to impress" which is.... not enormously helpful, but definitely made me pull out everything I own in the way of fancier fabrics -- lace, brocade, etc -- to consider. I naturally gravitate to darker colours, but I think a spring wedding calls for something at the lighter end of the range of colours I normally wear.<br />
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2. I'd like to be able to re-wear the components of the outfit at a later stage. I really don't go to a lot of weddings, or a lot of formal occasions in general, so ideally I don't want to make garments that I only wear once.<br />
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3. I want to be at least mostly comfortable, and to feel like I dressed appropriately. This is harder to pin down, but you know, when you look for images of spring wedding guest outfits you get basically pretty little floaty chiffon outfits as worn by 25 year olds and, at the other end of the spectrum, mother-of-the-bride outfits, and I am in neither camp!<br />
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In the end, after running through Plans A to Z and then back again, I have settled on a combination of two turquoise fabrics for my outfit:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPyV-adfEYM/XlvNlz5XMrI/AAAAAAAAElA/hCRSdhF5k0UycswuLOexhDV-od7JaH5jQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fabric%2Bwg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPyV-adfEYM/XlvNlz5XMrI/AAAAAAAAElA/hCRSdhF5k0UycswuLOexhDV-od7JaH5jQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/fabric%2Bwg.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedding guest outfit fabrics</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The details of these fabrics do not photograph at all well in winter light!<br />
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The fabric on the left is a glazed linen. You can sort of see that it has an almost silvery sheen on top of the turquoise when the light catches it from the glazed effect. The fabric on the right is a brocade embroidered to look like darker turquoise and silver/pewter sequins. I actually bought these fabrics something like 3.5 years apart and with no intention of putting them together in an outfit, but they look great put together. I have 2m of the brocade and just over 3m of the glazed linen. However, I stored the linen badly and as a result I have a narrow section of sun damage running in a horizontal line about 1m into the fabric -- so I have 1m on one side of the line and 2m+ a bit on the other.<br />
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I waffled even more over patterns than fabrics, and I am not done with that part of this drama AT ALL. However, I have made one definite choice, which is to pair the sequin fabric with McCall's 7513.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eEjD_ew-3AQ/XlvSSAuUYYI/AAAAAAAAElM/7AlWzkLA5OQkOKS_FKQqNoXCpRvSnn1XACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pattern%2Bwg%2Bjacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eEjD_ew-3AQ/XlvSSAuUYYI/AAAAAAAAElM/7AlWzkLA5OQkOKS_FKQqNoXCpRvSnn1XACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/pattern%2Bwg%2Bjacket.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pattern I plan to use</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
More specifically, I decided to use the cover model, view A, the shorter length with the pleated back peplum.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DxvPHZGS-s4/XlvV1qEBDaI/AAAAAAAAElY/IYZKfo00-vIHbM4pd3Y6EmzNvtYklRdegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/muslin%2Bwg%2Bjacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DxvPHZGS-s4/XlvV1qEBDaI/AAAAAAAAElY/IYZKfo00-vIHbM4pd3Y6EmzNvtYklRdegCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/muslin%2Bwg%2Bjacket.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muslin v 3 with shoulder princess seams on me and on Flossie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have not used too many McCall's patterns, so I knew I definitely needed a muslin. In fact I needed three muslins to get to a fit level I like, and I made a whole laundry list of adjustments. The first muslin was a disaster (started from too large a size, then wondered why it fit at the bust and waist but the shoulder points were literally 6cm past my shoulder. Duh.). Version 2 was improvement (started 3 sizes smaller at the shoulder plus an additional narrow shoulder adjustment, with width adjustments for my bust and waist). The third muslin has a single but very significant change compared to muslin 2: I just don't like the combination of waist darts and my large, low bust, so I tried converting the darts to shoulder princess seams to match the way the back is constructed. I am really pleased with the final muslin, although I have one fit problem outstanding that I want to try to fix before I cut out the final version: my sleeves tend to twist towards the front.<br />
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My to do list for this week therefore looks like this: try to fix the sleeve issue; cut/trace/adjust the pieces of the pattern I didn't address in the muslin (lining, collar, facings); then cut out and interface where necessary. My goal is to set myself up to spend next weekend actually doing jacket construction. (Which I will doubtless document on Instagram, if you're interested!)<br />
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The elephant in the room is that I still don't know what to wear WITH the jacket. I thought I had setttled on a plan of a plain-ish darker teal silk blouse and a circle skirt with the glazed linen, but I keep being drawn to other options, including possibly making a dress, even though I am least likely to wear a dress again in the future. I think I will end up experimenting with some muslin options to see what I like best once the jacket is done.<br />
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Actually, this last point relates to the best news I have, which is that my long dormant -- or at least frequently napping -- sew-jo has roared back in full force, and now I want to Make All The Things and experiment with all kinds of stuff. I'm really looking forward to refreshing my wardrobe for spring and summer this year once the Wedding Guest Outfit is done.<br />
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Some of that will have to wait a bit though as my last update for today is that I managed to break my overlocker making a gift for my mum. :(<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37L36oy5_aI/Xlvc71BD1qI/AAAAAAAAElk/WFeF96oryYUmGh_AAwTJzv5FbbRgM6ZSACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/black%2Bsilver%2Btops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37L36oy5_aI/Xlvc71BD1qI/AAAAAAAAElk/WFeF96oryYUmGh_AAwTJzv5FbbRgM6ZSACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/black%2Bsilver%2Btops.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "twin set" of cardigan and t-shirt, both using Ottobre patterns (tee & cardigan on left; t-shirt only on right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My parents are off on a trip and as they will be away during UK Mother's Day (22 March -- don't panic, North Americans, we celebrate Mother's Day on a different day than you!) I decided to make my mum a gift before she left that she could take with her. I therefore made this t-shirt and cardigan set using a black polyester knit that has a floral design picked out in small silver plastic spots on the surface. The fabric is totally uncrushable and doesn't wrinkle, so it's perfect to stuff in a suitcase, and the pieces are really simple but the colour/fabric make them perfect to wear to dinner. I used two easy patterns from Ottobre, specifically 02-2012-09, a short-sleeved waterfall cardigan -- I made elbow length plain sleeves rather than the split sleeves in the pattern; and 02-2019-13, a simple square neckline tee -- I opened up the neckline a little by turning the binding to the inside, so it would fit in a way that showed off a necklace.<br />
<br />
I'm going to be honest: they look really pretty in the photos, and in theory I like them a lot. In practice, that surface detail of little dots crunched a needle in my overlocker in the first 10 minutes of sewing and the broken needle killed my machine (temporarily I hope, I am waiting for a part) and it all went downhill from there. I made mistake after mistake, struggled with the fabric, managed to leave a (small, hard to see) scorch mark on the fabric and the silver smeared off one of the dots along one of the side seams of the t-shirt. I had to do two thirds of the construction on my regular machine so the inside of this garment looks utterly amateur, and I was overall embarrassed to give them to my mum as a gift! :( I am banking on maternal affection and the fact that it actually does look good from a few meters away to make it a worthwhile gift. /o\westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-33692711614703954252020-01-02T21:29:00.000+00:002020-01-02T21:29:41.642+00:002020: Plans for the yearHello to everyone at the start of 2020! <br />
<br />
At the start of the last few years I've made detailed lists of goals for my sewing, but I'm abandoning that this year. Some of the things I previous set goals about (being careful with my spending, tracking what I wear and discard, managing my stash) are now established habits, and I don't need to really focus more than minimal attention on maintaining those things.<br />
<br />
I've also decided that the Burda challenge that I've often tried to do in the past just isn't a useful organizing principle for me or my wardrobe so I won't be trying to do that this year.<br />
<br />
Overall this year, I am really committed to continuing to sew the wardrobe I want to have and will most enjoy, for the life I actually lead. I feel more confident than ever in 2020 that I know what that means and what I want to own and wear. I know it's not for everyone, but having an actual written wardrobe plan, a set of colours I (mostly) stick to, and even a set of expectations/guidelines for how long I can expect different garments to last, in terms of number of wears, has been transformative for me. So really, all I want for 2020 is to keep doing all the things that I already do, and continue to see some incremental wardrobe improvements.<br />
<br />
(I will definitely also keep blogging even though I know it's fallen
out of fashion these days. I didn't blog much in 2019, but that is not
down
to me switching to a different platform or anything. (<a href="http://instagram.com/calathea.uk">I am on Insta</a>, but I didn't
even do the "Top 9 posts" meme for 2019 because I am not convinced I posted more than 9
times!). The dearth of blog AND Instagram posts just reflects that I didn't really make all that much and
the things I did make (PJs, easy repeats) were not really very interesting to write (or read!) about.<br />
<br />
<br />
That said, I still have plans for the year! I wouldn't be me without a whole BUNCH of plans.<br />
<br />
I am pretty set for clothes in the first quarter of the year (Jan-Mar). I had a small but significant set-back in my return-to-work plans, so I am holding off on making an officewear wardrobe until that is resolved. I therefore don't have a flurry of new things to make for immediate wear. However, thinking ahead:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qKGiYvSNmuw/Xg4YleseQnI/AAAAAAAAEkY/xVQZZ4oPm301sMWsFZxAITOr6cvincTBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Make1of9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qKGiYvSNmuw/Xg4YleseQnI/AAAAAAAAEkY/xVQZZ4oPm301sMWsFZxAITOr6cvincTBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Make1of9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wedding Guest Dress: My fabric, a navy stretch lace with a scalloped selvedge (left); an inspiration image of a lace dress with a contrast under layer (centre), and a dress patttern inspiration photo (right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>The Wedding Guest Dress:</b> I have zero pieces of occasion wear in my wardrobe, and a family wedding to go to in April. It's the perfect excuse to make something out of the ordinary for me that is hopefully suitable not only for that event but that I can pull out in any situation that calls for a nice "special event" dress.<br />
<br />
My current plan is to use this navy stretch lace (shown here over a white background) that I bought a couple of years ago. I'll wear it with a separate underdress -- part of me wants to go for contrast and wear it with turquoise or mint green, but maybe navy would be better, I'm not sure yet. I am also not sure about the patterns to use but for the lace dress I do know I don't want anything more complicated than a simple dress with a full skirt. I want to use the scalloped slevedge for the skirt, so I may need to do a pleated skirt rather than a circle skirt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NQMmsGO6JnY/Xg5cQIcUj_I/AAAAAAAAEkk/eSke-ljizdIfKI43GrQpOBrHbPOmPNeAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/make%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NQMmsGO6JnY/Xg5cQIcUj_I/AAAAAAAAEkk/eSke-ljizdIfKI43GrQpOBrHbPOmPNeAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/make%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wedding Guest Coat. My fabric (left, looks a little yellow in this shot but that is the crappy after-dark photo. It's a silver/blue combination). Some inspiration images: the style I want with a full skirt (middle), a style I probably actually could make with the amount of fabric I have (left).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>The Wedding Guest Coat. </b>The wedding is at a venue further north than I live, at a time of year when the weather is... variable, at best. It could be quite chilly, so I am going to indulge myself by making a long-planned (LONG planned -- I've had the fabric since 2012) coat to go over my dress that can have a subsequent life as my "fancy" coat for any suitable occasion. My ideal is a knee length coat with a wide hem, but I don't know if I have anything like enough fabric to make that (I only have 3m and it's vintage so I can't get more). I need to figure this out SOON because I want to start making it pretty soon.<br />
<br />
In the second quarter of the year, I know for sure I have a couple of wardrobe replacements and additions for summer, and so I already have some plans in varying degrees of vagueness: I want to do some more work on trousers; I want a casual summer blouse in white; I need to replace some t-shirts that I discarded at the end of last summer, and so on. And I do have pretty specific plans in mind for a work wardrobe (The Suit I talked about but didn't make last year, lots of tops and blouses, skirts and trousers, and so on) but until I am less sick again it seems premature to really start binge-sewing officewear.<br />
<br />
I'll be back with updates as and when, but in the meantime I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year and may you all have a wonderful 2020. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-38731390243725188522019-12-23T17:40:00.001+00:002019-12-23T17:40:50.641+00:002019: The sewing year that didn't go to planI started this year with <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-goals-magazine-challenge.html">a lot of grand plans</a>, which is not at all unusual: I tend to start every year with a lot of grand plans. On the sewing side of things, though, I have very little to show for those plans. I made very few garments this year, and even fewer of the things I made were at all interesting. Here, then, is an abbreviated version of my usual lengthy end-of-year/start-of-year posts: <br />
<br />
<b>This Year's Sewing</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fU4aT20WG-g/XgDlYbS--RI/AAAAAAAAEkI/N6kYSQxsMAAyumRmf91SwuyoPJdMsp1LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2019.%2Broundup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fU4aT20WG-g/XgDlYbS--RI/AAAAAAAAEkI/N6kYSQxsMAAyumRmf91SwuyoPJdMsp1LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/2019.%2Broundup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Various things I made this year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This year I made:<br />
<br />
3 pairs of PJ shorts or pants (my usual TNT patterns)<br />
4 pairs of trousers (2 x Jalie Eleonore, 1 Ottobre pattern, 1 Burda pattern)<br />
4 tops or tunics (2 Butterick, 1 Ottobre, 1 Simplicity)<br />
1 cardigan (Ottobre)<br />
Of these 12 items only one was really a total fail: a pair of cotton trousers that just never fit correctly. I abandoned them as a bad job after wearing them about 10 times in the late summer and autumn. So I got some wear out of them, but hated them throughout. I feel remarkably virtuous for having worn them 10 times. Strangely, however, the thing that I made and loved the absolute most was a pair of Jalie Eleonore trousers that I made from the exact same, marginally problematic, fabric. Just goes to show the power of a good pattern. I can overlook the fabric issues when I love the finished item, but the fabric was just another strike against the trousers I discarded.<br />
<br />
I also finished one (giant) knitted scarf, and knitted three woolly hats.<br />
<br />
The list of things I didn't do is MUCH longer. <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2019/10/making-classic-suit-1-decision.html">In my last post</a>, I said I was going to make a suit. I ended up buying one, even though my RTW options were not what I wanted. I didn't sew a single pattern from this year's Burda magazines. I didn't get anything ready, really, for the hopefully-not-too-distant day when I go back to work. <br />
<br />
<b>Money, Money, Money</b><br />
<br />
On the positive side, I also didn't buy much. I spent literally a third of my usual sewing budget, and about two thirds of my usual clothing budget (plus a suit, which fell outside my usual clothing budget because my personal finance system is arcane and stupidly complex).<br />
<br />
The largest share of my money, as always, went on fabric. I spent 34% of my budget on fabric (plus a gift certificate given to me for my birthday that I have not included in this spending), and bought 30m of fabric in total. The rest of my budget went to my magazine subscriptions (22%), patterns (14%), and the remaining 30% went into a combination of "other", which this year included a subscription to Bluprint (Craftsy's subscription service) for several months, plus PR membership, and a small percentage of spending in each of the notions, knitting and embroidery categories. I have since cancelled Bluprint, because no way was I getting any kind of value from that subscription.<br />
<br />
Alas, a lot of my "savings" from not buying tons of fabric went towards other, completely unrelated hobbies this year, especially books, so I don't have vast reserves of cash to show for my restraint!<br />
<br />
<b>The State of the Stash</b><br />
<br />
I had actually hit stash equilibrium for the year -- 23m used, 23m bought -- when my brother sent me a gift card for a fabric shop and I went shopping. So I've ended the year 7m up from where I started. I just barely squeaked under the 200m in stash mark for the end of the year (198m). Needless to say, nowhere near the 50m decrease I proposed for the year, but given how little I sewed it's really not that bad as an outcome. At least I didn't keep shopping at my former rate while I wasn't sewing!<br />
<br />
<b>Acquisitions and Discards</b><br />
<br />
This year <b>I acquired</b> <b>40 garments</b>, of which 12 were hand-made, and the remainder were RTW. Of the 28 RTW items I added to my wardrobe, 21 were things I consider to
be high turnover items (mainly t-shirts and exercise clothes), 5 were tailoring items (my
new suit), plus 1 pair of jeans and 1 shirt given to me as
gift.<br />
<br />
That is the smallest number of garments I have acquired in a year since I started keeping records in 2014. <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-wardrobe-planning-updatediscussion.html">I posted in the autumn </a>about how it seemed like my ambitions for a hard-wearing, low turnover wardrobe had really coalesced this year, and I feel like this low acquisition rate is somewhat evidence of it. I just didn't need all that much new this year. <br />
<br />
On the other hand, <b>I discarded a whopping 59 garments, </b>and my overall wardrobe declined in size by about 9%. Of these discards, just under half (28 items) wore out. I like to keep an eye on number of wears I get from my garments, and of the stuff that I discarded because it was no longer in good enough condition for my purposes, the average number of times I had worn them was 33 (range: 20-47). The number is skewed downwards by t-shirts and other knits that just don't have good longevity at all and only get 20-25 wears. This still seems really unsatisfactory to me, but I have not yet hit on a solution for the speed at which knits deteriorate that really works for me (the most obvious solution, stop tumble drying altogether, being unworkable in winter in my house -- I do line dry in better weather). <br />
<br />
The other 31 discards were a mix of "why did I think this was a good idea" and "I liked this a lot a while ago but I haven't worn it in the last 18 months to 2 years" (average number of wears = 6, range 0 to 18). I really hate this category of discard and I wish this number were very much lower. That said, I'm now at the point where I have very few things in my
wardrobe that have low wear counts (unless they're very new or clothes
for the job I don't have yet) and I don't own anything I don't want to
wear, so maybe 2020 will be the year where my discard rate will be more
where I want it to be.<br />
<br />
And that's it for me for 2019! I hope everyone has a wonderful last week of 2019, and best wishes to everyone for the new year and the new decade. ❤️<br />
<br />
I'll be back in the new year with some plans for 2020, including planning an outfit for a family wedding and making some "business casual" separates.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-90782589350331431812019-10-06T10:40:00.003+01:002019-10-06T10:40:44.459+01:00Making a classic suit: 1. The decision, resources and plansSince I'm inching towards the point where I will be once again well enough to go out and work for a living (hurray!), I've started thinking in earnest about what I want to have in my workwear wardrobe. Before I need an everyday workwear wardrobe, though, I need to actually get a job. I will probably need to go to several interviews, and that means I need an Interview Outfit. <br />
<br />
I haven't always worn a suit to job interviews in the past, but I definitely want to this time around. In addition to being an easy and totally uncontroversial interview outfit, my thinking is that a good suit is the sort of thing that, if you acquire a classic, timeless style and take care of it, you can keep in your wardrobe for a very long time with nobody really any the wiser that it's several years old. So, given my preferred colour palette for my wardrobe, and my preference for trousers over skirts or dresses, I decided my first step had to be to acquire a classic two-piece trouser suit in navy. (Tops to go with this suit to follow immediately after I acquire the suit!)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtF_h9vHbKU/XZjbdiyou5I/AAAAAAAAEhk/RAuMSKResTU5cW0gBtnNpkki4q3yBtrXACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/140041351_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtF_h9vHbKU/XZjbdiyou5I/AAAAAAAAEhk/RAuMSKResTU5cW0gBtnNpkki4q3yBtrXACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/140041351_1.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My backstop plan: buy a simple, classic trouser suit like this one from D<a href="https://www.damselinadress.co.uk/clothing/suiting/lydia-straight-city-suit-trousers-navy.htm">amsel in a Dress</a> (though not actually THIS suit because it's 100% polyester)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Initially, when I planned out my wardrobe in a spreadsheet, Plan A was to invest in a really high quality RTW suit. This plan has not gone well so far. One of my intentions for my new work wardrobe is to stick to mostly natural fibres, as far as possible. I was totally prepared to pay the extra for all wool or at least a high percentage of wool in the fabric. The problem is that I was kind of hoping the expensive wool suits I was looking at would have expensive finishing to match and... nope! Cheap buttons, crappy linings, not the best sewing.<br />
<br />
Worse, of course, is that they often fit horribly. Again, I wasn't expecting miracles! I knew there were likely to be some fit issues in RTW. I just wasn't prepared for the EXTENT of the fit issues I was experiencing, and the fact that there are two pieces created even more complexity. For example, even when I found a jacket I actually liked, the matching trousers in that shop were just not designed for my body shape at all. I started looking into how much it would cost to get a suit tailored to me if I bought one and right around then I ground to a pockets-to-rent halt: £££ for the suit, and then ££ for tailoring and good grief, this was getting expensive and complicated, making it myself would be easier! ....Wait, what if I DID make it myself??<br />
<br />
Worst case scenario 1: I end up with a wadder and no suit, a ton of time wasted, and probably a lot of fabric wasted. On the other hand, I'll still have the money that I originally saved to buy a suit, so I can just go back to my original plan and buy something and have it tailored if necessary. No doubt I'll learn a lot just from trying to make the suit, and I'm always here for expanding my sewing skills.<br />
<br />
Worst case scenario 2: I make a suit but it ends up looking the worst kind of "home-made" or ill-fitting. Obviously if the suit I make is legitimately a Becky-Home-Eccy disaster,
it's time to move on and again, I've still got the money and can buy a
RTW suit if necessary. However, I've already made several coats and
jackets. How much worse can this be? Plus, it's totally
irrational to be afraid to sew something. It's just thread and fabric,
and for sure I won't know if I can put those two things together successfully without giving it a try.<br />
<br />
However, an important factor for me here is the comparisons I'm making. I think it's tempting to compare myself to the catalogue models on the websites where I'm shopping, or Pinterest images of women wearing suits, or to some mental ideal of "a perfect suit". The two former groups consist of women usually very much younger than me, with totally different body shapes, altered by who knows how much Photoshop, pinning, and camera trickery to make them look even better. My comparison has to be not to those women or my imagined ideal, but to the look and fit I can achieve in RTW on my actual body, and thus far the outcome of that has not been great.<br />
<br />
So, having convinced myself to give tailoring a whirl, where do I start?<br />
<br />
<b>Fabric:</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1tQEE9YhvE/XZmvirGKyxI/AAAAAAAAEjI/YWPkuNBnS-oTEmffCEqS3JPeK7GxuWQPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Photo%2B06-10-2019%252C%2B09%2B51%2B35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1tQEE9YhvE/XZmvirGKyxI/AAAAAAAAEjI/YWPkuNBnS-oTEmffCEqS3JPeK7GxuWQPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Photo%2B06-10-2019%252C%2B09%2B51%2B35.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My fabric (sort of, my camera washes out the colour)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As it turns out, I already own some fabric that would be ideal for this suit. When I first started making clothes in 2012, I bought a LOT of fabric, not all of which I had any immediate use for. One of my purchases was from from an estate sale of an older gentleman who had been a tailor before he retired. He had in storage multiple "suit lengths" (3.2m, or 3.5 yards) of high quality, British-made, 100% wool suiting, and I bought 2 of them: one in navy pinstripe and one in a medium grey pinstripe. The fabric is far from new -- at least 35 years old and probably more -- and it almost certainly cost a lot of money when they were originally purchased. I got my two pieces for £5 each. I freely admit I have been hoarding this fabric because it was such an incredible bargain and I don't want to waste it, but that way lies madness and a stash that never stops growing. After marinading in my stash for 7 years, it's time to turn this fabric into clothes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RBz2lSSkKj8/XZmv_vm3FRI/AAAAAAAAEjQ/W8vPBYMzKic7_fOew1P5I5iYlFTDhd0PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fabric%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RBz2lSSkKj8/XZmv_vm3FRI/AAAAAAAAEjQ/W8vPBYMzKic7_fOew1P5I5iYlFTDhd0PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/fabric%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabric (again). This shot is much closer to the actual colour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What I don't have is suitable lining fabric(s), and doubtless I will need various interfacing products and other notions, but I'll need to make those purchases when I come to them later on. <br />
<br />
<b>Patterns:</b><br />
<br />
The amount of fabric I have -- and the fact that absolutely no more is
available -- does introduce a few constraints to the pattern selection
process, but I was pretty sure I could find a jacket and trouser pattern that would fit together on 3.2m of fabric.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mxTD-XkCKqE/XZjrz2brMzI/AAAAAAAAEiM/i3rxD87acH0RrWRM1qyf4MkrLfxjWxxcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Photo%2B05-10-2019%252C%2B14%2B43%2B44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mxTD-XkCKqE/XZjrz2brMzI/AAAAAAAAEiM/i3rxD87acH0RrWRM1qyf4MkrLfxjWxxcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Photo%2B05-10-2019%252C%2B14%2B43%2B44.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sewing table while I attempted to find just the right blazer pattern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My first port of call in the search for a blazer pattern was my Burda pattern stash. I have already made several Burda coats and jackets, which gives me a head-start on my likely size and fitting issues, and Burda drafting has always been extremely reliable and consistent in my experience. The instructions leave something to be desired of course, but I'm already planning to go well outside the magazine for help on how to construct the blazer, so I don't really care all that much.<br />
<br />
My specific requirements for the jacket were:<br />
<br />
- Single breasted, with a full-length sleeve<br />
- Designed to be about ~60cm long and to be a medium fit -- not very closely tailored, but definitely not oversized.<br />
- A lapel that buttons below the bust -- not super low but, to minimise the appearance of my bust, below my (low) bustline<br />
- Simple and timeless in design: understated collar, no fussy or unusual details, nothing that will date or stand out<br />
- Suitable for a narrow vertical pinstripe (i.e. not going create a stripe vortex over my bust) <br />
- Requires around ~1.6m of fabric.<br />
<br />
You would think this would be easy, but while I had literally hundreds of patterns available in my collection of magazines, many of them have lots of design features. I wanted something really <i>quiet</i> on the design front, and that was oddly difficult to find.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_rYj_YS-uQ/XZmcIT3ZurI/AAAAAAAAEiw/7YOWzTI83BgEh1vyD506bhVu9HRJ6oNHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/burda%2Bblazer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_rYj_YS-uQ/XZmcIT3ZurI/AAAAAAAAEiw/7YOWzTI83BgEh1vyD506bhVu9HRJ6oNHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/burda%2Bblazer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 03-2007-104 -- my proposed blazer pattern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is the current front-runner. I'm already pushing the "timelessness" requirement, because it's from a 2007 issue of Burda. Honestly though, I feel like this pattern could have been released in a 2019 issue and I wouldn't blink at it. It doesn't look all that different to the current stock Damsel In A Dress suit in the picture above. My big concerns with this pattern at present are: the size of the collar (it seems undersized), making those pockets, the effect of that little Dior dart on the pinstripe and the location of the top button on my body. <br />
<br />
(An aside: in trying to find the perfect pattern for this blazer, I ended up with a list as long as my arm for future blazers that don't need to be quite so classic and muted. If this is successful, I feel like it could be the gateway to a whole wardrobe of tailoring. That is the problem with going through my Burda collection: instant desire to MAKE ALL THE THINGS.)<br />
<br />
Moving on to the trousers:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAVf6YXoBWo/XZmf9Txb5XI/AAAAAAAAEi8/_T9f9EG7D2kaNmLGtFAuPM-HgMT6w-bxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/6080-front-back-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAVf6YXoBWo/XZmf9Txb5XI/AAAAAAAAEi8/_T9f9EG7D2kaNmLGtFAuPM-HgMT6w-bxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/6080-front-back-view.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Look 6080 line drawing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
When I was doing the trouser block thing I compared my finished block with several commercial patterns I already owned, and I was struck by how similar New Look trouser patterns are to my block. Now seems like a possible time to use that information. Enter New Look 6080, a wardrobe pattern set that I bought originally for the jacket. View E though looks like just the kind of really simple, classic suit trouser pattern that I could see working with the blazer above. I wanted a side zip pattern -- no fly or pockets -- so that I could more easily add a lining to the trousers (both to make the trousers last longer and because wool is itchy).<br />
<br />
My next step is to get my patterns traced and organised, make initial fitting changes, and run up a quick muslin of the entire suit. Unfortunate photographs in muslin suits to follow soon!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Know-How</b><br />
<br />
Once I have a pattern that fits, the next problem is actually making the suit, particularly the blazer. There are a whole bunch of things that I need to explore, from interfacing and construction to practising welt pockets. I'm planning to lean heavily on the classes on Bluprint and the tailoring books I've bought. Probably I'll be posting a LOT more about this in the next few weeks.<br />
<b> </b>westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-5750874541680885532019-10-05T11:50:00.000+01:002019-10-05T11:51:14.985+01:00Autumn/Winter wardrobe additionsThis year, I decided I needed that I needed 9 new items to round out my everyday/casual wardrobe for the rest of 2019.<br />
<br />
My 9 items were:<br />
<br />
1 cardigan <br />
<br />
2 pairs of mid-weight trousers<br />
2 pairs of leggings<br />
<br />
2 longer-length woven tops<br />
2 knit tunic/short dresses<br />
<br />
I ended up buying the leggings rather than making them. I have a favourite, inexpensive RTW brand of leggings though that I find fit me the way I prefer and I don't think there's any benefit to making them vs. buying them in terms of fabric, cost, or fit.<br />
<br />
That left seven items to sew, and these are the patterns I picked:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Vr73boq4fs/XZIgbZjqTrI/AAAAAAAAEgA/jFdqISqFtgky4_bJrpid8PmTiezIauZ-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/line%2Bdrawings%2BAW%2Bpt%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1600" height="534" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Vr73boq4fs/XZIgbZjqTrI/AAAAAAAAEgA/jFdqISqFtgky4_bJrpid8PmTiezIauZ-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/line%2Bdrawings%2BAW%2Bpt%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My autumn/winter sewing patterns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Trousers</b><br />
<br />
I made the Burda and Jalie trousers from the same large piece of slightly brushed navy cotton stretch twill. I am going to be honest: I tried to take photos but it's a really dark navy and all you can see is like vague blobs, even with the exposure cranked up, so I will keep the photos to a minimum! <br />
<br />
Let's start with something positive: I literally cannot express how much I love the Jalie Eleonore trousers. The fact that this is a great pattern is not news to anyone who was around when it came out, because the whole world and their sister made it and (mostly) liked it. I made the full length version, in plain navy, with the pocket add-on. I made very few fitting changes: mainly I straightened out the shaping along the inner thigh and did a knock knee adjustment. <br />
<br />
They are not a perfect fit, but they fit probably the best closer fitting/stretch fabric trousers I've made so far, and the places they don't fit well (below the butt; above my calf muscles at the back in particular) are the same place every single pair of closer fitting trousers ever has wrinkled on me. I could probably have fewer wrinkles if I increased the width of the back leg from above the knee, but the wider leg changes the whole shape of the trousers so I haven't done so.<br />
<br />
My one complaint about the Jalie Eleonore is actually about the pocket add-on. It's true, the add-on pattern piece does create a pocket. Alas, it makes one of those sad, vestigial, fingertip-deep pockets that are almost more annoying than no pocket at all. I will definitely adjust this when I make the pattern again. <br />
<br />
The other trousers turned out MUCH less well and in some ways I am kicking myself for not just making a second pair of Eleonore trousers! The pattern I used, Burda 01-2007-108 is a simple straight leg pattern with a top entry pocket. I made this pattern before with only moderate success, but I hoped that using the trouser block pattern I drafted for myself earlier this year would help refine the fit. Alas, no.<br />
<br />
Having traced out the pattern, I slapped on the trouser block and adjusted the pattern to match to the best of my ability. It turns out my best ability was not very good. I made some changes to the last version of my block on the crotch curve shape and got it wrong, and in the process of fixing that problem by sewing a new curve in the part-finished trousers I was making, I lengthened the crotch curve again. Since the main problem I have with Burda trouser patterns is that the crotch length is far too long for me, I actually resolved nothing. The trousers are also overall too big at the waist and leg, and slightly too short because I made a mistake with my hem calculation. It's a litany of disappointment, in short.<br />
<br />
So far I've worn these trousers about a half a dozen times, but I can
already feel myself defaulting to almost anything else that's clean in
preference to wearing them. I'll see if I get a bit more wear out of
them, but if not, eh, failed experiment, move on. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AjPZ-lWaXpo/XZhvnf9dCZI/AAAAAAAAEhM/XtSFvSpiy8k5t0lBCsbREnEOj0pqk_bPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fly%2Bvictory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AjPZ-lWaXpo/XZhvnf9dCZI/AAAAAAAAEhM/XtSFvSpiy8k5t0lBCsbREnEOj0pqk_bPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/fly%2Bvictory.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fly of Burda 01-2007-108 trousers. Please forgive how wrinkly these look, I dragged them out of the ironing basket for a photo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All that said, I did do a few things really well: this is the "sewing course" pattern in this issue of Burda and, as unlikely as this sounds, the fly instructions are fantastic and the fly and waistband overall turned out really well. I must remember to photocopy the fly instructions for all future trouser-making activities.<br />
<br />
<b>Cardigan</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6oW1BOrIAo/XZhqg-rupFI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/ZOWMKmG5BzUHyEwGO2HxgRpIr78qoeruACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cardigan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6oW1BOrIAo/XZhqg-rupFI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/ZOWMKmG5BzUHyEwGO2HxgRpIr78qoeruACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/cardigan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 05-2019-10 cardigan in blue ponte</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is a really quick and easy pattern from the latest Ottobre magazine. I had a problem with the front band, which was far too short when I cut it out. I didn't have enough fabric left to recut the whole thing, so I pieced in an extra section. Luckily, the uneven stripe and texture of this fabric totally hides this "fix". At first I thought there was a problem with the pattern that caused this not to work. However, I have since seen at another review of the pattern and they didn't mention a problem so probably it was my fault somehow!<br />
<br />
I like this cardigan (and strangely my mum really loves it) but I find it a bit shapeless and square, and I don't particularly like the way the collar sits at the back neck. For sure I don't like it as much as my favourite cardigan pattern I've used a dozen times, the StyleArc Estelle. <br />
<br />
<b>Woven Tops</b><br />
<br />
These are both tunic length tops, falling to about mid-thigh. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYOpdMo5edQ/XZhrI_QNCNI/AAAAAAAAEgY/tARCMMHj5QEXSQS6eZZKwlUee7qt4n0CACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/rose%2Btop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYOpdMo5edQ/XZhrI_QNCNI/AAAAAAAAEgY/tARCMMHj5QEXSQS6eZZKwlUee7qt4n0CACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/rose%2Btop.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterick 5203 in navy patterned viscose</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I have made up Butterick 5203 before, so making this version was simple. The pattern calls for a keyhole opening at the back and therefore a centre back seam. However, the neckline <i>sans </i>keyhole is more than large enough to slip over my head AND I have an irrational dislike of keyhole necklines (not even so much making them: I hate wearing them!) AND I hate chopping up large prints unnecessarily, so I just cut the back on the fold and omitted the keyhole. I love this top -- ultra simple to make, and it's just really pretty. I made it in a lightweight viscose woven, which is an ideal fabric for this drapey, flowing top pattern.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQ23BPjmwyA/XZhsGep_ltI/AAAAAAAAEgk/mrCL5pBOVz02MNqoRYFgrYiTUQktcvgEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/gingham%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQ23BPjmwyA/XZhsGep_ltI/AAAAAAAAEgk/mrCL5pBOVz02MNqoRYFgrYiTUQktcvgEACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/gingham%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplicity 2246 (view B) in navy and white gingham</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The very first garment pattern I ever acquired was Simplicity 2246, a Lisette shirtdress pattern. I think everyone and their mother made it the year it came out (2012). My copy came on the front of a magazine, and I've hung on to it ever since as something I'd like to make. I'm not entirely happy with my version, but it's all right.<br />
<br />
On the plus side: This shirt/tunic has a separate (rather than foldover) button band, and I am very pleased with my decision to put the bands on my version on the bias. I also bias cut the collar. My reasoning was about 80% practicality and 20% aesthetics. Mainly, I did NOT want to pattern match the gingham across all those pieces! However, the other problem was that the width of the finished button band was really awkward when compared to the width of the gingham squares, and I didn't like any of the alternatives I came up with for how to cut it (along a white stripe, along a navy stripe, half-and-half). Cutting it on the bias got rid of that problem entirely and also I think it's aesthetically pleasing to have the obvious vertical feature running down the front of the top.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3aeg9E12iM/XZhskX5hRoI/AAAAAAAAEgs/_rKzealvDeoMlVR1EgfBuDLWN-jX3ywJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/closeup%2Bgingham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3aeg9E12iM/XZhskX5hRoI/AAAAAAAAEgs/_rKzealvDeoMlVR1EgfBuDLWN-jX3ywJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/closeup%2Bgingham.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of gingham shirt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Minus side: The fit. As much as I like this shirt, it just doesn't fit as well as I would like. I needed a touch more ease over the waist and hip. It's not that it doesn't fit, exactly -- everything buttons up fine, nothing pulls -- but it's just a little bit closer fitting than I wanted for the outfits I had in my head. Still, it's fine, and since I am currently at the top of my normal weight range, there's a strong possibility it will fit more like I prefer as I fluctuate downwards again.<br />
<br />
<b>Knit tunics/short dresses</b><br />
<br />
I like to wear leggings & longer tops on days when I am planning to spend all day at home. I therefore like to make soft, cosy knit tunics or short dresses to wear with them, to make outfits that are basically just a half-a-step removed from pyjamas but that are, at the same time, perfectly respectable if I have to answer the door or run to the post box. I tend to change up my patterns a lot -- I don't think I've ever made the same pattern twice in this category of garment.<br />
<br />
This time I made a Butterick See-and-Sew pattern with a cowl neck and a slightly curved hem (Butterick 5870) and a very simple A-line skirted t-shirt dress from a recent Ottobre (Ottobre 05-2017-18).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVFBQMN5dy0/XZhtTXXWS6I/AAAAAAAAEg8/zLnvrohCLy0A1cXUZ19p4fwGhTs9reBgACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/spots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVFBQMN5dy0/XZhtTXXWS6I/AAAAAAAAEg8/zLnvrohCLy0A1cXUZ19p4fwGhTs9reBgACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/spots.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterick 5870 in navy polka dot viscose/lycra knit. The cowl looks super awkward on Flossie and much nicer on a person</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I like both of these a LOT but I actually have nothing at all to say about the construction, really. The Butterick dress turned out a little smarter looking than I entirely intended -- I can definitely imagine someone more into dresses than me wearing this just with tights out and about -- but it's really cute and I like it a lot. I'm really tempted to make the other view (which is the same dress in every respect other than the neckline, with is a V with a small scarf feature) next time I make a knit top like this. It was super easy to put together, and it's a great pattern.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tv5EQE2Khng/XZhtTYss6GI/AAAAAAAAEg4/Zuj2luwJujIXIRmMtgDA96N3HMsXgnlrACEwYBhgL/s1600/t-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tv5EQE2Khng/XZhtTYss6GI/AAAAAAAAEg4/Zuj2luwJujIXIRmMtgDA96N3HMsXgnlrACEwYBhgL/s640/t-shirt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 05-2017-18, A-line skirted t-shirt dress in blue cotton-lycra knit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Ottobre pattern was even easier as it's literally just a t-shirt dress and has no distinguishing features. I swapped out the long sleeves in the pattern for 3/4 sleeves, and I actually redrew the whole shoulder and armhole and used my own established tshirt pattern sleeve rather than the pattern, because why bother reinventing the wheel. I also lowered the neckline to a slightly deeper scoop as, as designed, this was rather high. I have to be honest: my version bears more than a passing resemblance to a nightgown. I think this might be improved by making this pattern up in a print rather than a plain pattern, but I don't think any t-shirt dress is ever going to be the most sophisticated of looks.<br />
<br />
Overall, even though there are little problems with some of the things I made and I am not equally enthusiastic about all of them, I am quite pleased with my wardrobe additions for the season. Some I've already worn a LOT, some of them have been waiting until the weather cooled down in October and I've only just started wearing. The definite star of the show though is the Jalie Eleonore trousers, which I love to pieces.<br />
<br />
Next up: a wool suit! This is my BIG project for the autumn, and I probably won't have time to work on anything else at all for a while. I'm going to post more about it maybe tomorrow or Monday, so more details on this soon. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-40930273261192828322019-09-11T17:08:00.003+01:002019-09-11T17:19:43.412+01:00A wardrobe planning update/discussionIt's been ages since I wrote here, and that's mainly because I continued not to sew all that much for most of the spring and summer after my last post in April. I didn't sew, but I also didn't fall back on <i>buying</i> anything much new. It turned out that, apart from one garment that I made, I just really didn't want or need any more clothes for summer and was very happy with the things I already owned. This follows on from a similar feeling about my wardrobe last winter. In total I made about a dozen garments in the twelve months from August 2018, and I bought about the same number, excluding basic, high-rotation stuff like underwear etc.<br />
<br />
Very long-time readers of this blog will know that I've been trying for a long time to figure out what my own ideal
wardrobe would look like in terms of number and types of garments. I have spent a lot of time since I started sewing garments figuring out ways to keep track of what I actually wear day to day, why and when I discard garments, and also reading and thinking about other people's philosophies about wardrobe size and contents. If you're interested, you can see a lot of those previous posts under the tag "<a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/search/label/the%20planned%20wardrobe">the planned wardrobe</a>". <br />
<br />
Over the last 12 months, I've really felt like I already have a really solid wardrobe. I think that's because the outcomes of thinking about my ideal wardrobe, the wear & discard tracking of my actual wardrobe, and the sewing I've done in the recent past, especially the improvements I've made in making garments that fit better and last longer, all coalesced into something really works for me over the last couple of years.<br />
<br />
Feeling very <i>satisfied</i> with my wardrobe has been a theme for me over the last couple of years in my end-of-year reviews, as
I've been more and more pleased with my clothes as my wardrobe
planning ideas and sewing skills have evolved. However, the feeling that what I had was
now so versatile and durable and made with such close attention to what I actually wanted to wear that it was almost perfectly <i>sufficient</i> for my current needs, without anything more being needed, is quite new. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Xf4nuJz4Ws/XXkK9wLewjI/AAAAAAAAEfc/eVzM8sGXnSMCAbGII05LS9SX3WzXyXPlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Photo%2B20-05-2019%252C%2B16%2B01%2B35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Xf4nuJz4Ws/XXkK9wLewjI/AAAAAAAAEfc/eVzM8sGXnSMCAbGII05LS9SX3WzXyXPlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Photo%2B20-05-2019%252C%2B16%2B01%2B35.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chambray wide-leg trousers using Ottobre 02-2006-10. They stretch out! They bag at the knee & butt! They fall down! I've worn them a LOT for a pair of trousers I actively despise. Also why am I wearing those shoes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That's not to say my spring/summer wardrobe was perfect: there were some less-successful garments in there (including the one extra garment, a pair of chambray trousers that I sewed for this summer, which I wore plenty of times but found new reasons to dislike every time, see above). I've noted a couple of possible changes
or improvements to my summer wardrobe plan for next year. A handful of things hit the limit of
their usable life a little earlier than I hoped and limped over the finish line of summer, so I'll definitely
need to replace them before the warm weather rolls around again. Overall, though, my late spring/summer wardrobe was very close to my ideal. It covered all the weather eventualities I experienced (a couple of weeks of ark-building levels of endless rain, a couple of brief heatwaves, plenty of middling-ish days), covered every type of activity from "lazing around the house" to "going out for a casual dinner", and it mixed and matched really well. <br />
<br />
So, what has changed from previous years? I would say four things: First, I think, is the most interesting thing I've learnt about myself recently. I have always thought of myself, and described myself on this blog, as moderately novelty-seeking. I'm now pretty sure I'm not very novelty-seeking at all.<br />
<br />
I think many people legitimately churn their wardrobes with lots of different items because they find it fun and interesting, and that's great for them, I have no argument with people who do that and sew 100 garments/year in the process. What I've come
to realise though is that, by contrast, a lot of my "novelty-seeking", in the sense of making
frequent additions to my wardrobe, especially if I think back to the time
when I was purchasing all my clothes, was actually me just buying broadly the same things over and over, trying to find a version that actually worked for me and my body shape and my colour preferences. Because so much of what I bought didn't fit well, or wasn't really what I wanted, or didn't last very long for some reason, I felt compelled to churn my wardrobe constantly in the hopes that the next thing I bought would work better.<br />
<br />
This made me think again about how I dressed when I was a child and teenager: I was always the kind of kid who had a favourite sweater and wore it over and over until it was destroyed. As an adult, I've realised I'm still perfectly happy to wear garments over and over and not churn them at all until they reach the end of their wearable life. I've just never really had the chance to see that in action in my adult life because so little of what I've owned has stood up to any kind of test of time. Now that more of my clothes have the potential to go the distance in terms of longevity, I find I don't miss or want the constant novelty of the churn. I'm not just grudgingly trying to get a lot of wear from things: my ideal wardrobe would genuinely be one where if I were confronted with all the sweaters I own, I could no longer pick a favourite because I loved them all.<br />
<br />
Realising I don't want to churn my wardrobe is making me much more concerned about making more timeless styles, using higher quality fabrics, taking more time to sew more accurately, and doing my laundry with a sharper eye towards longevity. Part of the reason I love my current wardrobe so much is that having learnt that, I switched to more expensive natural fabrics, and I'm seeing the benefit of those sewing and laundry efforts in how long my clothes not just last, but look good while they're lasting.<br />
<br />
Related to this has been the second change: that I've started to pin down my own personal style.<br />
<br />
For the longest time, I would have
told you I didn't have a style at all, except that I could exclude a few
style types without much thought -- mostly overtly feminine looks, and
then also the kind of athleisure and distressed looks that have been
really popular lately. In an effort to develop a description of my personal style that isn't just "I don't know, but not that",
over the last couple of years I really dug into the "identify your style" resources I could find, and tried to find the commonalities in looks that I really liked and that, crucially, I liked <i>for me</i>.<br />
<br />
A big part of getting a better understanding of how I want to dress has been separating out how much I admire and appreciate how other women look in specific styles and outfits, and then letting it go as "fabulous <i>for her</i>! Not really for me.". (Or the related issue, which is the rarely articulated but often-felt: <i>if I could dress like and look like her, could I have her wonderful-seeming life too? </i>to which the answer is always no, and moreover, probably she doesn't have that life either, not really, not outside the few minutes it took to take that photo and post it to Instagram.)<br />
<br />
There's a lot of style related garbage out there on the Internet, but despite the occasional rabbit hole of sheer nonsense, I definitely found a couple of ideas and processes that I thought would help me resolve the problems I have been gnawing on ever since I started sewing: "What is it that I actually want to make? What do I actually want to
wear? What is the public image I want to present?". <br />
<br />
In the end, the style I have settled on is one that's very understated and classic-oriented, and slightly more masculine than feminine. I've always thought that if I were a man, it would be 100% easier for me to pick out my style and dress that way. I like tailored, streamlined, unfussy (no ruffles or
bows or flaps or straps, or extra buttons or logos... you get the
idea) clothes. I love plain colours, simple prints (stripes, dots, etc), natural fibres, and I'm fussy about how clothes fit, touch my skin, move around with me, and how long garments are (my pet hate being too-short trousers, ankle-length trend be damned). I don't feel like every single thing I own has to be completely consistent with that description -- it's a preferred aesthetic, not a straight-jacket -- but I definitely think it's an 80-20 thing: 80% that aesthetic, 20% everything else.<br />
<br />
Since I've figured out this slightly more positive answer to the question "what is my style?", I've find myself caring much less about fitting in with arbitrary
fashion standards that I have given up trying to understand, and community norms
(like everyone in the sewing community being frantic about making dresses) that it would make me unhappy to pursue. I have been focusing instead on making and
wearing <i>the best possible versions of the things that I like</i>.
This seems like a far more achievable, and much more satisfying, as a
way to approach the problem of "what should be in my wardrobe?"<br />
<br />
Overall, even though this is the area where I still feel I have the most work to do in building my ideal wardrobe, I feel a lot more confident in my style. However, this came about not,
as I once thought would be the case, by making radical changes, or owning many glorious items of clothing, but mostly by deciding that
it's OK to like the things I like, and it's OK to dislike the things I
dislike. So this new confidence has led me to build a wardrobe I personally like a lot, and be OK with the fact that it doesn't look a lot like what's in the shops or popular on sewing!Instagram.<br />
<br />
The third change is that I have a much better handle, after four years of tracking, on exactly what I wear every single day, and therefore what needs to be in my wardrobe. Not what I think I wear, or wish I wore, or imagine myself wearing, but the actual decisions I make every morning in the moment when I have to get dressed. Left to myself,
data-less, it turned out that I made very faulty assumptions about how
much choice I needed (for laundry purposes) and wanted (for personal
satisfaction purposes). I am sure for
other people both the collection and analysis of data would feel onerous and not be so helpful, but I am a person who thrives
on analytics, and at this point, with multiple years of data, it is all really paying off for me in terms of knowing with absolute certainty what I tend to pick to wear, and what stays hanging in my closet except for rare outings.<br />
<br />
I do add my subjective experiences to the data: having a bunch of things hanging around that I don't wear much might not bother some people, but it's irritating to me, and I want to avoid it. Not having enough of the things I like to wear because my wardrobe plan had committed me to wearing garment types (dresses!) that I then never voluntarily chose to wear, and only reluctantly took off the hanger because everything else was in the wash, was extremely annoying to me. I worried that I would end up feeling uncomfortably restricted by the changes I made as a result of this data, but in fact, when I stripped my wardrobe back to only the things I really like and want to wear, and made sure I had enough of those things to last a complete laundry cycle and offer me exactly the level of choice I prefer, I loved my wardrobe even more.<br />
<br />
For example, one of my personal myths was always that I didn't wear dresses in summer because I couldn't find any that fit, back when I was buying all my clothes. I genuinely love how dresses look on other people. I've always thought that for sure there must be a place for me among all those people looking fantastic in summer dresses, if only I had just the right dress for me. However, I now know, after a few years of experiments, that even with summer dresses available to me that fit and are in colours I like, I won't wear them. I just don't LIKE them on me, and I feel like a pig in a wig wearing one -- it's just not me, I feel uncomfortable and unhappy in them. No amount of effort to make a beautiful dress is going to actually make me reach for it when it's hanging in my wardrobe.<br />
<br />
This year, I took out the handful of dresses in my wardrobe and added in some things I was much more likely to wear. I didn't miss the dresses for even a second, and I was much happier with my choices every day. I'm not saying nobody should ever try anything outside their comfort zone, but I do think if you've given it a good try and you are still not into it, you can decide you're done with the experiment. (My mum, meanwhile, thinks it's hilarious I even tried, since apparently I used to throw EPIC tantrums as a toddler when she tried to put me in a dress and never wore one voluntarily as a child or teenager.)<br />
<br />
The last change I made recently is that I have, over the last 12-18 months, tightened up the colour palette I wear significantly. To be honest, I have always had pretty entrenched preferences when it comes to colour, but I definitely tried, even quite recently, to expand my colour horizons. Now though I've decided to just embrace the colours I love and avoid the wardrobe dead-ends that resulted from trying to mix in too many others.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CGrEh8UIgoI/XXkYFDEadOI/AAAAAAAAEfs/tX14XsZ0jqoFCfJwBtU0tVThboUAejSHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/colours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="1456" height="436" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CGrEh8UIgoI/XXkYFDEadOI/AAAAAAAAEfs/tX14XsZ0jqoFCfJwBtU0tVThboUAejSHACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/colours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very amateur attempt at a colour palette. Top row neutrals: navy, grey, white. Second row, shades of blue, certain greens, turquoise and teal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
I decided on navy, grey and white as my main neutral colours, and then I wear accent colours that span across all kinds of other shades of blue, plus turquoise/teal and the more blue end of the green spectrum (rather than the more yellow-y shades, which don't suit my colouring). I like really saturated colours, in part because I have moderately high contrast colouring: very pale skin and dark brown hair. Anything pale or pastel tends to look washed-out on me.<br />
<br />
The biggest change though is that I've stopped wearing black. I've always worn a huge amount of black, especially black and white combinations, and I came to a dead stop on it over the last 12 months. I did this because I wanted to simplify my overall wardrobe, and adding black into the colour mix really didn't work as well for me as expanding on the grey garments I already had.<br />
<br />
I have to be frank: my new colour palette consists of colours I've always loved and that I've always owned in large quantities. I think every "favourite" garment I've ever owned was a variation on a theme of blue, I wore my final chosen colours probably 80% of the time over the last 5 years anyway, and it represented an even higher proportion of my fabric stash. So what might be a really radical decision for some people was actually pretty simple for me. I was most concerned about cutting the black garments out of my wardrobe, but as it has turned out, I have not missed wearing them at all.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, I absolutely adore that so much of my wardrobe is no-mental-effort-required mix-and-match. In general, the only things that stop me from being able to match every garment to every other in outfits are mis-matches in proportion (which I am going to work on very hard with my new work wardrobe, see below) and mixtures of prints, since I generally don't like how that looks.<br />
<br />
So that leads up to today: I'm just really happy with where I am with my wardrobe, and I feel like it's all working out really well, but at the same time, I'm really struck by how it's not what I thought it would be when I first started sewing. When I started, I had the idea that somehow, I was going to end up with the wardrobe that I <i>imagined</i> I wanted, the one I thought I would wear if the limitations of buying RTW didn't exist and I had free reign. But I don't at all: I actually have something I like a LOT better, which is not nearly as different from what I had before as I expected, but is like all the good parts of what I used to have, all the time.<br />
<br />
I will say that writing like a 6 page discussion document about it makes it sound like I spent a million hours thinking about this stuff, which I... kind of did, I suppose, but not in a weird way, I don't think. There is this whole thing, in creativity research, about how externalising your thoughts helps to crystallise them, and for me personally, I like to write about things I am thinking about as if I am explaining them to someone else; it makes it more real, forces me to edit down to what I really want to say. Sadly, let me assure you that I am not overwhelmed with people in my real life who want to sit down to listen to my TED talk about how and why I organise my wardrobe. The only place I have for it is here :D<br />
<br />
So, all that said, what's next: First, I've been sewing away madly to a plan for a couple of weeks, putting together the pieces of my everyday autumn/winter wardrobe for the rest of the 2019. I'll have all that to show off in about a week or so, though it's on my Instagram in bits and pieces already.<br />
<br />
After that, I am moving on to making some entirely new clothes, in preparation for the much-hoped-for day when I am able to re-enter the world of work. I'm starting again nearly from scratch, and I have a whole other TED talk worth of What I Am Going To Do and Why to share, probably towards the end of the month/October. My first task is to try (emphasis on try: I have money saved for an RTW alternative if it doesn't work out) to make a tailored pinstripe wool suit, and throw myself into learning the kind of tailoring techniques I need for that. It's piece 1 of my work wardrobe plan: a formal suit appropriate for future job interviews, and some suitable shirts/blouses to wear underneath. :D<br />
<br />
If you get this far you deserve a prize, thank you for reading! :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-17445606827751226952019-04-27T23:58:00.002+01:002019-04-29T06:53:37.659+01:00An update, and the on-going trouser fitting sagaI have been absent from this blog for a while, but I am back, and here to talk about my early summer sewing plans and my continued Troubles With Trousers.<br />
<br />
First, a brief recap of what I have done, sewing-wise, since I was last here on 1 January, talking about my exciting plans for the year:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*crickets chirp*<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, it's not <i>quite</i> a void. I finished one gigantic purple scarf I have been knitting on and off for a couple of years (see below), and I made 1 (one) sewn item: a pair of PJ shorts with a remnant left over from another project and a TNT pattern. This latter took me all of an hour and is so uninteresting even to me that I refuse to consider taking a photo of it. That's really not much for a 4 month period, given that most years I average about 1 completed item per week!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pRvmvFm8kIs/XMSpdyRuj_I/AAAAAAAAEc8/V_blzsADDVwzl8TkfGBQYaj18R3ImepMwCLcBGAs/s1600/scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pRvmvFm8kIs/XMSpdyRuj_I/AAAAAAAAEc8/V_blzsADDVwzl8TkfGBQYaj18R3ImepMwCLcBGAs/s640/scarf.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant seed stitch wrap in two shades of purple (<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/worsted-twist-seed-stitch-wrap">Purl Soho Worst Twist Seed Stitch Wrap</a>)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Why have I accomplished so little? Partly it's down to the usual reason
(ill health). Partly though, I just didn't really need or want
any more winter or early spring clothes. Since this coincided with a
total lack of enthusiasm for sewing, I just... didn't sew. I did read 130 books in the same time period (I will typically read about 40 in a four month period) so you can understand where my extra time went.<br />
<br />
However, as we come into late spring/summer, I have mustered quite a lot of enthusiasm for getting started sewing again. I have definite gaps in my wardrobe for the coming season, and we have already had some good weather for which I was not entirely well-prepared. (Of course, the Easter weekend having been 25C and sunny, it is now much more April-in-northern-England typical, which is to say: heaving rain, 8C. But the good weather will come back eventually. I hope.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SAmAv2ePh4Q/XMS5oiMVZyI/AAAAAAAAEdI/C7B5Ps-nZfIdKOFjkVEUYvF-bnXN3vHgwCLcBGAs/s1600/spring%2Bsummer%2Bplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SAmAv2ePh4Q/XMS5oiMVZyI/AAAAAAAAEdI/C7B5Ps-nZfIdKOFjkVEUYvF-bnXN3vHgwCLcBGAs/s640/spring%2Bsummer%2Bplan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trouser plans for spring/summer 2019. Why yes, I am reaching FAR back in my magazine stash to the mid 00s.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My immediate plans include making trousers. Now, if you have been reading a while, you may recall that my previous experiences of trouser making are (a) moderately successful when confined to simple knit trousers and PJs, and (b) otherwise, when it comes to woven trousers, pretty terrible. (See <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2016/02/trouble-with-trousers-or-problems-with.html">here</a> and <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2016/07/imperfect-trousers-are-better-than-no.html">here</a> for examples of how well my previous efforts at woven trouser making didn't go.)<br />
<u> </u><br />
<u> </u>However, I am determined to conquer trousers this year!<br />
<br />
My mantra for trouser making in 2019 is: good enough is definitely good enough. Yes, there are people who achieve the perfect, wrinkle free trouser fit, but while I can admire their work, I can't start with the expectation of emulating it. When it comes to tops, last year I felt like I made a lot of small, incremental fitting improvements over the year. It didn't always work, but lots of little changes added up to some quite significant improvements in fit. This year I am going to try to do the same with trousers (and skirts, if I should happen to make any), as well as continuing to hone my upper body fitting. One thing that is certain is that I won't get any better at making trousers if I pursue my current path of never making trousers. However, I am prepared for the reality that the first few pairs will not turn out brilliantly. Previously I tended to feel completely paralyzed when things went wrong with trouser fitting, and I am determined not to do that this time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://d1a6t1943usoj7.cloudfront.net/v1/d9986a8d-544b-47cc-82e3-9a9c422c992e/w756/patternmakingplusdesignthepantssloper_titlecard_cid5017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="756" height="362" src="https://d1a6t1943usoj7.cloudfront.net/v1/d9986a8d-544b-47cc-82e3-9a9c422c992e/w756/patternmakingplusdesignthepantssloper_titlecard_cid5017.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bluprint (Craftsy) class I used to make a pants sloper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Although I haven't been sewing, I didn't entirely stop <i>thinking</i> about sewing, and one of the things I have been chewing over mentally is how to get started making trousers that fit. Previously, I attempted to use a basic commercial pattern and modify it to fit. I have no doubt this can be a very successful approach for many people, but I didn't seem to learn much from it myself. I decided that my problem was that I didn't really understand how trouser patterns were put together, nor how they are <i>meant</i> to fit. As a result, I spent a lot of time reading my fitting books (I have many), looking at how my existing (mainly RTW) trousers fit me, and looking at how other people resolved fitting problems. In the end, I decided that the way forward was to try drafting my own pattern, as a way to become really familiar with how body measurements and pants patterns match up.<br />
<br />
I have to admit that for the most part I have less than zero interest in designing or drafting patterns, so this is a departure for me. To get started, I therefore looked at a couple of options in books, but the texts I found seemed rather inaccessible in writing style, were very expensive, and contained a huge amount of information about adapting the basic block into various other forms, which does not interest me. However, I also remembered that I previously watched a Craftsy class about drafting skirts led by Suzy Furrer, and enjoyed it. I was very happy to see she had done a trouser drafting class as well. The majority of the class is about the pattern drafting, and she only really briefly considers variations at the end. I highly recommend this class whether you want to draft your own patterns, or if, like me, you just feel like it would help you understand how trouser patterns work. I thought that it was very clear, accessible, and well-presented, and well worth the time and effort. <br />
<br />
It's worth knowing what you will get out of the class, and here's a spoiler: it absolutely will not result in a perfectly fitting pair of trousers from the first muslin. Here is my personal muslin #1, in natty blue gingham:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3snTtl5Pcd4/XMS-KShfZII/AAAAAAAAEdU/-t-LLjdALOo836COGnwsAZMy05ulSs_XgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B23-03-2019%252C%2B15%2B18%2B15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1463" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3snTtl5Pcd4/XMS-KShfZII/AAAAAAAAEdU/-t-LLjdALOo836COGnwsAZMy05ulSs_XgCLcBGAs/s400/Photo%2B23-03-2019%252C%2B15%2B18%2B15.jpg" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back view of muslin 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I never seem to have any major issues with the fit at the front of my trousers, but the back is a different story. This isn't the worst fit I've ever seen, but it's not good. I've been at this point before, several times, and I can't say that in the past I've ever managed to really improve anything much from this point.<br />
<br />
However, at this point all my reading about fit and my improved understanding of the assumptions that are made when trouser patterns are drafted actually paid off. I did a second muslin and tried to address some of the issues above the knee, and then third muslin where I looked at knee level and lower. This is how the third muslin looks side by side with the first (yes, sorry, my feet are a little bit further away from each other in the second photo, which makes the second photo artificially better, but it's still a reasonable comparison):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CBkEFwdfQZU/XMTANeP5__I/AAAAAAAAEdg/nlE-mfUpRUEvUKtzmA1Og3M3VSzG9fLZgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B26-04-2019%252C%2B18%2B46%2B40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CBkEFwdfQZU/XMTANeP5__I/AAAAAAAAEdg/nlE-mfUpRUEvUKtzmA1Og3M3VSzG9fLZgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B26-04-2019%252C%2B18%2B46%2B40.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muslin 1 (left) vs, Muslin 3 (right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've really learned a LOT from doing these three muslins. Obviously muslin 3 is still not perfect, but I think I have an idea how to resolve the remaining problems. One issue is a product of my "upper leg then lower leg" approach. I did a small knock knee adjustment in muslin 3, but I put it in at knee level because I thought of it as a "lower leg/knee" problem. This is obviously stupid -- if the problem is with my knee, I need to address it ABOVE the knee, not AT the knee. I think when I move the adjustment up, those diagonal lines pointing at the knee will go away. It may also resolve some of the continued inner thigh draglines. I also still have some work to do on the crotch curve.<br />
<br />
The most important thing I learned from drafting the pattern myself was that the distance from where I want the waist of trousers to sit to the same point at the back, via the crotch, is much shorter in vertical length and much longer in horizontal length than my self-drafted pattern (or commerical patterns) assumed. As a result, when I make the pattern actually fit me, it works out that the rise of my trousers is quite short, and the crotch points are ultra long. My actual personal pattern therefore looks a bit bonkers. When I made previous attempts at trouser fitting, and even in the initial stages of improving the fit of my self-drafted pattern, I really resisted making those changes to the pattern because I thought it couldn't possibly be right: the pattern just looks so <i>strange</i> in comparison to most commercial patterns. I assumed I must be doing something wrong if I was getting results that varied so wildly from the norm.<br />
<br />
This is where the drafting class was super helpful to me, because I was able to put together the problems I was having with fit and the problems I had trying to make sense of the measuring process before I started drafting the pattern. That made it clear to me that the problem was not with my weirdly shaped final pattern, but with the difference between the assumptions about body shape baked into the way the pattern is drawn and the actual body I am trying to fit into the trousers.<br />
<br />
For example, at the start of the process you identify where you want your trousers to sit -- at the navel, in my case, because I have a natural "crease" exactly at my navel -- and then you measure down so many inches for the high hip, low hip, crotch level, etc. The class notes suggest if you are tall or petite you may need to adjust this. Well, I am 173cm tall (about 5'8") so I went into it thinking I might need to make a "tall" adjustment. Except as soon as I started measuring, it because clear to me that this was not AT ALL the case. The distance she suggested for an "average" person from waist to low hip was below my crotch line. I ended up taking the measurements as if I were petite. Then my low hip, supposedly the largest measurement, turned out to be smaller than my high hip. <br />
<br />
This all explains SO MUCH about my previous experiences with both patterns and RTW, and just this insight alone made it worth my time to do the drafting class. So many pairs of trousers I've owned, and most of those I've made, have ended up either (a) with me having the pull the waistband up to my ribcage in order for it to be seated properly, and/or (b) the waistband rolls over constantly at the waist every time I bend or move and/or, probably worst and most common, (c) the waistband drops to my natural waist and I end up with a saggy butt and my back pockets half way down my thighs.<br />
<br />
With all this in mind, I find I am way more comfortable creating a pattern block that looks really quite different from the way I expected it to when I started, if in doing so I eradicate all of those problems. It seems almost miraculous to contemplate: imagine if trousers didn't fit that badly all the time!<br />
<br />
My next steps are as follows:<br />
<br />
1. Muslin 4: Fix the knock knee problem, work on the crotch curve a little more, and make what is hopefully my final muslin to test it.<br />
2. Transfer the "finished for now" pattern onto something more durable than tissue paper.<br />
3. Make trousers!!<br />
<br />
The end of the pattern drafting class moves on to making variations on the basic block for various different types of trousers. I am not at all interested in doing that. What I would like to be able to do is take my self-drafted basic block, slap it on to a commercial pattern and see what changes I need to make.<br />
<br />
I have had a go at this already, with mixed results. Good news: simple patterns in Ottobre and Burda seemed to be a pretty good match from the outset. I'll have to change the crotch curve and the height of the rise is going to be a consistent issue with every company I've checked so far. Overall, though, I think I'd probably be able come up with a common set of adjustments that I'd need with their patterns. It helps that I already know how consistent those two companies are. For the most part my experience with Ottobre and Burda is that you can make yourself a little "routine adjustments" list, and just work through it with any new pattern.<br />
<br />
I also compared my block as it stands to a couple of very simple New Look patterns that came in wardrobe patterns (you know the kind: two tops, a jacket, and then a very boring skirt and a very boring pair of trousers as filler) and it was a surprisingly close match. I find New Look patterns a bit blah but it's useful to know.<br />
<br />
Of the bad: I have a couple of those Simplicity Amazing Fit trouser patterns and they are just not at all Amazing for me. Whereas it's really obvious to me what size(s) I should use with the other companies, the difference between the Simplicity pattern and my block are so extreme that I can't even work out where to start, size-wise, and the level of changes I would have to make would really mess with things like pocket placement. Probably easier to just not use those patterns, I think!<br />
<br />
I haven't had a chance to look at other pattern companies yet, but honestly, if I only had Ottobre and Burda patterns available to me, I'd have patterns enough for the rest of my life.<br />
<br />
Barring disaster, I'll hopefully be back again in a much shorter space of time to share successful trousers with you :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-61521937195233419102019-01-01T10:28:00.000+00:002019-01-01T10:30:52.661+00:002019 Goals + Magazine ChallengeWelcome to 2019! Look away now if you're at all opposed to the idea of goal-setting at the start of a new year -- I'm obviously not, especially when it comes to sewing.<br />
<br />
Without further ado, here are my goals for this year:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Stick to my 2019 sewing budget. </b>I've actually done a pretty good job of this most years, so really this goal is here just to remind me to stick to my financial discipline for another year. It's not super onerous because I give myself a generous budget, plus I have a substantial gift card for a sewing shop that was given to me for Christmas still to spend. <br />
<br />
<b>2. Use the things I already own & keep new acquisitions in check by:</b><br />
<br />
<b>a. Decreasing my garment stash by 50m. </b>Okay, bear with me a second, because I know I've said I'm going to do this a million times already and yet, no, I have never come near achieving it. However, I have good reason to think it will work this year. Basically, this whole time a big chunk of my stash has sat there unused because it's most suitable for clothes for work, not for the chronic-illness-rarely-leave-the-house lifestyle I've been forced to adopt the last several years. This year is the first year I've truly believed there is a realistic chance that at some point in the next 12 months I'll be back at work and living a much more normal life. This presents a wardrobe problem. Right now, if you asked me to produce my work wardrobe, I'd be able show you a few random items that wouldn't even make a single outfit, and also an entire organized, colour-coordinated professional wardrobe... in flat fabric form. The idea is, therefore, that I will not only rebuild my work wardrobe over the next 12 months, but in the process I'll use up a big chunk of my stash that I've bought specifically for that purpose over the last several years. Well, that's the theory, anyway.<br />
<br />
<b>b. Using at least 50% of the fabric I buy this year. </b>Hopefully I won't actually need to buy that much this year, but, fellow fabric-aholics, you all know it's not really about <i>need</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>c. Reducing the number of unused envelope and PDF patterns I own. </b>As of 1 January, I have used 22% of my paper patterns, and 22% of my PDF patterns. (I may sell some of my paper patterns, if I don't think I'll use them at all.)<br />
<br />
<b>3. Look for ways to make incremental improvements in quality, longevity and fit. </b>There is one big "fit" thing I desperately need to work on, and that's fitting trousers. I have a fairly immediate plan for that, though heaven only knows if it will actually work! In general though, I want to keep finessing fit, figuring out how to make things last longer, and where to buy quality fabrics.<b> </b>That's not a proper goal, as it lacks measurements or whatever, but eh, it's my goal list, I do what I want.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed the outcome of last year's magazine challenge so much that I feel I absolutely must do it again this year, so:<b><br /></b><br />
<br />
<b>The Magazine Challenge: Make 12 patterns from any 2019 magazine issue I buy. </b>Includes Burda, Ottobre, anything else I acquire of a similar nature. <br />
<br />
Everything else I want to do is really a "keep going" sort of thing: an intention for the year rather than a measurable goal. I want to keep on working out what my personal style is and how I want to dress; keep tracking what I wear and what I discard and why; keep working on improving my technical skills in sewing; keep enjoying the process of making things; keep participating in the online sewing community as best I can; just keep doing all the things that have made sewing one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling hobbies I have ever had (it's never going the be THE most, as nothing will ever surpass my love of reading!)<br />
<br />
<br />
I want to put together some images and whatnot of what I want to make in the immediate future, so I'll be back with that in a few days time. In the meantime, I'm off to read everyone else's end of year/start of year posts. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-83851261461800125462018-12-30T16:42:00.003+00:002018-12-30T16:57:13.571+00:002018 In Review: Wardrobe & Sewing OutcomesYesterday's post related to the financial and organisational aspects of my plan for 2018, and how they worked out for me. Today I'm going to cover my wardrobe and sewing in 2018.<br />
<u><b><br /></b></u>
<u><b>My Wardrobe in Numbers</b></u><br />
<br />
I
finished this year, unintentionally, with exactly the same number of
garments as I started the year, though there was some redistribution among categories.<br />
<br />
<u>I made 37
finished items</u> this year. Of these, two were rescued from being wadders
because I was able to recut the fabric and made a (successful)
alternative garment. I made 3 pieces of outerwear, 7 cardigans/jumpers, 16
tops and
tunics inc both knit and woven, 1 pair knit trousers, 3 skirts, 2
dresses and 5 pairs of PJ shorts/trousers. <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/p/completed-projects-2018.html">You can see most things here</a> (I don't have photos of the knit trousers or 2 of the pairs of PJs, because they were too boring to photograph).<br />
<br />
<u>I bought
20 items</u> in total, including: 1 fleece jacket, 5 jumpers
and hoodies, 4 pairs trousers/jeans, 9 basic t-shirts and 1 woven shirt.<br />
<br />
<u>I discarded 57 items</u>, including 23 items I made myself.
This was my lowest number of discards per year since I started recording what I got rid
of a couple of years back.<br />
<br />
Of the 57, I sold 4 items. I also did a very long overdue overhaul of my
activewear wardrobe, which I hadn't touched at all in years due to illness. I looked through
it all when I started to exercise again a couple of months ago and got
rid of 11 items, many of which were 10+ years old. I
don't intend to replace any of those items as they were all just
dead weight.<br />
<br />
As a reminder: as I did last year, I'm going to talk about
the "30 wears" test for longevity. This is based
on a campaign that was intended to encourage people to behave
in a more sustainable way by asking them to question whether each new
item they buy is something they will wear 30 times. Thirty is a totally
arbitrary number, of course, and it's
not like I get 30 wears from something and then go <i>oh well, that's done</i>,
and throw
it away. However, my experience over the last few years has been
that it's a actually a pretty useful and realistic guideline. I like to think of it as a minimum standard. If something I discard falls short of 30 wears, I ask myself why it didn't last at least that long and whether there is anything I could do differently to avoid similar little-worn discards.<br />
<br />
Of the remaining 42 items I discarded, they fell broadly into 3 categories:<br />
<br />
<u>1. Things that wore out:</u>
25 items (60%) of which 13 were hand made. On average I'd worn
everything that wasn't a t-shirt around 36 times, and the t-shirts
around 23 times each. That is pretty typical on the t-shirt side of
things:
getting 30 wears out of a t-shirt has proved difficult whether I make or buy them. Of the 13 things
I'd made that wore out, 10 had good longevity (a range of 35-61 wears). Three handmade things died
before their time: a viscose woven top that shredded along every seam and two
knit tunics. I am inclined to blame the (cheap) fabric in all three
cases.<br />
<br />
<u>2. Things that just didn't work out:</u>
12 items (28%) of which I had made 7 items. My code for this in my
spreadsheet is "disliked" but this actually covers a multitude of sins:
wrong colours for my wardrobe, hated the facings on a top I'd made,
hated the sleeves on another item, poor fabric choice on a couple, a
couple of gifts I disliked and couldn't return, that kind of thing. I
think this category is always going to skew to the handmade,
because you can't get it home and be like: <i>on further consideration, no</i>, and return it. Once you've made it, you're stuck with it.<br />
<br />
<u>3. Things that didn't fit:</u>
5 items (12%). Of these, 4 were very old "maybe one day I'll fit into these again..." garments that I finally let go of, and 1 was a thrifted item that I wasn't able to try on or return.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Quality and Longevity </b></u><br />
<br />
Another goal I had this year was to try to <b>make sure anything new I bought or made in 2018 had at least the potential to last for 30 wears</b> and make other changes to make sure all my existing clothes lasted longer.<br />
<br />
Probably the best change I made this year was due to
something I identified in last year's analysis. In the past I made
too many woven shirts and other tops that fit poorly
and were annoying to wear as a result. Eventually these turned up again as discards in the "didn't work out" category having been worn relatively little. I did a
LOT of work in the first half the year to work out what shoulder,
armscye and back pattern changes I needed to eradicate at least some of
those problems, with a lot of success. The exception proves the rule: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-boat-tunic.html">I made a tunic in a boat print</a> in November <i>without </i>doing
some of the shoulder and armscye changes I've been doing all year and
while it's not terrible, it's noticeably less
well-fitting and therefore more annoying than other things I made in 2018.<br />
<br />
On the construction side, I made an effort this year to do the kind of invisible work that ought to make my garments more hard-wearing. I used techniques that I know extend the life of garments like flat-felling or doing french seams, sewing double rows of stitching in pockets and key seams and so on. I also upped the quality of some of my fabric purchases, although not all of those purchases actually became garments. Knits, both RTW and hand-made, remain a problem on the quality side of things.<br />
<br />
I also changed my laundry routine. Despite
pre-washing/tumble drying all my fabric, in previous years quite a lot of things shrank or were destroyed in the wash after construction. This year I started to
hang dry almost all my woven tops to prevent shrinkage and seam
shredding. I still tumble dry knits and I machine wash
everything, but I've nevertheless had many fewer laundry disasters this
year than in previous years. In fact, I didn't lose any of my hand-mades
to laundry problems this year. <br />
<br />
So far, everything I made in 2018 is still in my wardrobe -- only time will tell how successful these changes have been.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Handmade review </b></u><br />
<br />
<u>Patterns Used</u><br />
<br />
To make my 37 garments, I used
30 different patterns in total, 21 of which were new to me. Of the 30
patterns, 12 were from Burda, 6 from Ottobre, 10 from Big 4 envelopes
inc Burda envelopes, and 2 from StyleArc. No other indies were in the
mix at all this year: I mostly replaced the occasional indie pattern I used before with Big4 envelopes.<br />
<br />
Yet another of my goals this year was to <b>use more of the PDF and envelope patterns</b>
<b> I already owned</b>. I did make a special effort to use more of my envelope
patterns: by the end of the year I'd used 22% of the patterns I owned
compared to 18% at the end of last year, in spite of buying several new
ones.<br />
<br />
However, my dislike of PDF patterns is pretty
intense. I always think I like the idea, but in practise I hate everything about putting them together. I nevertheless bought 5 new PDF patterns, but used exactly zero new-to-me
PDF patterns this year, so my utilisation actually decreased. I need to
figure out a way to use the PDF patterns I've bought in 2019, even if it
means paying for large format printing.<br />
<br />
<u>The Magazine Challenge</u><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qFItFhNG2OA/XCfqZB-iuwI/AAAAAAAAEbg/U5wOI0txeP45RBD2KpZWqf5DJd8wy_jhQCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Bchallenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qFItFhNG2OA/XCfqZB-iuwI/AAAAAAAAEbg/U5wOI0txeP45RBD2KpZWqf5DJd8wy_jhQCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Bchallenge.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magazine Challenge garments, bottom right corner is the pattern that failed & had to be recut.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the start of the year I challenged myself to make 12 items from this year's Burda, Ottobre and (while I was getting them) Knipmode magazines. I managed 8, plus one wadder. Of the 9 patterns attempted, I made 6 successful (and 1 unsuccessful) Burda patterns, and 2 successful Ottobre patterns.<br />
<br />
From left to right in the image above, starting in the top left, I made: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/in-which-wacky-top-is-somehow-not-wacky.html">a draped back tee</a> from Burda 01-2018, <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-magazine-challenge-black-and.html">a short jacket with piping detail</a> from Burda 02-2018, <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-wrap-up-march-plans.html">a gathered sleeve blouse</a> from Ottobre 02-2018, <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-review-of-may.html">a pleated skirt</a> from Burda 05-2018,<a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-review-of-may.html"> a striped t-shirt</a> from Burda 05-2018, <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/put-bird-on-it.html">a shirt with a pleated placket</a> from Burda 06-2018, <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/you-win-some-you-lose-some.html">a pair of t-shirts from Burda 01-2018</a>, and <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/11/catching-up.html">a knit tunic with puffy sleeves</a> from Ottobre 05-2018. I also attempted <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/you-win-some-you-lose-some.html">a knit top from Burda 02-2018</a>, but it failed and I ended up recutting the fabric into this basic tee (bottom right).<br />
<br />
Although I didn't get to 12 items, this challenge was actually a major success as far as I was concerned. I definitely went outside my comfort zone to make some of these, and others were patterns and garments that I might not otherwise have made without the impetus of this challenge but that I absolutely loved when completed. I fully intend to pursue this challenge again in 2019!<br />
<br />
<u>Hits and Misses</u><br />
<br />
My top 5 favourite things I made this year are:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S09SfHRt8lM/XCfv4Z7Dz6I/AAAAAAAAEbs/VlbLq9Yf9xI90nm_B5RRft_p5qpRPmFXQCLcBGAs/s1600/top5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S09SfHRt8lM/XCfv4Z7Dz6I/AAAAAAAAEbs/VlbLq9Yf9xI90nm_B5RRft_p5qpRPmFXQCLcBGAs/s640/top5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Hits</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In no particular order: <br />
<br />
Left: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/starting-2018-off-with-coat-burda-11.html">A moleskin coat from Burda 11-2015</a>. I LOVE this coat. It's far from flawless in the sewing, but it's so warm and cosy and comfortable! I still think my flower poppers were a genius find, and I am so happy to have finally made this coat, YEARS after I first bought the fabric and lining.<br />
<br />
Upper middle: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-magazine-challenge-black-and.html">Black and white piped jacket from Burda 02-2018</a>. This was a total throwaway project that I did for the Magazine Challenge, with a barely-big-enough scrap of fabric I bought for peanuts. It was super challenging working with the patterned fabric, the piping, etc etc, and I love the outcome.<br />
<br />
Lower middle: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-review-of-may.html">Navy/white striped tee from Burda 05-2018</a>. I never would have made this except for the Magazine Challenge, and I love the stand-up collar and the contrast sections. I paid a lot for this lightweight sweatshirt fabric and it was so worth it. I wore this every cooler day in the summer.<br />
<br />
Upper right: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/put-bird-on-it.html">Put a bird on it shirt from Burda 06-2018</a>. Again, a pattern I liked when I saw it in the magazine but might not ever have gotten around to making except for the Magazine Challenge. I got so many compliments on this shirt! I'm really pleased with the match between the Indian cotton fabric and the simple boxy pattern, which has just enough sewing detail to be interesting.<br />
<br />
Lower right: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/08/autumn-sewing-1-easy-repeats.html">Turquoise gingham shirt from Burda 04-2010</a>. I have been wanting a turquoise gingham shirt forever and I've worn this one so much since I made it (and got so many compliments on it). I made two shirts with this pattern this year, and the other one is in my 'misses' section. I am glad I got it right second time around.<br />
<br />
My top five Misses from 2018:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYheKrIq5Gg/XCfzdtCIyUI/AAAAAAAAEb4/63piTTPF57UvVTag1_yaNvZ6MaRN8BsnQCLcBGAs/s1600/miss5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYheKrIq5Gg/XCfzdtCIyUI/AAAAAAAAEb4/63piTTPF57UvVTag1_yaNvZ6MaRN8BsnQCLcBGAs/s640/miss5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Misses</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My top 5 disappointments, in no particular order:<br />
<br />
Left: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/11/catching-up.html">Navy raincoat using Burda 6772</a>. The fit of this is just not quite right. I didn't get much wear from it before the season changed and perhaps I'll change my mind about it when raincoat weather rolls around again, but I was really disappointed with how this turned out as I worked really hard on it.<br />
<br />
Upper middle: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/in-which-wacky-top-is-somehow-not-wacky.html">Draped back top from Burda 01-2018</a>. I love a wacky Burda top, and this draped back top looked like so much fun in the magazine. In reality, it's just nowhere near as interesting as it seemed in the photos. I still wear it, but that flap of fabric on the back is sort of weird and lumpy rather than a flowing drape.<br />
<br />
Lower middle: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/in-which-wacky-top-is-somehow-not-wacky.html">Popover plaid shirt using Burda 6457</a>. This fits well enough to keep wearing but the dropped shoulders irritate me. There are some annoying sewing flaws in it (especially on the cuffs) and the mother of pearl buttons I put on keep breaking. And yet, I have worn it quite regularly since I made it. It just seems like it could have been even better, I guess.<br />
<br />
Upper right: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/02/slow-but-somewhat-successful-shirt.html">Navy shirt from Burda 04-2010</a>. First attempt at the pattern I used for the turquoise gingham "hit" shirt. Despite being in this disappointment category, this is actually one of the things I made in 2018 that I've worn the most! I think it's the knowledge that this could be a really great shirt that makes me dislike it somewhat. I used the wrong interfacing, which has wrinkled and bubbled in the wash, and there are some other little sewing problems. I don't hate it, but I love a plain navy shirt and this one just isn't as good as it could be.<br />
<br />
Lower right: <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-boat-tunic.html">Boat print tunic using Butterick 5203</a>. I made this tunic in November and I've worn it every week since because I love the pattern and the print on the fabric. I don't love the crappy fit I got on the shoulders or the fact that I didn't raise the armhole and I needed to. If only I had worked on it a little harder it could have been a really perfect tunic!<br />
<br />
Overall, the weird thing is how some of my favourite things are really quite flawed, sewing wise, and some of my least favourite things are the garments I've worn over and over since I made them, flaws and disappointment and all!<br />
<br />
<b><u>My Wardrobe Plan 2018</u></b><br />
<br />
I've really settled into my wardrobe plan this year. In 2017, I felt like I'd had a breakthrough year and was like, <i>yes, this is working, things are fitting together really well, I actually feel like my wardrobe makes sense</i>. This year was just a refinement of that experience. I did a lot of "what do I really need? what do I actually wear?" checks on my wardrobe plan (which is, inevitably, kept in a spreadsheet) throughout year. Part of the reason I stopped sewing much in the second half of this year was that actually, I have everything I need right now. My wardrobe is completely functional, and I like everything in it, even the things that are not perfect (see the "Misses" above: I still wear them, even if they sometimes annoy me). This is actually a very liberating feeling for me.<br />
<br />
I definitely think that my wardrobe has been <i>significantly </i>improved by the process of planning it, and I am perfectly willing to keep planning if it reaps these kinds of returns. That is not to say that it is perfect. While I have my colour scheme mostly ironed out and am very happy with it, I have not entirely got my proportions/silhouette right on everything. I'd made some things that, in my head, I thought would go together really well, like a top and a skirt for example. When I tried it on though, while the colour scheme was great, they sometimes just didn't look good together as an outfit. In 2019 I'm going to be rebuilding a work-appropriate wardrobe nearly from scratch, so this silhouette/proportions issue is an important lesson to carry over.<br />
<br />
One minor epiphany I had this year was that I was definitely being unduly influenced in my planning by a somewhat hidden commandment of the online sewing community: Thou Shalt Like Dresses. It turns out that I mostly only like dresses on other people.<br />
<br />
The
sewing world at large is incredibly into dresses and I feel like there is an expectation that we should all regard dresses as the perfect garment. I bought into this so much that from the very outset of my garment sewing life that I bought loads and loads of dress patterns, even though prior to starting sewing I last wore a dress in about 2001. In this fantasy world, just buying the patterns and looking at all the gorgeous
dresses other people make and look fabulous in would make me want to make and wear them too. Unsurprisingly, It
hasn't worked like that all. I can't make myself like dresses just because everyone else does, and I don't really know why I thought I could.<br />
<br />
Here in the real world, I very strongly prefer separates. I have come to love the long-tunic/short-dress-and-leggings look, but really only as almost-pyjamas outfits to wear around the house in winter. I did also make a couple of summer
dresses this year. I like them, but I just don't feel like me
in them and I didn't reach for them when I was getting dressed. <br />
<br />
I'm not <i>never </i>going to make dresses in the future, but I will probably do so only at very infrequent intervals. I definitely think if I had a special event I would probably make a dress, and I would like to have a couple of classic dresses in my wardrobe -- the proverbial Little Black Dress, for example. Overall, though, dresses are just not an integral part of my present or future wardrobe plan, and you know what? That's perfectly OK.<br />
<br />
<u><b>In Conclusion</b></u><br />
<br />
I definitely think 2018 was a successful sewing year for me. I made a lot of things I liked. I learnt some new skills. I challenged myself in various ways. I like the collection of clothes I've put together more and more and I feel like I am creeping ever closer to my goal of having a sense of my personal style and the wardrobe to match that style. I also think I've seen some things I need to work on next year, and some ways to be more creative, and in general ways to enjoy my sewing hobby more and more all the time.<br />
<br />
I'll therefore be back on 1 January with my thoughts and goals for the sewing year ahead in 2019. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-52887155193500172082018-12-29T17:30:00.003+00:002018-12-29T17:37:12.977+00:002018 In Review: How I Spent My MoneyI have been very quiet, as far as sewing is concerned, through the last quarter of 2018, and not wildly active for really the whole second half of the year. As we approach the very end of the year, though, I feel like my enthusiasm about my sewing has been rekindled a bit, and so I am here, as always, with my thoughts about the sewing year that has just passed, and the sewing year ahead of me. <br />
<br />
My <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/2018-goals-and-2018-magazine-challenge.html">planning for 2018</a> revolved around the central idea of <i>using and organizing things I already had</i>. I wanted to finally make some of the garments I've had in the planning stage for years. I also wanted ensure that my wardrobe was full of things I wanted to wear, that my pattern and fabric stashes were full of things I wanted to use, and that any new purchases fit in well with my existing resources. I'll deal with the questions of what I chose to make and how my actual
sewing and my wardrobe as a whole worked out for me in 2018 in my next post. This post is mainly about the money and organization side of things this year.<br />
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<u><b>Some general thoughts</b></u><br />
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Not too many sewing bloggers talk about the cost of our hobby, and I know some people would just really rather not think about and/or don't care about how much they spend, beyond a general outline. Or some people might be interested, but they don't want to do the kind of daily financial tracking that would allow them to analyze their spending in detail at the end of the year.<br />
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I have to stress that I completely respect all of those positions. I am absolutely not here talking about this because I think other people should do as I do, nor because I think it makes me appear virtuous. I do it because, well, for better or worse, this is apparently just a thing I do: I track my spending in meticulous detail. It's something I've done for <i>years</i>, ever since I was a teenager. And because I <i>can</i> talk about it in this kind of detail, I figure why not talk about it.<br />
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For me, I think one of the most interesting things is how my spending has changed over the years I have been sewing. For example, I'm spending more on fabric, not because I'm necessarily buying a tremendous amount more (though there have been some big years) but because I'm buying more expensive fabric. I find I'm worrying less about screwing up with "precious" fabric and much more about making the most of the fabric I use, in terms of making it last and look good after wearing and washing it.<br />
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At the same time I'm spending less and less every year on patterns because now I want any new pattern to add something unique and interesting to my existing pattern/magazine library. This is much harder to do after several years of pattern and magazine purchasing than it was in the beginning. I've also gradually changed my ideas about what I want my wardrobe to look like and therefore what I want to sew as I've developed my wardrobe plan. That's had an effect on the types of patterns, fabric, and even notions that I've been buying lately. <br />
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<u><b>The Budget</b></u><br />
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My Budget goal for 2018 was:<b> Stick to my 2018 sewing budget. </b>(Done.) <br />
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Budget-wise, I actually spent about 10% less overall this year than I had budgeted. I also hit my target elsewhere in my budget for what I spent on RTW clothes, so it's not just that I shifted my spending between the categories, as has happened in previous years. Most of this reduction in spending comes from the simple fact that I didn't renew my Knipmode subscription this year (discussed further below). That was a huge chunk of money that I didn't spend as I expected, and then I chose not spend it on anything else either.<br />
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I also recouped some money by selling a few things this year (including patterns, my old overlocker, and some fabric). About 15% of my original sewing budget this year was therefore funded by these sales, rather than "new" money allocated to sewing.<br />
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<b>How my spending added up:</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wg6o9LAxkww/XCeFpchk7VI/AAAAAAAAEbU/8PA47hQc5k42X3g50NBYc7jfBCbb-Vd2ACLcBGAs/s1600/bar-graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="580" height="440" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wg6o9LAxkww/XCeFpchk7VI/AAAAAAAAEbU/8PA47hQc5k42X3g50NBYc7jfBCbb-Vd2ACLcBGAs/s640/bar-graph.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pie chart of my sewing spending in 2018<u><br /></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><b>Major purchases</b></u><br />
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I didn't buy any new machines or make any other major purchases this year. I did have to replace my regular iron, because I dropped the old one and it started leaking rusty-coloured water on everything, ugh. My new one was not super expensive (about £30) and it is great, much better than my old one, so I am not displeased by this outcome even if I wish I hadn't dropped it in the first place.<br />
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<u><b>Fabric - 60% of spending</b></u><br />
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<b>Goal: (a) Use 50% of new fabric bought in 2018. </b>(I used 49%, close enough!)<b><br /></b><br />
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No surprises here, the bulk of my money went on fabric. 60% of my total spending bought me 82.75m of new fabric. The good news here though is that I turned around and used 49% of that fabric immediately, and I regret nothing at all about the fabric I bought in 2018 that is still in stash. A lot of it should end up being used in 2019.<br />
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<b>Goal (b) Reduce my total garment stash by 50m to less than 150m. </b>(Nope - I reduced it by 10m)<br />
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Overall, I used or otherwise disposed of 92.75m of garment fabric. This means my stash is exactly 10m smaller than at the start of 2018, at 190.65m total. This is very noticeably not the overall garment stash reduction of 50m that I was hoping for, but at least it is in the right direction!<br />
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What did change in terms of stash was that I organized the heck out of it. I now have a much more consistent set of colours and styles and fabric types, and a much better idea of how I'll use everything I have. At the start of the year I had a number of large pieces of fabric that I bought, mostly very early on in my garment sewing career, that I liked but couldn't imagine how I would use. Originally, I thought my task was to work out how I could use them. In the end, though, it was quite easy to let go of those pieces altogether, mainly by selling them on eBay. I haven't regretted that decision at all. My still-too-large stash is at least now made up only of things that I definitely want to use and that, when made up into garments, will fit in with all the other things I already own and wear.<br />
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A more dramatic change is that I did get rid of two thirds of my non-garment stash, around 65m in total. I had a huge amount of mainly bag-making and craft type fabrics that I finally admitted, six years after I stopped dedicating 90% of my sewing time to small items and bag sewing, that I wasn't going to use. I sold a lot of it for very little money in a big job lot, but it got it out of my stash and out the door, and again, I haven't regretted it. I still have more than enough to make plenty of handbags, totes or small craft items if the mood strikes me over the next few years, but it's a much more manageable stash now.<br />
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<u><b>Magazines - 13%</b></u><br />
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As I've already mentioned, I spent a lot less on magazines this year as I didn't renew my Knipmode subscription. I subscribed for 3 years but while I did enjoy it initially, I found it overall quite repetitive and bland after a time. When the bill arrived this summer it was even higher than last year, plus the exchange rate was against me, plus they didn't deliver or replace one issue in 2018 despite me e-mailing them over and over and never getting a response, so I cancelled. I've barely noticed it being absent from my mailbox, which reassures me that this was a good decision. <br />
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I have just renewed my Burda subscription for 2019, and I'll also get Ottobre Woman in 2019. I honestly wouldn't go without these subscriptions at this point. Even though there have definitely been months in 2018 where I've glanced through Burda and thought nothing but NOPE, I still prefer Burda magazine to almost every other pattern source.<br />
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<u><b>Patterns - 8%</b></u><br />
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<b>Goal: Stick to 2018 pattern buying budget. (</b>Done!)<br />
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I bought only 10 patterns this year (5 PDFs, and 5 paper patterns) and I bought all of them on sale. I only spent 60% of the budget I had set myself for patterns in total. A lot of this is just having a lot of patterns already, and not really seeing anything unique or exciting in the categories of patterns than I am open to buying. I did see some gorgeous patterns that I didn't buy; I just don't need, for example, any more dress patterns when I already have so many and rarely make or wear dresses.<br />
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<u><b>Notions, Embroidery, Other - 19%</b></u><br />
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The<b> </b>rest of my money went on all the little stuff that goes along with sewing (notions = 11%): thread, elastic, interfacing, zippers, buttons, etc etc etc. My notions spending tends to be really lumpy because I buy in bulk. So I
did spend a bunch on, for example, big reels of elastic for waistbands
on PJs, but on the other hand I shouldn't have to replace that for a considerable period of time.<br />
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I also bought an embroidery kit (2% of my spending) and the remaining 6% of my spending was on some random little things that don't really fit anywhere else (fabric organizing software for my phone, my PR membership, etc.). I spent nothing on knitting this year, because I've felt indifferent to the idea the whole year and I'm not a yarn stasher, and nothing on books related to sewing or my other fibre arts hobbies.<br />
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<b>In conclusion... </b><br />
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In financial terms, I think my year was pretty successful, except for my perennial stash reduction failure. Next year, I am going to stick to the same broad goals about how much I spend overall. I don't feel like pattern buying needs a separate goal any more, so I won't bother with it for 2019. And yes, I will probably still aim for a significant stash reduction, no matter how unsuccessful I was last year, and all the previous years, for reasons I will go into in my final of three posts early in the new year. In the meantime, in the next post I will discuss what I made and how my wardrobe worked out this year.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-91141020538780070412018-12-19T14:34:00.001+00:002018-12-19T14:38:26.028+00:00A Boat TunicHello all! There's been quite a gap since I last posted, but to be fair, there's been quite a gap since I sewed. <br />
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My sewing slump is down to a couple of things. As I continue to taper one of my medications two of the side effects are "sleep disturbance" (a.k.a. insomnia) and extreme fatigue. I have spent a lot of the last six or eight weeks in a puddle of tired, is what I am trying to say here. Doing just about anything other than staggering from nap to nap has just seemed too exhausting to contemplate.<br />
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The second reason is that my wardrobe for this season is pretty complete, so there was nothing I really <i>needed</i>. And I haven't felt inspired to make anything just because I <i>wanted</i> it. There has really been no impetus to break my sewing drought.<br />
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However, I did, at some point in November, make one thing: a super easy tunic in a sail/boat print. I did that stupid thing where I didn't photograph it before I wore it, and thereafter on days I felt energetic enough to take a photo, it was either in the wash, in the ironing basket, or being worn. I guess that says something about how much I like it? At any rate, I JUST ironed it from the last time I wore it so I immediately slung it on Flossie to take some crappy photos just so I could finish up blogging the things I made this year.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ndI2XYOi5M4/XBpOnRkZL1I/AAAAAAAAEZs/e8ARVkOsRRsKSAL-oNrEfanIl1hsQHrFgCLcBGAs/s1600/boat%2Btunic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ndI2XYOi5M4/XBpOnRkZL1I/AAAAAAAAEZs/e8ARVkOsRRsKSAL-oNrEfanIl1hsQHrFgCLcBGAs/s640/boat%2Btunic.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat tunic (Butterick 5203)</td></tr>
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The pattern is Butterick 5203, which is a See & Sew envelope and presumably therefore exists/existed as some other number in the Mcvoguerick catalogue at some point. I made the long-sleeved version, B, and is very easy to make. It only has three pieces, it is very loose and voluminous so there is no fitting, not even darts, and I went even further and didn't bother with the opening at the back neck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--57Us5pqits/XBpSUFdW1KI/AAAAAAAAEZ4/2on0EBI0OYgYLl-iaXTCvLsm3vXZGciwQCLcBGAs/s1600/b5203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--57Us5pqits/XBpSUFdW1KI/AAAAAAAAEZ4/2on0EBI0OYgYLl-iaXTCvLsm3vXZGciwQCLcBGAs/s640/b5203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterick 5203</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My envelope contained sizes... I think 16-22? Something like that. I made a size 16 neck and shoulders and an 18 bodice and sleeve. I probably could have gotten away with the 16 for the whole body and there wasn't actually much difference between sizes 16 and and 18 in the sleeve. It's super drapey and loose, so it's ridiculous to say that it "fits". The one place fitting is important on such a garment is the shoulder, and the fit on me is.... not great. I don't know what I was thinking not to do a narrow shoulder adjustment (other than "I'm so tired, I need a nap."). I also need to raise the armhole for the next version. It pulls a little across the top of the bicep.<br />
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It went together very easily, except for my usual incompetence with that type of bias bound neckline. I don't why I'm so bad at them, but I always really struggle to find the right line between "the seam allowances are so wide that the bias binding is really puffy and bulky" and "I have trimmed the seam allowances down but the fabric is fraying and the neckline is unraveling".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBFTL3K7mg4/XBpUsnQQT8I/AAAAAAAAEaE/mL1QQAXPZtIVB-3eVHacNUPiqRFYpTosgCLcBGAs/s1600/fabric%2Bclose%2Bup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBFTL3K7mg4/XBpUsnQQT8I/AAAAAAAAEaE/mL1QQAXPZtIVB-3eVHacNUPiqRFYpTosgCLcBGAs/s320/fabric%2Bclose%2Bup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The print on my Seasalt fabric. It's a sort of abstract sail/boat thing.</td></tr>
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My fabric is really great. It's from Seasalt, who make nice casual clothing with a very nautical theme. They print their own fabrics and I guess they routinely sell off the roll ends. I got this and two other prints in 3m cuts earlier this year. This sail themed fabric is a very soft but fairly robust viscose twill, and I like it a lot. <br />
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In conclusion: Despite the shoulder fit problems, I've actually worn this tunic a lot already. It's so floaty and loose and easy to wear. I definitely need to make some adjustments, but I think the sleeveless version would be pretty for summer.<br />
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And that wraps up my posts on Things I Have Sewed for the year! I'll be back next week some time to talk about this year overall and what I plan on doing next year sewing wise. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-14060419654610356312018-11-01T14:10:00.000+00:002018-11-01T14:20:15.037+00:00Catching upIt's been a while since I last posted -- since mid-August (which is somehow 11 weeks ago already!!) . Last time, I said I had few easier things on my autumn sewing list left to make, and also I was about to start a major project: a raincoat using a Burda pattern.<br />
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In the eleven weeks since then, I have: (a) been away on vacation for a week; (b) suffered a major sewing mojo deficit on and off ; (c) spent a couple of weeks feeling extremely unwell (just for a change); and finally, (d) moved on from autumn into winter sewing.<br />
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My sewing apathy is still hanging around. I just feel kind of unexcited about everything. Tracing patterns seems exhausting, cutting fabric out seems exhausting, and sewing stuff up seems exhausting. I guess even writing a blog post seemed exhausting, so I didn't do that either. I am feeling a little less apathetic this week though, so maybe my positive sewing energy is coming back. In the meantime, I am going to catch up this blog up on a few things I did manage to finish during this extended period of blah.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8WFZWpsS-Uw/W9rgZiY0pHI/AAAAAAAAEXg/l591XwLDqU8dgfAq5siTASHfjtK9VAdVQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8WFZWpsS-Uw/W9rgZiY0pHI/AAAAAAAAEXg/l591XwLDqU8dgfAq5siTASHfjtK9VAdVQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_1645.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey spotty 3/4 sleeve tee</td></tr>
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First up, just to mention some little stuff: I made one spotted three quarter length t-shirt, one pair of my go-to ponte trousers using the StyleArc Barb pattern in navy and two pairs of PJs using my new favourite PJ pattern from Burda 01-2017. I didn't take any photos of any of them except for this t-shirt, because nobody cares about PJs or plain navy trousers except for me, and I can see them any time.<br />
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On the list of things that people might care about more is this knit tunic from Ottobre 05-2018, pattern #14. It is a raglan dress with cuffs and (although I didn't put one on) a bottom band, but more to the point, GIANT BALLOON SLEEVES.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M0St2LXANas/W9rhnCQhe-I/AAAAAAAAEXw/4m-a2IS6zRErHrCKf6lAXIUXDoIvqejzACLcBGAs/s1600/ottobre%2Braglan%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1200" height="420" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M0St2LXANas/W9rhnCQhe-I/AAAAAAAAEXw/4m-a2IS6zRErHrCKf6lAXIUXDoIvqejzACLcBGAs/s640/ottobre%2Braglan%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The magazine page showing the dress (left) and the sweater version, taken from the Ottobre website</td></tr>
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I was entirely taken with the dress in the magazine, and I think the model looks adorable in it. However, for me personally, I felt like the fabric they chose to make the samples, especially for the sweater version on the right, did this pattern no favours. I absolutely do not want a sweatshirt with balloon sleeves in a pastel colour. She looks like a children's TV presenter from the 1980s. NOPE.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WYGKqdhbXJ0/W9rjpZ5FFUI/AAAAAAAAEX8/TAofAfuaTMMHkLFtuzxGWq6JYYtHVFI_ACLcBGAs/s1600/ottobre%2Braglan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="595" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WYGKqdhbXJ0/W9rjpZ5FFUI/AAAAAAAAEX8/TAofAfuaTMMHkLFtuzxGWq6JYYtHVFI_ACLcBGAs/s320/ottobre%2Braglan.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 05-2018-14 raglan dress technical drawings</td></tr>
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The pattern actually comes with both the two-piece sleeve with pleats, and also a normal one piece sleeve, in case you want to opt out of the pleated version. For my version though, I thought just making the pattern up in a soft, drapey knit would make the sleeves look full and flowing without making my sleeves look so balloon like. Also, the pattern calls for ribbing which (a) I just don't generally like when I've had RTW garments with ribbed knit bands; and (b) don't know where to buy anyway even if I loved it. I left off the bottom band altogether as I was making this as a tunic and wasn't worried about the length, and made the neckband and cuffs in self fabric. It was very straightforward to trace and cut, and it's loose-fitting so my usual size 44 worked out perfectly, even maybe a little too big.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aiM13eR0meE/W9rlzUMkGMI/AAAAAAAAEYI/OGDZgfX3DXYeN4bCEXIFgIVGhuN3HqhdgCLcBGAs/s1600/ottobre%2Braglan%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aiM13eR0meE/W9rlzUMkGMI/AAAAAAAAEYI/OGDZgfX3DXYeN4bCEXIFgIVGhuN3HqhdgCLcBGAs/s640/ottobre%2Braglan%2B3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version: on the right is the pleated sleeve detail which you can't see at all, really, but it's there, honest!</td></tr>
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One problem I had with it was the pockets, and this was mainly down to my fabric. Originally I put the pockets in, but when I tried it on: NOPE. In this light-weight knit, the pockets dragged horribly and the whole dress looked mis-shapen around the hip area. I ended up cutting them off. If you made it in a more stable knit that probably wouldn't be such an issue, but I think you'd want to be careful about how much bulk you were adding.<br />
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I've worn it loads since I made it which is always a good sign. In this fairly light-weight knit, it's very drapey. Yes, there's a lot of sleeve, but it just looks like a full sleeve rather than like "And now I will pull an ENTIRE FAMILY OF CHINCHILLAS from up my sleeve! TA-DA!" I would definitely make it again, but if/when I do, I need to make the neckline quite a lot narrower. It's wide enough on me that it tends to slide around and even off my shoulder at the end of a day of wear (not helped by the not-entirely-brilliant recovery of my knit).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yJA8T5mpq-8/W9sGFG0m4DI/AAAAAAAAEYc/HKusJI42fLAmKzTc-n-xDLOd5DmSFAO7wCLcBGAs/s1600/6772%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yJA8T5mpq-8/W9sGFG0m4DI/AAAAAAAAEYc/HKusJI42fLAmKzTc-n-xDLOd5DmSFAO7wCLcBGAs/s640/6772%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattern envelope and technical drawings of Burda 6772</td></tr>
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Finally, the BIG thing I made back in September but never blogged, which took just about 10-14 days at the start of September, was a navy raincoat using Burda 6772. I made view B, with the fake pocket flaps, wrist and back details, and the longer length skirt with an inverted pleat. I used the pointy collar from view A because I have an irrational horror of round collars. Don't ask why, I just hate them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G73X25WqByU/W9sG82QLAGI/AAAAAAAAEYo/saZbhrF8JAo6y9rgdD6fiFpDrV-YqCUiwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B18%2B43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G73X25WqByU/W9sG82QLAGI/AAAAAAAAEYo/saZbhrF8JAo6y9rgdD6fiFpDrV-YqCUiwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B18%2B43.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished navy raincoat - front view</td></tr>
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To make this I used a "shower proof" cotton that was (allegedly) a factory over-run for a famous designer. It's actually a great fabric, in the sense that it sews and presses beautifully, and the colour is my favourite neutral of very dark navy. I originally planned to make it with a violently green lining, because I had an inspiration navy coat image with a green lining that I loved. Then, as I was scrolling around a favourite fabric shop I saw the patterned lining fabric and immediately bought that to use instead because I loved it so much.<br />
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Problem one with the coat: in practice, this fabric CREASES. I already knew that from the red version I made from the same fabric in another colourway, but somehow the navy fabric is SO MUCH WORSE, or so much more obvious at least.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv8f_Zbd_UQ/W9sHLkAf0DI/AAAAAAAAEYs/-UyNAbQAnmcc1dTtCf1FuQ6eRPXd9AUYwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B19%2B33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv8f_Zbd_UQ/W9sHLkAf0DI/AAAAAAAAEYs/-UyNAbQAnmcc1dTtCf1FuQ6eRPXd9AUYwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B19%2B33.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished navy raincoat - back view</td></tr>
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It's a while since I made this coat so I don't remember all the details of construction, but I know it was very Burda typical in the sense that the pattern went together as you would expect, and it was an excellent match to the technical drawing. Fit-wise, I am very comfortable now with what I need to do with Burda patterns (rounded back, square shoulder, narrow shoulder, raise the armhole, lower the bust, lower the waist) so the adjustment process was pretty straightforward.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9UQg1b8d34/W9sHY9CP3-I/AAAAAAAAEYw/LG0Wf1v85WQECwzTF_acq89GcrlG-hNOgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B18%2B55%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9UQg1b8d34/W9sHY9CP3-I/AAAAAAAAEYw/LG0Wf1v85WQECwzTF_acq89GcrlG-hNOgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B18%2B55%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the most accurate version for the colour</td></tr>
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In theory, this coat had everything going for it, but I have to admit I am not wildly enthusiastic about tit as a finished garment. Normally, a couple of months after I've made something, I've forgotten why I disliked it when I finished it and/or discovered something is so catastrophically wrong with it in wear that it's essentially useless. With this it's just... it's not the best coat. There are loads of little fit issues. I made my usual size (44) and the fit is OK provided I do only wear it in the way I originally planned, which is to say, over a shirt or top without a sweater. I rarely wear fitted tops but when I do I usually add to the width of the pattern at the waist as I don't really have a waist worth mentioning. I thought when I muslined the bodice that the waist fit was going to be OK but now it's finished, it fits but it JUST fits, and for sure I couldn't wear it over a sweater and do it up without straining the waist button.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abfH3wnJ2nQ/W9sH3RK2UhI/AAAAAAAAEZA/bOpv3x6_sC4tadBtuLssMqiZevSH6fFowCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B09-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B57%2B22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abfH3wnJ2nQ/W9sH3RK2UhI/AAAAAAAAEZA/bOpv3x6_sC4tadBtuLssMqiZevSH6fFowCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B09-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B57%2B22.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lining, pre-insertion. I love this so much as a contrast to a plain navy exterior!</td></tr>
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The whole fit is like that: I should have raised the underarm just a little bit higher; I should have lowered the waist just a little bit less. Also, and this is not the fault of the pattern so much as a failure of expectation, the skirt is not as wide and swingy as I really wanted. I don't hate the width of the skirt, but in a perfect world I'd have made something less straight below the waist. None of it is BAD, but nothing about it GREAT either.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ffbfm9CIxYE/W9sHpattR0I/AAAAAAAAEY8/Ec-8t21_thQNEQoEVW6TQYH9encIIoy9wCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B20%2B42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ffbfm9CIxYE/W9sHpattR0I/AAAAAAAAEY8/Ec-8t21_thQNEQoEVW6TQYH9encIIoy9wCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B11-09-2018%252C%2B16%2B20%2B42.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished inside of the coat</td></tr>
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The sewing is the same. There's a lot that went well, but there are loads of places where the sewing is just a little bit wrong in an annoying sort of way. The worst problems I had were with the darts, which I just couldn't seem to sew or press nicely, and also the collar. The collar comes as two separate pattern pieces -- upper and under -- and the under collar is, as is usually the case, just a little bit smaller. I always do this with shirt patterns and typically the difference is very minimal, like 3mm all round. On this pattern piece though, the difference was much more substantial, more like 6mm, and I really struggled to stretch the fabric to fit it together. The end result is that the collar is kind of wrinkled/warped. As I was making it I debated whether or not to re-do the collar but I thought I had steamed into submission. Once it was on the coat and it was too late to fix I realized that was only a temporary fix. Annoying.<br />
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In conclusion: this is not a bad coat, it really isn't, but it was enthusiasm sucking. I wanted so much to make a really great raincoat and I got a long way towards that goal but not quite there in the end.<br />
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The more I think about it, the more I realize that my worst sewing projects are always the ones I've had planned a really long time and feel very invested in. Nothing ever quite lives up to the mental image I have!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rcfkuTD1mg/W9sIkNTzWvI/AAAAAAAAEZQ/_pc5VgBnVRMpFdxU9TFjGHBgDEUkoiqlACLcBGAs/s1600/6772%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rcfkuTD1mg/W9sIkNTzWvI/AAAAAAAAEZQ/_pc5VgBnVRMpFdxU9TFjGHBgDEUkoiqlACLcBGAs/s640/6772%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible mirror selfies... and I'm wearing a sweater underneath so it's too tight. I know, it's dumb, what can I say.</td></tr>
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Next up: I am not sure. I have some plans for winter but also I am ready to admit I am not super excited by anything. I don't really NEED anything right now, so I might wait to see if the blahs recede rather than force myself to make something and not really enjoy it. When/if my enthusiasm makes a reappearance, I have a few ideas for what to make, but nothing I am really committed to.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-43287545956901888962018-08-15T14:47:00.001+01:002018-08-15T14:47:04.556+01:00Autumn Sewing #1: Easy & RepeatsAs usual I am sewing a little ahead of the season so that I have clothes ready in my wardrobe when the weather turns. Also as usual, I've started off with some of the easiest items on seasonal sewing queue.<br />
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First, a couple of easy three-quarter length sleeved knit tops. For a while now I've been using a knit top pattern that I adjusted from a very basic New Look pattern back in 2014. It's worked reasonably well but when I was thinking about sewing some new tops I knew I wanted to incorporate the extra shoulder and rounded back adjustments I've started to make this year. I was also slightly concerned that there were some peculiarities in my pattern arising from the many adjustments I've made to it over the past few years. I therefore decided to start afresh with a new basic pattern. I picked out the knit top variations in Ottobre 02-2007 as a starting point.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J4PkJxzTyd8/W3PnzmLHWNI/AAAAAAAAEWk/G-zfb9LAqp4SQDkYJf6o8FZThMKUcK4vQCLcBGAs/s1600/Ottobre%2B2007%2Btops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="1600" height="164" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J4PkJxzTyd8/W3PnzmLHWNI/AAAAAAAAEWk/G-zfb9LAqp4SQDkYJf6o8FZThMKUcK4vQCLcBGAs/s640/Ottobre%2B2007%2Btops.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 02-2007 knit top variations. I made pattern 2, except not the split cuffs.</td></tr>
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The good news was that there wasn't an enormous difference between my previous top pattern and the Ottobre pattern. The sleeve I was using had gone a bit wonky, and at some point I ended up with a strangely long and pointy curve at the lower edge of the back bodice armhole. These anomalies aside, it wasn't a million miles away. Also, happily for me, it turned out that there was a really close match between the Ottobre pattern and my very favourite RTW t-shirt. I was glad I had compared the old, new and RTW, however, because whereas normally I find a 44 is a good size choice for me in Ottobre, my preferred size/ease is much closer to the 46 in this particular pattern, which, after my fit adjustments (square shoulder, rounded back, overall bodice length) I duly cut. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mG4Pyue2dzY/W3PoQ3g9nZI/AAAAAAAAEWs/dsrGotviyxkly-_hvNEcd0xmDvLxE_MhQCLcBGAs/s1600/knit%2Btops%2Baug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mG4Pyue2dzY/W3PoQ3g9nZI/AAAAAAAAEWs/dsrGotviyxkly-_hvNEcd0xmDvLxE_MhQCLcBGAs/s640/knit%2Btops%2Baug.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Versions 1 & 2 of Ottobre 02-2007-02, in white and stripes.</td></tr>
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I made two versions, each of these from a single metre of fabric. In the case of the plain white version, I didn't even quite have a metre, more like 90cm and mis-shapen to boot, which is why it ended up with contrast binding and cuffs on the sleeves, and also with a centre back seam. The striped fabric was extra wide (180cm rather than the usual 150cm) so the pattern fit on with no problem even after I stripe matched the sleeves. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0PjHnEgaISI/W3PqSTlbF-I/AAAAAAAAEW8/lxP9WZgzCIQKQA_p-mYZUmBJuMRENUBewCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B13-08-2018%252C%2B10%2B24%2B21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0PjHnEgaISI/W3PqSTlbF-I/AAAAAAAAEW8/lxP9WZgzCIQKQA_p-mYZUmBJuMRENUBewCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B13-08-2018%252C%2B10%2B24%2B21.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 04-2010-114 in turquoise gingham</td></tr>
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Next, I repeated a shirt pattern<a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/02/slow-but-somewhat-successful-shirt.html"> I used earlier in the year</a>, Burda 04-2010-114. This may be surprising because I didn't have the best time making that first version of the shirt and it isn't anywhere near my list of favourite garments for the year so far. In addition to my everything-that-could-go-wrong-went-wrong sewing experience, it's worn much less well than I would like, mainly due to interfacing problems. I used too much of the wrong sort of interfacing and this made the collar and cuffs too stiff. Then the interfacing bubbled in the laundry after about the third wash. That said, all the problems I have with that shirt are really down to sewing error: the actual fit of the shirt is the best I've achieved in a woven top so far. The pattern really only needed one minor adjustment (shortening the bust dart) before I made it up again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EG5WvnTbk54/W3PqOcMRNCI/AAAAAAAAEW4/DPYNvrxncFAIMLAB3mAb0qckuQzn5tIHwCLcBGAs/s1600/turqging%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EG5WvnTbk54/W3PqOcMRNCI/AAAAAAAAEW4/DPYNvrxncFAIMLAB3mAb0qckuQzn5tIHwCLcBGAs/s640/turqging%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some details: finished collar (much better this time!) and the bias yoke</td></tr>
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I made the same minor construction change as before and did a doubled yoke because I love the clean finish that gives you on the inside. I cut the exterior yoke, as seen above, as well as the cuffs on the bias for a little visual interest (and to save me from having to pattern match at the yoke seam!). The sewing went so much better this time, and I absolutely LOVE my finished shirt. At some point I will have to buy some more plain navy fabric and redo the first shirt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bZTHLzWkYo/W3QuNcaeCHI/AAAAAAAAEXM/DHFa1TXgPysxEBX06dQNxUjmdERrp6n2QCLcBGAs/s1600/estelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bZTHLzWkYo/W3QuNcaeCHI/AAAAAAAAEXM/DHFa1TXgPysxEBX06dQNxUjmdERrp6n2QCLcBGAs/s640/estelle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Latest of many StyleArc Estelles, and a close-up of the fabric (right side = navy/grey stripe, wrong side = plain navy)</td></tr>
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Finally, I swore I was going to retire my StyleArc Estelle pattern but when I bought this navy striped ponte I couldn't imagine making anything else with it. I loved my previous Estelles literally to death: two of them finally went into the recycling just last week when I had to admit that they looked absolutely worn out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-quzv7wluppY/W3QuqbavzJI/AAAAAAAAEXU/ig079RO1woExJm_zaei3eRE3vIFQFwZVwCLcBGAs/s1600/next%2Bup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-quzv7wluppY/W3QuqbavzJI/AAAAAAAAEXU/ig079RO1woExJm_zaei3eRE3vIFQFwZVwCLcBGAs/s640/next%2Bup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My next project: dark navy raincoat fabric, green crepe de chine lining & Burda 6772 view B</td></tr>
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I've still got a couple of easy-to-sew wardrobe holes to fill before autumn arrives but next up is a more complicated autumnal garment: a raincoat. I'll be using Burda 6772. If you follow me on Instagram, be prepared for the deluge of posts about it! :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-66722668936648521762018-08-02T17:19:00.001+01:002018-08-02T17:19:26.129+01:00More July sewingI didn't get a tremendous amount more sewn between my last post and the end of July. Partly this was because it continued to be hot for quite a while (it has now cooled down to much more manageable North-of-England-typical weather, thank goodness) and then partly because of a pretty serious but hopefully temporary downgrade in my health, which included keeling over in my local supermarket last week. (For reference, this latter experience is 0/10, do not recommend in the slightest.) <br />
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On a happier note though, I did manage to sew a bit around the weather and illness and the two things I finished in July were really great! I've held off on posting them because my photos were really terrible but honestly, I'm not going to get better photos any time soon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D2_V3rS0-Xw/W2MYUVBCiEI/AAAAAAAAEVU/9Gf7wvgoZWE558JujwpiBLAX2uCACXCZACLcBGAs/s1600/8014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D2_V3rS0-Xw/W2MYUVBCiEI/AAAAAAAAEVU/9Gf7wvgoZWE558JujwpiBLAX2uCACXCZACLcBGAs/s640/8014.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplicity 8014 -- pattern cover and line drawing</td></tr>
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Thus, first: Simplicity 8014. This has been on my radar since it first came out because it seemed to be my platonic ideal of a shirtdress. I love the idea of classic shirt-waist dresses but I dislike the gathered waists so often seen on patterns. S8014 has a circle skirt type skirt which adds a lot less bulk to my nearly-non-existent waist. I really loved this pattern and my finished dress and I'm pretty sure this is only the first of several versions that I'll make. :D<br />
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This dress is made in a light-weight, 100% cotton shirting, in navy/dark blue with a pattern of dots and large circles that look sort of like a moon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpd_sFWiHyI/W2Mfyl-qwWI/AAAAAAAAEVo/ot6vuQ2dnq05v1BqMt5YSykp9_4GnbEPACLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B14%2B54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpd_sFWiHyI/W2Mfyl-qwWI/AAAAAAAAEVo/ot6vuQ2dnq05v1BqMt5YSykp9_4GnbEPACLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B14%2B54.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the fabric/colour -- I also was pleased with how my collar turned out, which isn't a given as I often struggle with collars/collar stands</td></tr>
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There are lots of reviews online for this pattern, though mainly for views C and D, like the cover model. I also like those views a lot too and may make view D, with the curved hem, later in the year. However, on this occasion I made view B, except with the full collar from view A. I made absolutely no other design changes, and only one construction change, which was that I did a double yoke at the back with the "burrito" method, because I much prefer the clean finish you get inside if you do so.<br />
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I made a size 16 through the shoulder and neck opening, and then used a size 18 from the armhole downwards. Remarkably, the shoulder width came up more or less perfectly with only that change. I did my usual square shoulder and rounded back adjustments. I love how rounded back adjustments work with back yokes -- so much nicer than sewing in shoulder darts! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kDQCkXhl5OQ/W2MfTBIdDeI/AAAAAAAAEVg/-iVUQ10v_s86iipYVFBpOhgClPhossyOgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B14%2B42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kDQCkXhl5OQ/W2MfTBIdDeI/AAAAAAAAEVg/-iVUQ10v_s86iipYVFBpOhgClPhossyOgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B14%2B42.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simplicity 8014 View B on Flossie -- I know it looks really drop waisted here, but that's because Flossie is not proportioned like me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The biggest alteration I did was to add 4cm (~1.5 inches) in length between the bottom of the armscye and the bust point, which both lowered the bust point to the right place and moved the waist down to my actual waist. This seems like a huge alteration and it's also kind of an improvised alteration, in the sense that mostly people recommend that you add length below the bust point not above. However, as it happens the total extra length I need from shoulder to waist is almost exactly the same distance as the extra length I need from shoulder to bust point, so: two birds, one stone. I think the dress looks really drop-waisted on my tailor's dummy, Flossie. I think it's right on me though. I have such an ill-defined waist it's honestly hard to tell, but it feels about right to me (in the photo below, the second button down from my hand holding the camera straddles the waist seam-line).<br />
<br />
The only other fit adjustment I made was that, once it was at the point where I could baste the side seams, I found I wanted a little extra space at the waist. It fit OK as I basted it at the correct seam width... until I sat down, and then the buttons pulled at centre front at waist level. I HATE that as a fit outcome. In the end I sewed the seams at about 0.5cm at the point where the bodice and skirt meet to give myself some extra width, and that
seemed to do the trick in terms of giving me the ease I wanted.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIH768ubc5M/W2Mgt9O5_KI/AAAAAAAAEV0/rKLIZEgxq3815k651VHtJIYsOmWZ0mVDwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B19%2B50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1239" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIH768ubc5M/W2Mgt9O5_KI/AAAAAAAAEV0/rKLIZEgxq3815k651VHtJIYsOmWZ0mVDwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B02-08-2018%252C%2B15%2B19%2B50.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horrible quality mirror selfie -- sorry about that!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The actual sewing was easy but, like all collared shirt-type garments, had quite a few time-consuming steps. I really liked the way this pattern went together, and I especially liked the way the little tuck on the short sleeve was achieved. I also really like how it looks on me, and how it moves when I'm wearing it. I think it looks slightly more vintage/old-fashioned than I was quite prepared for but it's still definitely one of my favourite things I've made this year.<br />
<br />
In conclusion: This is a really nice pattern, and I am pretty sure I will make this view again as well as the other view in the package.<br />
<br />
The other thing I made in July couldn't be simpler from a pattern perspective. This one was all about finding something that fit on a small piece of really great fabric.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6VmGg6RXyg/W2MirkmoYuI/AAAAAAAAEWA/QS37nkzwHVsJApy_UKpeNMImBMg0H9kuQCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B23-07-2018%252C%2B15%2B03%2B22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6VmGg6RXyg/W2MirkmoYuI/AAAAAAAAEWA/QS37nkzwHVsJApy_UKpeNMImBMg0H9kuQCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B23-07-2018%252C%2B15%2B03%2B22.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My skirt, using a home dec fabric and New Look 6035</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I bought 1m of this very expensive linen/cotton home dec fabric earlier this year with the plan of making a skirt. It was a total splurge and I spent like a week putting it in my virtual shopping basket and taking it out again. I eventually pulled the trigger, and was so pleased I did when the real thing turned up in the post. I absolutely love this fabric.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sbSCG5TTBhQ/W2MknNsQQDI/AAAAAAAAEWM/XMc1gV-_IeMPuu77BaOa149sb0uIPd_-gCLcBGAs/s1600/6035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="795" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sbSCG5TTBhQ/W2MknNsQQDI/AAAAAAAAEWM/XMc1gV-_IeMPuu77BaOa149sb0uIPd_-gCLcBGAs/s640/6035.jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wardrobe pattern New Look 6035 -- I used view D, an A-line skirt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Up to now, I've always used small cuts of fabric like this to make straight skirts. I've tried out various patterns but I didn't get a huge amount of wear out of any of the garments I made. Thinking about why that was, I decided I just really don't like how straight skirts look on me. I know they are meant to be universally flattering or something, but I feel like narrow skirts make me look even more top heavy than I actually am. Plus, I often feel like my stride is restricted when I wear them.<br />
<br />
This time round, I decided I would try to find a simple A-line skirt pattern with not too much flare and see if I liked it better. I didn't want the A shape to be too pronounced partly because of the look I wanted to achieve but also because I didn't have much fabric AND the print was directional, and a wider skirt wouldn't have fit <br />
<br />
After rummaging through my stash I came up with New Look 6035. I'm pretty sure I bought this pattern for the jacket but that's no reason not to try the skirt! It's a three piece pattern -- a front/back skirt piece and two differently shaped countoured yokes for the front and back. Super simple. I made my version about 5cm longer but that was my only change to a basic size 16. The pattern also calls for a lapped zip, but I put an invisible zip in because I prefer them.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4fEEGN1FLc/W2Mm0MzLMNI/AAAAAAAAEWY/FKlk_aw5Qn0nIW5XN-OkiaxBrcvKGnnIgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B23-07-2018%252C%2B14%2B58%2B06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1565" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4fEEGN1FLc/W2Mm0MzLMNI/AAAAAAAAEWY/FKlk_aw5Qn0nIW5XN-OkiaxBrcvKGnnIgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B23-07-2018%252C%2B14%2B58%2B06.jpg" width="624" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished skirt on me</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fabric has a lot less give in it than most garment fabrics I use. The waist fits fine, but it's a tiny bit snug over the upper hip and it didn't really loosen up with wear the way a cotton-linen fabric made for the garment market would. It's fine, but it's something I'll bear in mind if I make this skirt again and/or use it for another home dec fabric. I've already worn this more than most of the straight skirts I've made in the past and I like it a LOT, so I think this could be a good go-to pattern for small cuts of great fabric.<br />
<br />
(Meanwhile, am I the only person with slight qualms about home dec fabric? I mean, I love this fabric and I don't regret making a skirt of it, but there's always that very slight danger that someone will suddenly go all <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW1KsVvRVmI"><i>Sound of Music</i></a> and be like: you're wearing my living room curtains!)<br />
<br />
<br />
That concludes my July sewing and also, I think, my summer sewing. Summer is actually still going strong here, and normally I don't switch over to more autumnal clothes for at least another 6 weeks. Although I originally had a few other things planned for this season though I feel kind of over it all, and so, once I start feeling better, I am going to move on to thinking about next season. westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-82119689516417840142018-07-09T18:23:00.000+01:002018-07-09T18:36:18.255+01:00Heatwave sewingSince I last posted I've been, well, (a) ill, just for a change, but more interestingly also (b) enjoying MANY consecutive days of sunshine and warmth in the UK, which is a vanishingly rare occurrence.Yay, sunshine! <br />
<br />
I did think (and write) that I really wanted to make some shorts for myself for this summer, but let's be honest, sewing trousers when you still haven't got fit sorted out is traumatic and exhausting at the best of times, let alone in unusually hot weather while feeling under par. So instead, just before the heatwave hit, I dug out three pairs of last year's RTW summer trousers to cut down into shorts. They are notionally one size too big due to intervening weight change, but I decided I could live with them being a bit baggy. Hey presto: wardrobe gap filled. And not before time, since I've more or less lived in my "new" shorts ever since. I still plan to do Yet Another Great Big Trouser Fitting Bonanza at some point this year but for sure not until the weather cools down and I feel better.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, aside from the times when I could not face having a hot steam iron anywhere near me and abandoned all thoughts of sewing, I moved on to other, non-trouser related, summer plans. Alas, mostly what I accomplished was a wealth of mediocrity.<br />
<br />
<b>1: Dress #1 (Ottobre 02-2016-9/10/11)</b><br />
<br />
I plan to make a few dresses this summer. Dress #1 is simplest item on the list, a shift dress. I wanted a really basic, uncomplicated pattern because I had picked out a busy print from my stash for it. In the end, I went with a pattern from the ever-reliable Ottobre, an A-line knee length dress from the 02-2016 issue.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XztnLSGWHI/W0DHU-M65lI/AAAAAAAAETI/qg8VscAWhs8d-Qzut_Qt7Vx73bsQoU_XQCLcBGAs/s1600/ottobre%2Bdress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8XztnLSGWHI/W0DHU-M65lI/AAAAAAAAETI/qg8VscAWhs8d-Qzut_Qt7Vx73bsQoU_XQCLcBGAs/s640/ottobre%2Bdress.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 02-2016 patterns 9.10 and 11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These three patterns (numbers 9, 10 and 11) are basically all the same dress with minor variations in fastening and sleeve length (and 10 obviously is also colour blocked). I didn't want have to pattern match my fabric across a centre back zip so I went with the keyhole back that you can just make out in patterns 9 and 11, with the short sleeve from pattern 10.<br />
<br />
I originally bought 3m of the cotton-with-a-bit-of-lycra fabric I used for this dress and I had exactly enough left after using some of it already to make pyjamas last year. Having already made something with it, I
already know it doesn't have the best longevity. My PJs faded badly
after only a few washes and it really doesn't recover well when
stretched. However, I figured it would make for a good wearable muslin: I
made this dress fully intending to wear it, but also aware that it might not
last very long.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-38sFBwFRzoA/W0ORe9iN39I/AAAAAAAAET8/Hclg2Zb7sJQ5guHIVAvfZUFDHFzIkkzsQCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B25-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B58%2B42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-38sFBwFRzoA/W0ORe9iN39I/AAAAAAAAET8/Hclg2Zb7sJQ5guHIVAvfZUFDHFzIkkzsQCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B25-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B58%2B42.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 02-2016-11 (but with short sleeves) in a navy/blue/white print</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I made a size 44 with my usual fit adjustments (lowered the bust dart, rounded back, square shoulder) but NOT a narrow shoulder adjustment. When I looked at the pattern, it seemed like on this occasion the 44 was a good width at the shoulder for me, and indeed it did turn out that way. As this dress is unfitted below the bust, I didn't bother to blend to a smaller size for my lower body.<br />
<br />
Design-wise, I made two small changes: I found the short sleeve to be an unflattering length and ended up sewing a deep hem and turning it up with a little cuff, which I like. I also lowered the neckline by about 3cm. If I were making it again, I would lower the neckline even more to a deeper scoop. I just don't like jewel/high necklines on me at all. Unfortunately, the neckline change meant having to completely re-draw the one-piece facing that goes around the front neckline and the teardrop shaped opening at the back.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUguQWtPVVc/W0OR1KuKxSI/AAAAAAAAEUE/_IOA5Wzk73koJRArakZxoAyODSJ5wgGNgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B25-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B59%2B25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUguQWtPVVc/W0OR1KuKxSI/AAAAAAAAEUE/_IOA5Wzk73koJRArakZxoAyODSJ5wgGNgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B25-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B59%2B25.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back view: tear drop opening fastened with a single button (looks OK at this distance! Up close, not so much.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall, my finished dress feels very mediocre. If I were making it again, I would not make the keyhole back, partly because the dress functions perfectly well as a pullover with the deeper neckline I drew in, but partly because it looks awful and I hate facings. It looks all right from a distance in this photo, I guess, but up close: ugh, the facings and also, ugh, the way the little crossover at the top came out. Despite my very best efforts, that pointy overlap bit ended up looking really rough and amateur. Also, I need to re-do the rounded back adjustment if I make it again. I merged the dart from the adjustment into the existing back neckline dart, but the outcome of this was entirely too Quasimodo-esque and doesn't look good at all. <br />
<br />
In conclusion: as a wearable muslin it is indeed perfectly wearable, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Luckily, all my major problems with the dress are at the back where I can't see them to be annoyed by them, so I'll probably carry on wearing it quite happily.<br />
<br />
<b>2: A Wacky Burda Top (Burda 07-2014-112)</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cb8PrYUtX8c/W0ODSDrM9OI/AAAAAAAAETU/dXnKthf0NzEz1Sv4Chgpmy5BcbjOvVSnQCLcBGAs/s1600/wackytop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cb8PrYUtX8c/W0ODSDrM9OI/AAAAAAAAETU/dXnKthf0NzEz1Sv4Chgpmy5BcbjOvVSnQCLcBGAs/s640/wackytop1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 07-2014-112 (images from Burdastyle.ru)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Next up was a ridiculous top from Burda. I hardly ever make things from the July issues of Burda because I think the editors get into the swing of summer by drinking gallons of sangria before they pick the patterns for these issues. Nevertheless, this pattern has been on my Wacky Tops list since the issue came out, and, perhaps addled by the heat, I decided to make it last week. Again, this version is kind of a throwaway attempt at the pattern. I had the idea I might make it up with another, much more precious fabric, but I decided to try it out with this very inexpensive patterned viscose first.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0mYGICQmlU/W0OS4z9aMuI/AAAAAAAAEUQ/oDrOuCdY84USoRRZbcE773VGtP1PV5NSQCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B52%2B55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0mYGICQmlU/W0OS4z9aMuI/AAAAAAAAEUQ/oDrOuCdY84USoRRZbcE773VGtP1PV5NSQCLcBGAs/s400/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B52%2B55.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Burda 07-2014-112 on Flossie -- looks like a big square of fabric in this view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I made one <i>intentional</i> change to the pattern: I sewed the shoulders a little bit wider than the pattern indicated for bra strap coverage. However, I also, accidentally, omitted to sew the back neck correctly. I actually woke myself up the day after I finished it going <i>OH NO! I DIDN'T GATHER THE BACK NECK!</i> which makes me wonder what on earth I was dreaming about that that was uppermost in my mind when I surfaced from sleep. It means the back doesn't lie as it should, probably, but I'm not really sure it makes a huge amount of difference to the finished product.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cfZ8wwC3Vr0/W0OS5rqqFkI/AAAAAAAAEUU/lrXukU8EI0kaNCZ-I2czVSt4lA9RlCrAACLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B53%2B45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cfZ8wwC3Vr0/W0OS5rqqFkI/AAAAAAAAEUU/lrXukU8EI0kaNCZ-I2czVSt4lA9RlCrAACLcBGAs/s400/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B53%2B45.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But it's actually this shape! See how wide the lower hem is though? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As weird as it is, I actually like this top! I like the way it's sleeveless without actually being the sort of strappy top that has your entire shoulders and arms on show. I like the weird drapery at the sides. I like how floaty and loose it is. I feel vaguely like I should have an urn or a lute to hold, as it feels slightly Ancient Greek in style. On the other hand, I'll probably always have to wear something under it because if you hold your arms up at all you can see clear daylight through from one armhole to the other. Also, the back keyhole is VERY low. If I made it again, I'd cut the keyhole shorter or maybe just omit it altogether and deepen the scoop at the front to make it a pullover. I also think there's too much volume at the lower hem. I think it could do with being a closer fit through the hip.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6B65O6Y8nOc/W0OS5y07AjI/AAAAAAAAEUY/FsOGa2NUi_4OGbHePq8xbKlY-hCJ4IOswCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B54%2B27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6B65O6Y8nOc/W0OS5y07AjI/AAAAAAAAEUY/FsOGa2NUi_4OGbHePq8xbKlY-hCJ4IOswCLcBGAs/s400/Photo%2B06-07-2018%252C%2B17%2B54%2B27.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The (oops) ungathered back neckline and tie and the REALLY LOW keyhole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There is, however, a real sewing flaw in this: the ultra skinny bias binding on the neckline. This is a sewing problem I've had before, especially with Burda who tend to give you tiny seam allowances to work with at the neckline. However, because in this case the binding extends into a tie at the back I couldn't really change it to something easier to sew. I am actually relieved I didn't remember to do the gathering on the back because I can't imagine how I would have squeezed gathers into the tiny binding. I guess the binding looks OK from a distance, but it's dreadful up close.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uFOXx1tkQ94/W0OUxcn41cI/AAAAAAAAEVE/H7KAmYvCkC8h2c_aPwTangt6AUWa9BwYQCLcBGAs/s1600/necklne%2Bwacky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1006" height="398" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uFOXx1tkQ94/W0OUxcn41cI/AAAAAAAAEVE/H7KAmYvCkC8h2c_aPwTangt6AUWa9BwYQCLcBGAs/s400/necklne%2Bwacky.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the skinny (messy) binding.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Overall: Wacky but fun! However, I wish I hadn't struggled so much with the binding and I'll probably keep looking for a pattern for my more precious fabric as I don't think this is quite right for it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vsym0OS13YM/W0OTurDg1tI/AAAAAAAAEU4/tVJBM1dLFIo3qZVshvnysf8Bt0EEOZsdQCLcBGAs/s1600/wackytop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vsym0OS13YM/W0OTurDg1tI/AAAAAAAAEU4/tVJBM1dLFIo3qZVshvnysf8Bt0EEOZsdQCLcBGAs/s640/wackytop2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On me. Observe the massive volume in the side view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>3: A popped balloon (top) (Burda 04-2013-112)</b><br />
<br />
Burda call this top a Balloon Top -- it's basically a simple sleeveless top with wide straps with a second, pleated and twisted layer over the top. I thought this was really pretty in the checked fabric Burda showed it in, and again, it's been on my list a while.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bONSTPz71X0/W0ODSKJuc-I/AAAAAAAAETY/5ZC4gSOLCs4Q8-F5dmsHtcJBU16qRHlggCLcBGAs/s1600/balloontop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bONSTPz71X0/W0ODSKJuc-I/AAAAAAAAETY/5ZC4gSOLCs4Q8-F5dmsHtcJBU16qRHlggCLcBGAs/s640/balloontop1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 04-2013-112 Balloon Top (images from Burda)</td></tr>
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<br />
Alas, my version was a wadder. I got 90% of the way through sewing it, then, as instructed, pinned together the top edges/straps in order to figure out exactly how long they needed to be. At that point I discovered:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-440H-tJpznY/W0OQdpEUa9I/AAAAAAAAETo/NdjQirI3WsMsTyNFxnPe8BA7u0DmscX_wCLcBGAs/s1600/balloontop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="801" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-440H-tJpznY/W0OQdpEUa9I/AAAAAAAAETo/NdjQirI3WsMsTyNFxnPe8BA7u0DmscX_wCLcBGAs/s640/balloontop2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 04-2013-112: My wadder version in purple checked seersucker -- front view and side view showing the problem with the back -- straps are only pinned in place but it obviously wasn't working.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
(a) I REALLY don't like how high square necklines look on me. Maybe it's because I have fairly square shoulders, but, wow, it was just DEEPLY unflattering. Now, ordinarily if I don't like a neckline I'll hack at it a bit until I do, but it was hard to see how I could fix this one. I tried to pin it in a better shape and NOPE, it wasn't working.<br />
<br />
(b) The upper part of the bodice was the wrong size. I've been doing a LOT of narrow shoulder adjustments over the last 6-9 months, one way or another, but somehow I didn't realize that my problems with Burda's shoulder width would also impact this top (which was pretty dumb of me, I admit). It was way too wide at the level of my underarm, if that makes sense, and this of course meant the straps ended up too wide-set as well, even though I cut a 42 through the armhole. I knew from the modelled photos in the magazine that the front might drop into a little bit of a cowl, but I wasn't prepared for the mess at the back. It had just way too much width between the shoulder blades and it therefore stood away from my body and drooped unattractively (much like it does on Flossie in the photo).<br />
<br />
(c) My fabric was a poor choice for the pattern. The pattern says poplin as one of the the options (the other being crepe de chine) but I don't think it worked at all well in a crisp fabric. I chose to use a very lightweight seersucker check. I really like the effect of the twisted check, but the fabric made for very bulky seams at the upper neckline edge that couldn't be pressed into submission, and it doesn't have the sort of drape that would have made this look pretty. <br />
<br />
(d) My fabric was a poor choice in life. I've said this before but apparently can't learn from my mistakes: CRINKLED FABRICS ARE THE DEVIL. They're awful to cut, they press poorly, they're hard to interface, and just, ugh, no, bad idea. I bought this seersucker earlier this year, sucked in by how pretty the purple/blue/white/silver combination was, but NEVER AGAIN. I spent ages trying to find a pattern I didn't have to interface and, well, see how well THAT turned out. So no: no more crinkled fabrics.<br />
<br />
In conclusion: Wadder! I am trying to embrace the learning experience, but I have to admit my internal constructive critique was interspersed on this occasion with me asking myself why exactly I choose to pursue such a terrible hobby. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIe7veaVgEA/W0OQx7KtNJI/AAAAAAAAETw/r_PvW2G-Ofsq-tVHgXsYLYqrx-h28gCdQCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B09-07-2018%252C%2B11%2B38%2B19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIe7veaVgEA/W0OQx7KtNJI/AAAAAAAAETw/r_PvW2G-Ofsq-tVHgXsYLYqrx-h28gCdQCLcBGAs/s400/Photo%2B09-07-2018%252C%2B11%2B38%2B19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rescued fabric made into Ottobre 05-2011-02 PJ shorts</td></tr>
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I disassembled the top and this morning recut the fabric and sewed up a pair of PJ shorts from the remnants. It makes for stupidly expensive PJs because I used 2m of expensive fabric and ended up with something I usually only use 70cm of fabric to make, but whatever, at least I was able to salvage something useful from the wadder, right? And my PJs turned out great (as they should do, as they are made with a super easy pattern I've used a dozen times). The other good thing to come from this is that at least I know now that I really don't like that shape of neckline and I'll know to avoid making anything similar! This is relevant because I have two separate dress patterns on my "Burda Favourites" list that have a very similar shape to them -- wide, high, square necklines. I've always been dubious about them, and now I know for sure: NOPE, not for me!<br />
<br />
Up next: I have a few more summer things on my list that I want to make soon so that I get plenty of use out of them this year, but I'm not quite sure exactly what I want to make next. I've got three more dresses planned and I'm probably most excited about those, but two of them need muslins and the other involves lots and lots of fiddly sewing. I've also got a pair of hilarious StyleArc trousers that I may just make and see how they turn out, a button-fronted vintage style blouse, and a jacket in my queue. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-24137432511702579322018-06-19T22:42:00.000+01:002018-06-19T22:42:55.384+01:00You win some, you lose someI have no sewing friends locally, which is a source of great sadness to me because I would love a fabric shopping accomplice. However, a couple of weeks ago my friend B (who does sew though she is not really into garment sewing) heroically drove up to my city and, in addition to staying up very late to gossip, also went fabric shopping with me. I bought 5 pieces of fabric: three 2m lengths of knit for t-shirts to make immediately, one large scale gingham for a shirt this autumn, and a fabulous snakeskin printed stretch denim for, idk, some time when I can actually make trousers that fit. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9NTZ30EaRY/WylkSd5B3NI/AAAAAAAAERM/5Qy_CIPLtOsaeNIIAIXcUUM65anaV3FQwCLcBGAs/s1600/fabric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9NTZ30EaRY/WylkSd5B3NI/AAAAAAAAERM/5Qy_CIPLtOsaeNIIAIXcUUM65anaV3FQwCLcBGAs/s640/fabric.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: three t-shirt knits. Right: snakeskin printed denim. I have no photo of the gingham for some reason.</td></tr>
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At the end of 2017, I had decided that for the most part, RTW t-shirts seemed like better value for money than making my own. So far this year I've found that decision to be mostly accurate when it comes to your basic, somewhat fitted t-shirt in a plain colour. However, although I looked for ages, I couldn't find any nice loose-fit tees and in the end I decided I could do much better than anything I'd seen in RTW. I wanted a total of 4 to add to my wardrobe. The first was <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-review-of-may.html">the striped knit top I made in May</a>, and I've been working on making the other three over the last few days.<br />
<br />
Top #1 used the uppermost fabric in the image above. None of my photos capture it at all, but this fabric actually has some kind of sparkly coating on the otherwise plain grey marl knit, so it is quite shiny/sparkly when it catches the light. This makes it slightly more interesting in real life than photos suggest.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tNJqRU1hfu8/WylnB0cNtAI/AAAAAAAAERY/VbUks4FMABAiQkUUl38J9Q1KM91OuCbTwCLcBGAs/s1600/1692591_44b60701ca.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tNJqRU1hfu8/WylnB0cNtAI/AAAAAAAAERY/VbUks4FMABAiQkUUl38J9Q1KM91OuCbTwCLcBGAs/s640/1692591_44b60701ca.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 01-2018-105 Garment photo and technical drawing from Burdastyle.ru</td></tr>
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For the pattern I had chose Burda 01-2018-105, a very easy, two piece lounging type tee. The front is all one piece and folds over to a sort of faux-raglan back, with a dart that runs from the shoulder to the back seam. It looks like nothing in the modelled photos or technical drawing, but it's actually a great little pattern and I can see myself making this again and again. <br />
<br />
I made a size 40 at the neck and shoulder and a size 44 from the underarm down, which produced exactly what I was looking for: it fits through the upper chest and neck and then is loose and swingy below that. I made two minor design changes: I hate side splits with unbelievable fervor (no really, who knew you could feel so strongly about side splits), so I sewed right down to the hem line, and, once made, I found I didn't like how high the neckline was at all and ended up cutting off the neckband I had already put in and turning the neckline into a deeper rounded scoop.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f42z8OpE0O0/WylqArGBWaI/AAAAAAAAERk/Q3J21yJ6HsUN0_tuuOaF1YXo1I9JOvhogCLcBGAs/s1600/tees%2B1%2Band%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f42z8OpE0O0/WylqArGBWaI/AAAAAAAAERk/Q3J21yJ6HsUN0_tuuOaF1YXo1I9JOvhogCLcBGAs/s640/tees%2B1%2Band%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top #1 (left) and #2 (right): My versions using Burda 01-2018-105</td></tr>
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Originally, I had planned to do something entirely different with the blue striped fabric for top #2 (the bottom fabric in the pile above) but then I had a moment of clarity. I looked at the pattern I thought I was going to use (the recent HotPatterns Swingy Tee), which has loads of pieces and top-stitching and a centre front dart. I looked at the fabric, which is a VERY drapey, lightweight fabric that in no way holds any shape. I decided these two were not things that were not fated to go together successfully, and I made a second Burda 01-2018-105, exactly the same except this time I cut the neckline exactly how I preferred from the outset. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--UItj7FofCU/WylrwcCozOI/AAAAAAAAER0/nQbFcsKLsoU01gyEV8Fd5GJyDga_k6ngACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/1701119_7f771fada1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--UItj7FofCU/WylrwcCozOI/AAAAAAAAER0/nQbFcsKLsoU01gyEV8Fd5GJyDga_k6ngACK4BGAYYCw/s640/1701119_7f771fada1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 02-2018-129 knit top, images from burdastyle.ru</td></tr>
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So far, so good, despite my neckband problems with top #1. I therefore moved on to top #3, which was another Burda pattern, this time Burda 02-2018-129, a Plus pattern with a twist/knot detail at the hem. My third fabric was a gorgeous, amazing knit in denim blue with a slight sheen and a slubby texture. I absolutely loved this fabric and thought it would look great with the pattern, especially as it has an interesting contrast wrong side that, if it happened to show, wouldn't look bad at all. I traced a size 44, and made several adjustments to the shoulder and neckline -- mainly bringing it in at the neck as I knew as written it would be too wide on me. I also cut short sleeves without the cuff detail. Looking at the measurements, I was concerned it would be too long for me overall, but I decided from the image on the model that the knot detail on the front would pull the top up quite a lot and also the way top is constructed made it really difficult to shorten, so I left it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MdRLURHBzoc/Wylttel5kLI/AAAAAAAAESA/p023wCfMvnkiio5Qs5pxdFulK8Aeqw50gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Photo%2B19-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B52%2B40%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MdRLURHBzoc/Wylttel5kLI/AAAAAAAAESA/p023wCfMvnkiio5Qs5pxdFulK8Aeqw50gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Photo%2B19-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B52%2B40%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My best approximation of the pattern as written: not so much a knot/drape as an unholy mess at the waist</td></tr>
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This is one of those patterns where you cut out the pieces and you're like.... um, what? How on earth do <i>these</i> fit together to make <i>that</i>? Sometimes I've made things like this and I've been very confused by the raw pieces of the garment, but as soon as I started to put it together, light dawned and it all made sense (the<a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2018/01/in-which-wacky-top-is-somehow-not-wacky.html"> wacky back drape top I made earlier this year</a> is a case in point, though I have to note that that was the "sewing course" pattern that month, i.e. there were illustrations of the construction).<br />
<br />
Spoiler: the light did not dawn in this case. I was actually doing well, and things WERE making sense, and then I got to the point where you connect up the left and right lower fronts at the knot/twist and I just got completely stuck. The best I managed was the photo above. It was wrong, but I had absolutely no idea how to sew it correctly and this was the closest I seemed to be able to get.<br />
<br />
Maybe I gave up too soon, or I should have left it and come back to it later, but I felt like I had tried every possible thing with no success, and there were also other problems. The fabric isn't at all what I would consider a heavy weight knit, but the way you put the lower bodice together means there are layers and layers of fabric right at your waist/hip. Really, this needed a very light weight knit indeed if you aren't to end up with a bulky wad of fabric at the hip. The second problem was that although the twist does pull the top up a lot, it was still a lot longer than I wanted and it ended up a really unfortunate length on me. While it would have been difficult to adjust the length at the pattern stage, it was impossible at the partially completed stage.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcVgJuybI5M/WylvV1v5CTI/AAAAAAAAESI/qW3BmFATA1E_iNUqr9TiU-FDANs8Z-7GQCLcBGAs/s1600/denim%2Btee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcVgJuybI5M/WylvV1v5CTI/AAAAAAAAESI/qW3BmFATA1E_iNUqr9TiU-FDANs8Z-7GQCLcBGAs/s640/denim%2Btee.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rescued loose fit tee, and the only detail that remains of the original pattern -- a triangular inset</td></tr>
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In the end, the extra length saved me, because I was able to cut off almost all of the knot/twist details and still have a decent length t-shirt. The only thing left of the original pattern is an unobtrusive triangular inset, which doesn't look particularly weird. <br />
<br />
I guess overall, yay, I got three t-shirts from the experience, which is all I really wanted. However, I am somewhat irritated with myself for two reasons: first, that I couldn't make sense of the Burda pattern. I am not someone who wants or needs a diagram for every step of every pattern, but I also don't have the best spatial reasoning in the world. When it comes to these sort of twist/fold/whatever features I think I probably did need more than Burda provides for this pattern. I just could not figure it out at all from the information I had (written instructions, seam numbers, pieces in front of me). I'd like to blame the pattern/instructions, but I am pretty sure it's just me. Needless to say, I heartily dislike feeling incompetent. <br />
<br />
The second irritation is that if I had had some foresight, I might have realized sooner that I had made poor choices with my pattern/fabric matches. The blue stripe was much lighter weight and would have been a much better fit for the knot detail tee. The denim coloured knit was almost certainly sturdy enough to have taken the darts and top-stitching of my original planned HotPatterns pattern. I'm very annoyed by this missed opportunity!<br />
<br />
In conclusion: a mixed outcome, but I guess I can't win them all.<br />
<br />
Next up on my sewing table: I can't put it off any longer, I'm going to have to attempt to make some shorts. D: D: D: westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-62497636622080632772018-06-13T15:01:00.001+01:002018-06-13T18:10:51.161+01:00Put a bird on itTa-da! My enthusiasm for sewing came roaring back, and I have therefore made both of the garments I talked about at the end of my last post.<br />
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<b>1. Angled front skirt (Burda 05-2017-113) </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-My6FMkfvkbI/Wx-GRGTbuNI/AAAAAAAAEPw/wnxp4_FOXk8lg3IzqXfUDb74jG8xiqvygCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Bskirt%2Bjune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-My6FMkfvkbI/Wx-GRGTbuNI/AAAAAAAAEPw/wnxp4_FOXk8lg3IzqXfUDb74jG8xiqvygCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Bskirt%2Bjune.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 05-2017-113 Skirt (Images from burdastyle.ru)</td></tr>
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<br />
I've been wanting a solid white skirt for a while, but I've been dithering on the pattern. I really wanted to make something with some design interest since the fabric I'd chosen, a plain white cotton twill, was not very interesting (even if very useful, wardrobe wise). Last year I was very taken with this angled front skirt in Burda 05-2017 and marked it for future use. I had to think how to adjust it though because when Burda make their skirt patterns short, they make them SHORT. I had to 10cm to this pattern to get it to my usual "casual summer skirt" length of around 52.5 cm (~21"). Normally length adjustments are a no brainer, but with those
angled front seams and separate pieces for hem facings, it took a little more effort than usual.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ookJSxNhDmM/Wx-RiNcq_SI/AAAAAAAAEQA/wjkfJDH4Z2sz20f10F0W3xIQeX1eAmJigCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B09-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B41%2B49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ookJSxNhDmM/Wx-RiNcq_SI/AAAAAAAAEQA/wjkfJDH4Z2sz20f10F0W3xIQeX1eAmJigCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B09-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B41%2B49.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My white skirt on me. The angled front crosses just above knee length on me.</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
The only other very minor change I made is that I left off the belt loops/rope belt
because I never belt anything. I did make the pointlessly complicated
pockets. They do look nice, if not entirely symmetrical in my version because I messed up somewhere, but also: pointlessly complicated. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LqLaswUvYOg/WyEgFkHgzgI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/2i4zUkY7IDctsNjlkg2b1ZXP1LSqEinHQCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B13-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B38%2B07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LqLaswUvYOg/WyEgFkHgzgI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/2i4zUkY7IDctsNjlkg2b1ZXP1LSqEinHQCLcBGAs/s320/Photo%2B13-06-2018%252C%2B14%2B38%2B07.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pointlessly complicated back pocket. Yes, there were three separate pieces to make it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Other than that, this is a straight size 42, which is my usual lower body Burda size. Although the rest of the fit is great, it's very loose at the waist. This is not because I have a small waist, at all. In fact, the opposite: I am more of a size 44 waist compared to my size 42 hips. The waistband is just really big. I realized this as I was cutting it out, because it was one of those pieces where Burda just give you a dimension to cut a rectangle, and the dimensions for the size 42 made me raise my eyebrows. But then for some reason I just carried on blithely and then was surprised when it turned out to be quite loose at the waist. Well, duh. You can see on the photo how wide the waistband is compared to the hips. I'm rectangular in shape, but not that rectangular!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M8iP5enSrRk/WyEgjI57wmI/AAAAAAAAERA/kB-K6E6E9eUmCigAuZTdPa6X2pMwyLr-ACLcBGAs/s1600/white%2Bskirt%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M8iP5enSrRk/WyEgjI57wmI/AAAAAAAAERA/kB-K6E6E9eUmCigAuZTdPa6X2pMwyLr-ACLcBGAs/s640/white%2Bskirt%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White skirt on a hanger. I tried so hard to get a shot without wrinkles, but lol, no.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall, I'm actually delighted with this skirt. It's one of those garments where the finished product looks exactly the way I imagined it would, or maybe even better. I will say that every time I work with white fabric I am impressed all over again by people who do e.g. bridal sewing, because keeping a white fabric looking nice while you work with it is VERY HARD. I wasn't helped in this case by the fact this fabric wrinkles if you look at it funny, but even so, it needed washing as soon as I finished it. I swear to you I pressed this skirt within an inch of its life before I took these photos, but wow, no, it looks like wrinkled mess at the back. Luckily I don't really mind looking wrinkled in real life, but I was extremely frustrated by the photo taking experience here.<br />
<br />
<b>2. A shirt with a bird on it/June Magazine Challenge</b> (Burda 06-2018-112) <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhEA2wa1kxo/Wx99vXAnDlI/AAAAAAAAEPk/DjH2ppSlhEs8RoLO6cxK1daMN9qtgVBHQCLcBGAs/s1600/heighten_580_1898951_9905860754.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="870" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhEA2wa1kxo/Wx99vXAnDlI/AAAAAAAAEPk/DjH2ppSlhEs8RoLO6cxK1daMN9qtgVBHQCLcBGAs/s640/heighten_580_1898951_9905860754.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 06-2018-112 - Images from Burdastyle.ru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next up was a top with a bird on it, also my June Magazine Challenge garment. It's from Burda 06-2018, and the version in the magazine is so eye-searingly awful that initially I flipped right past it without really thinking about it. (There's also a dress version, #111, in a sad sort of beige colour, that was not any more attractive to me.) However, the technical drawing made it more interesting to me. It's a fairly simple, loose-fit woven top, but I was very taken with that pleated detail at the neckline.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PAgUECEjGJk/Wx-n0EU5fII/AAAAAAAAEQQ/MRbwcSLtRJMjFT17W7zVYLo8ojMqtJIaQCLcBGAs/s1600/bird%2Bshirt%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PAgUECEjGJk/Wx-n0EU5fII/AAAAAAAAEQQ/MRbwcSLtRJMjFT17W7zVYLo8ojMqtJIaQCLcBGAs/s640/bird%2Bshirt%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished shirt, with a close up of the pleated placket in situ. The sleeves should be folded back in cuffs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I
made a size 44 with my usual fit adjustments -- narrowed the shoulder,
raised the armhole, squared the shoulder, did a rounded back adjustment
and also added 2cm of length to the bodice. The rounded back adjustment
was easier than usual because the back is gathered into the collar.
Rather than put a shoulder dart in, I just gathered a little more.<br />
<br />
The pattern is rated 3 dots by Burda, which I was initially surprised by as there aren't many pieces, there are no fastenings, etc. The source of their complexity rating is, I think, the pleated insert pieces and how you attach them to the main front bodice piece. I was moderately happy with how my pleating turned out. It is really not perfect at all, but using a busy print hides many of my sewing flaws! Inserting the pieces into the main front piece is not complicated in theory, but actually doing it was a faff. It was just a lot of trying to manipulate the fabric to get seams line up. Plus, I am not a fan of gathering and you have to gather the horizontal seam at the front. I don't know why people always tell beginners to make things with gathers, because sewing gathered seams is hard and it looks crap if you do it badly. Again, my large print disguises many sins here as well. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3u5g-FUnvoQ/Wx-oCrZkllI/AAAAAAAAEQU/7Gr12kXNUmseFTRKSkdACQAh5LKxtyvRwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B09-06-2018%252C%2B17%2B03%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3u5g-FUnvoQ/Wx-oCrZkllI/AAAAAAAAEQU/7Gr12kXNUmseFTRKSkdACQAh5LKxtyvRwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B09-06-2018%252C%2B17%2B03%2B01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pleated insert pieces before insertion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The fabric I used for this is slightly out of my usual style. For a long time I've had an Indian fabric company on my eBay watch list that sells a lot of blue and white, hand/block printed fabrics. I've been tempted quite a few times because I love a blue and white print. I finally bought this piece earlier this year as an experiment. It's not especially expensive: I got 2.25m of fabric for I think something like £9 including postage, though it did take a little while to get here from India.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IOXJFypzNfw/Wx-pyZmDx_I/AAAAAAAAEQs/eIneBDmugTkB7wSkg8_H9bS9ei5Y8SKxgCLcBGAs/s1600/bird%2Bshirt%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IOXJFypzNfw/Wx-pyZmDx_I/AAAAAAAAEQs/eIneBDmugTkB7wSkg8_H9bS9ei5Y8SKxgCLcBGAs/s640/bird%2Bshirt%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the bird -- you can just about see that it appear on the lower right as you look at the photo of me wearing the top. Sleeves still not cuffed for some reason </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fabric is quite narrow -- just barely 110cm wide -- and not the greatest quality. It's 100% cotton according to the sales blurb, but it's thin and quite loosely woven and it's definitely more off-white/'natural' in colour than white. It's lovely and soft though, and the (lack of) weight made it perfect for a summer top. The block printing is good, but it's not 100% perfect, though I think that's part of the charm. I did wonder if the dye would run/fade horribly when I washed it, but it came through the wash/tumble dry looking much as it did when it went in. I'm not sure it's a fabric with tremendous longevity, but I guess I'll see how it goes. I do like the bird though, and it's fancy eyelashes, though I did have to do some creative pattern positioning to avoid Bird On Boob issues.<br />
<br />
I originally thought these two garments would work together really well as an outfit, but the proportions don't really work the way I expected. The skirt looks better with tops that hit higher on my hip and that are more close fitting than this top. Still I am sure to get plenty of use from it if the weather stays warm here over this summer.<br />
<br />
Next up: I've traced two new looser fit knit top patterns from Burda, and I've got one from HotPatterns that I need to print and put together, which, ugh, yuck, I hate putting together PDF patterns. Still, since construction is usually very quick with knits, I should have all three done in no time once I have my patterns sorted. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-91686765635971561762018-06-02T15:13:00.001+01:002018-06-02T15:19:57.851+01:00A review of MayAhem. *blows dust off blog*<br />
<br />
Since I last posted, in mid-April, I have variously:<br />
<br />
1. Gone away on holiday for a week. This was, in fact, the first time I've really spent any time away from home since I first got sick in the summer of 2013. It was not what one might call the most perfectly successful holiday, insofar as I was away 7 days, the weather was beyond awful for 2 days and I was extremely unwell for 1.5 days (though luckily (?) the 0.5 day of feeling ill coincided with a terrible weather day). However, I was still somewhere that wasn't here (although still in the UK) and I had a pretty good time, so I am going to call it an overall win. <br />
<br />
2. Struggled through several more weeks of total sewing apathy.<br />
<br />
3. Overcome the apathy and made five things. :D<br />
<br />
More specifically, I made:<br />
<br />
<b>a. Two kimono jackets using Butterick 6176</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pgtXL5lIT6c/WxFOLc94AJI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/Vd0cKkRpECMaElM9xkq2pV9PdnbVLFVDgCLcBGAs/s1600/kimonos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pgtXL5lIT6c/WxFOLc94AJI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/Vd0cKkRpECMaElM9xkq2pV9PdnbVLFVDgCLcBGAs/s640/kimonos.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterick 6176 Kimono jackets (views F and E from left to right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was a semi impulsive project. I love the look of these jackets when I see them in shops and on other people but somehow, although the trend has been around a while, I have never got around to buying or making one for myself. I therefore picked up Butterick 6176 very cheaply on eBay. Most of the views in this pattern are completely rectangular and not really very interesting. However, views E (short version) and F (long version) have a shaped hem that I thought looked nice. I made a size Medium of each of these views.<br />
<br />
Originally I was just going to make one, the longer view F, in a blue and tile print (see centre, above). It turned out so well, however, and I enjoyed wearing it so much that I immediately wanted another. I ended up making a short version with the remains of a piece of polyester georgette that had been lurking, thoroughly unloved, in my stash ever since I made a top from the rest of it in 2012. I actually loved how this second jacket turned out too right up until I tried to hem it. The fabric would NOT hold a crease for a hem, and once I'd finally struggled all my way around the (ENORMOUS) hem I discovered that the weight of the doubled over fabric makes the front edges flip out and exposes the wrong side. As a result, though I still like it, I'm also mildly irritated by it.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>b. A cardigan in a fine open-weave knit</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GttE5NKI_T0/WxFUfxTpShI/AAAAAAAAEOc/Wqbd4Be97MsZucUoYsbB1TrAP80RqG7vgCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B22-05-2018%252C%2B18%2B24%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GttE5NKI_T0/WxFUfxTpShI/AAAAAAAAEOc/Wqbd4Be97MsZucUoYsbB1TrAP80RqG7vgCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B22-05-2018%252C%2B18%2B24%2B02.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCall's 6844 View B in navy lace knit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is everyone's favourite cardigan pattern of the last couple of years, McCall's 6844.<br />
<b> </b><br />
I've <a href="https://sewingnovice.blogspot.com/2017/12/finishing-up-december.html">made this pattern before</a>, but in a very different fabric (purple ponte) and a different view (C, with a peplum). I learned from that previous version and added about 2.5cm width to the bicep of the sleeve and 1cm of squareness to the shoulders when I made this one. I chose this pattern because my fabric is VERY nice and also VERY expensive, and I definitely wanted to use a pattern I knew worked and that (with my minor changes) would fit.<br />
<br />
Construction wise, it was extremely straightforward. You can only just see in the image above that the fabric has a faint lurex silver horizontal stripe woven into it, which was a bit of a pain to match but lined up nicely in the end. Other than that though, it's a very fine and light fabric, and yet also handled really well through the overlocker despite all the holes. I love how this turned out, and it's a perfect summer top layer.<br />
<br />
<b>c. Two items for my 2018 Magazine Challenge.</b><br />
<br />
I bet you thought I'd given up on this! But no, although I didn't make anything in April, I made up for it this month by making two different things from the May issue of Burda.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jQuXbMMW-4/WxFXY0bBXuI/AAAAAAAAEOo/l4UJGZtyUB4E58zzDl9VKwIu-yZKCXk4QCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Btop%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jQuXbMMW-4/WxFXY0bBXuI/AAAAAAAAEOo/l4UJGZtyUB4E58zzDl9VKwIu-yZKCXk4QCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Btop%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 05:2018-113 Top, images from burdastyle.de</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Burda 05-2018-113A is a short sleeved knit top intended for heavier/sweatshirt knits, and it has a collar that is intended to stand up a little, and eyelet and ribbon trim. (Version B is similar but doesn't have the eyelets -- it has a tassel trim all along the diagonal seam.)<br />
<br />
I wanted one of these the instant I saw the previews of this issue and then I wanted to make it even more when I found a perfect striped knit to recreate their version. Then I dithered, because the fabric was CRAZY expensive. I kept going and looking at the fabric listing, and putting it in my shopping basket, and then taking it out because it was ££££, lather, rinse, repeat. In the end I decided to get it because I couldn't find anything I liked even half as much, and hoped it was worth it. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTNY2vGHm78/WxFYlCYDhMI/AAAAAAAAEO0/ovL77BQmGjo1XtMYXwQe0MuAWWkRptDVgCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Btop%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTNY2vGHm78/WxFYlCYDhMI/AAAAAAAAEO0/ovL77BQmGjo1XtMYXwQe0MuAWWkRptDVgCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Btop%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version (sorry about the terrible, super dark mirror selfie)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TOTALLY worth it. This fabric is gorgeous and I love how the pattern turned out.<br />
<br />
I made my usual size 44 with few alterations. I was a bit stymied for how to alter for a smaller and squarer neck/shoulder line and in the end went with a straight size to fit my bust, which is kind of a step back, fitting wise. As a result, it doesn't have the "perfect" neck and shoulder fit I'm striving for this year but eh, it's an over-sized t-shirt. It's fine.<br />
<br />
I left off the hem band (because I hate them) added some length but then, uh, took some of it away again when it came time to hem (so I have no idea, really, where I ended up in terms of additional length), and in the end I also left off the eyelets and ribbon. I bought the eyelets and everything, but when I tried them out on a piece of scrap fabric, I didn't like how it looked at all. Honestly, I don't think my version needed it -- there's SO MUCH going on with the painted stripe style fabric and the multi-directional stripes. <br />
<br />
Worth noting: despite the magazine version being exactly like mine, the pattern as printed doesn't have the grainlines marked to make this with stripes running in a contrast pattern, nor does the fabric layout diagram show an appropriate configuration. I had to spend a little while squinting at my pattern before I got the correct grainlines drawn in<br />
<br />
My second item from this issue of Burda was a skirt, 05-2018-105 (#104 is the exact same skirt, but midi-length).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVM9eJ7l2ms/WxFev6uKX1I/AAAAAAAAEPA/xwWkhjD1sbcjbssD44iwHVpnhxQvT4GggCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Bskirt%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVM9eJ7l2ms/WxFev6uKX1I/AAAAAAAAEPA/xwWkhjD1sbcjbssD44iwHVpnhxQvT4GggCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Bskirt%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burda 05-2018-105 Skirt (images from Burdastyle.de)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am not really sure why I was grabbed by this skirt pattern, but I really liked the look of it, and when I looked more thoroughly at it, I was pleased that it is bias cut, which I always think drapes more nicely. The pattern as written also has a back feature -- a self-belt on the back only that laces up through eyelets (again with the eyelets!). I'm sure it's very pretty, but (a) what a giant faff having to do that up behind your back would be; and (b) I never wear my tops tucked in, so nobody was ever going to see it. So I left it off. Other than that, I made a straight size 42 with no alterations except to add a little length. Actually I added too much length and ended up having to sew in a very deep hem. That's my own fault for mis-reading my own "preferred length" scribbles in my sewing notebook. Other than that minor misadventure, this was extremely easy to put together.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPZBehYrIgQ/WxKi7I2ASII/AAAAAAAAEPM/vVbnAbv6iFg9IkX47IHzuHc0qkPMH1TYQCLcBGAs/s1600/burda%2Bskirt%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPZBehYrIgQ/WxKi7I2ASII/AAAAAAAAEPM/vVbnAbv6iFg9IkX47IHzuHc0qkPMH1TYQCLcBGAs/s640/burda%2Bskirt%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version, and a close up of the (fake) pocket flap, turtle fabric and turtle buttons(!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was another expensive fabric, mainly because I bought it direct from Japan. I'm not normally one for novelty/cute prints at all, but I absolutely fell in love with these little multi-coloured turtles swimming around on a navy cotton fabric. From a distance it looks like a small floral, so it's also not too obviously "I'm wearing a novelty print!" either. I bought 2 yards (1.8m) about three years ago and I'm afraid it became one of those fabrics that I put in the ridiculous category of "too good to use". I am glad once I worked up the courage to cut into it that it turned out well. I even found little turtle buttons to go on the (decorative) pocket flaps! :D<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2kLlD4CyoLU/WxKkwx14g6I/AAAAAAAAEPY/el6MxRgYKF4rIkdsdPTlNhzjHf_GHwX7gCLcBGAs/s1600/june%2Bplans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2kLlD4CyoLU/WxKkwx14g6I/AAAAAAAAEPY/el6MxRgYKF4rIkdsdPTlNhzjHf_GHwX7gCLcBGAs/s640/june%2Bplans.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June plans: Burda 06-2018-112 blouse and Burda 05-2017-113 skirt (if I can figure out how to lengthen the latter!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next up: making my Magazine challenge for June, which will be Burda 06-2018-112, a short-sleeved woven top with a pleated detail. I'm also trying to work out the pattern adjustments for a skirt from Burda 05-2017 that I meant to make last year but didn't manage for some reason (illness at a guess). I am a bit stuck because the skirt is very short (centre back length = 43cm/17") as written and I don't wear my skirts shorter than 52.5cm (21"). I'm not sure how I will go about make the skirt 10cm longer without messing up the angles on the front pieces.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-42302423228631026432018-04-19T14:18:00.000+01:002018-04-19T14:18:45.662+01:00And moving swiftly on...My last post was full of ambitious plans for spring/March and here we are on the 19th April and, as the recent radio silence might suggest, I have to tell you that I accomplished pretty much none of them. The last six or seven weeks have gone something like this:<br />
<br />
- Minor illness (just a cold, but ugh, it seemed to go on forever)<br />
- Apathy about sewing anything for warmer weather because it was so. damn. cold. and wintery for most of March, which turned into:<br />
- Apathy about sewing anything at all for any reason, or really doing anything other than sitting around in a miserable heap. (I don't know why, I just had a serious case of the <i>Idon'twanna</i>s for a couple of weeks about literally everything that wasn't essential to survival.)<br />
- The Return Of The Major Withdrawal Symptoms, and all the fun times that go with them, which I am just now bouncing back from.<br />
<br />
In the midst of all that, I feel like I've pretty much missed the window for sewing for Spring! Over the last couple of weeks, I have managed a few easy, essential projects for my wardrobe:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wUtCWCDXYK4/WtiV6XBk0XI/AAAAAAAAENc/aIu-Nx01FAoIOEkegyCq2RlbisrSwldlwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B05-04-2018%252C%2B15%2B42%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wUtCWCDXYK4/WtiV6XBk0XI/AAAAAAAAENc/aIu-Nx01FAoIOEkegyCq2RlbisrSwldlwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B05-04-2018%252C%2B15%2B42%2B05.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PJs in pink gingham</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I made a couple of pairs of PJs (one capri length pair for spring/autumn, one pair of shorts for summer) in pink gingham using my trusty PJ TNTs (capris: Burda 8721, shorts: Ottobre 05-2011-02).<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5uCp_nUMB8/WtiWYGh8XcI/AAAAAAAAENg/RIAtkNgaw0EtshtCG5l6P-vudV37weuGwCLcBGAs/s1600/navy%2Btops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5uCp_nUMB8/WtiWYGh8XcI/AAAAAAAAENg/RIAtkNgaw0EtshtCG5l6P-vudV37weuGwCLcBGAs/s640/navy%2Btops.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Navy cardigan and curved hem jumper</td></tr>
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I also made two quick and easy repeats from a 3m piece of textured navy knit, using Simplicity 1733 to make a cardigan and Ottobre 02-2016-05 to make a lightweight sweater with a curved/hi-lo hem. <a href="http://sewingnovice.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/easy-finished-things.html">I've made exactly this combination of patterns from a single piece of fabric before</a>, and it worked out so well and I've worn those garments so often that I barely even thought about it before I slapped the patterns down on my fabric. The more I sew, the more I love having a library of reliable, repeatable patterns as well as having the constant novelty from my pattern magazines etc.<br />
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Although it barely merits a mention on the creativity scale, in the midst of all my misery I did also manage to work through a basketful of tiny, annoying sewing jobs: hemming trousers that I bought unhemmed, fixing seams and hems in garments that had come apart in the wash (and, I must tell you, of the half a dozen things that needed repair, only one of them was hand-made -- it's the RTW stuff that falls apart!) and cutting down/hemming a pair of RTW trousers into shorts.<br />
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Even though I didn't get around to the larger, more ambitious projects on my sewing plan, wardrobe-wise I do have almost everything I <i>need</i> for Spring. Everything else -- and in particular my plans for a raincoat -- will just have to wait until I start thinking about cooler weather sewing again after the summer.<br />
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For now though, I'm starting to think ahead to summer sewing. I've only two absolute essential garments that I absolutely <i>must</i> make this year: a lightweight cardigan, which should be straightforward and quick, and a pair of shorts, which requires me to re-open the whole question of making trousers that fit and is therefore not straightforward at all. D:<br />
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My list of wants (rather than needs), is much longer and potentially more interesting, and covers a little bit of everything from outerwear (I have a slightly odd cotton fabric to turn into a lightweight blazer), to summer skirts and dresses, to woven tops. First up, though, I still need to choose and make a project for my April magazine challenge, and most likely that is what I'll be back with next. :Dwestmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1157694539788402550.post-58134529233213998962018-02-28T14:19:00.001+00:002018-02-28T14:19:56.962+00:00February wrap-up + March plansWe're in the grip of a particularly cold spell of weather here in the UK so obviously I finished up February by making a short-sleeved, light-weight top. Nothing like a bit of totally unseasonal sewing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C3DKppKTdYY/WpaVB5sg8OI/AAAAAAAAEL0/sHbPHwLHdAkOBOUjyM_-0H0CoJtmmJ5tQCLcBGAs/s1600/ott%2Btop%2Bfeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C3DKppKTdYY/WpaVB5sg8OI/AAAAAAAAEL0/sHbPHwLHdAkOBOUjyM_-0H0CoJtmmJ5tQCLcBGAs/s640/ott%2Btop%2Bfeb.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottobre 02-2018-01 "Valentine" blouse (Images from Ottobre magazine)</td></tr>
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This is Ottobre 02-2018-01, from the Spring/Summer issue that dropped on my doorstep earlier this month. The issue has a bit of a vintage feel to it and I like it a lot. I definitely also want to make a couple of the knit dresses in this issue at some point and I plan to make one of the blouse patterns from this issue for my March magazine challenge. This top was just a bonus that I snuck in to my sewing queue for a couple of reasons: I wanted to make a simple pattern to see what I could transfer from what I've learned about fitting Burda patterns to Ottobre; and I was in desperate need of something quick and easy to make after sewing two more complicated items this month and having more of the same on the horizon in March.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KatwmJ8T66g/Wpa4F-CTsGI/AAAAAAAAEME/LBem_sQFrPMAJwMznmYD1290YeB45nxIQCLcBGAs/s1600/ott%2Btop%2Bfeb%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KatwmJ8T66g/Wpa4F-CTsGI/AAAAAAAAEME/LBem_sQFrPMAJwMznmYD1290YeB45nxIQCLcBGAs/s640/ott%2Btop%2Bfeb%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version of Ottobre 02-2018-01 -- the shoulders do not look too poofy here but...</td></tr>
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My top is made in one of the oldest garment fabrics I had in stash -- in fact, I used the other half of the piece I bought back in 2012 for<a href="http://sewingnovice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/new-look-6025-stripy-goodness.html"> the first top I ever made</a> (which was a disaster that I was insanely proud of at the time but never actually wore). I showed the photo of this new finished garment to a friend of mine and she was like "Your fabric has the screaming faces of the damned on it!" which I can't decide how to take, really. Maybe I should have turned the fabric the other way up.<br />
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This is my first Ottobre pattern since I've embarked on my recent "make my tops fit better!" campaign, so there was some trial (and error) involved in choosing the size. I went with a size 40 neck and shoulder, and size 44 through the body. I think I might have been better off with a size 42 through the neck and shoulder, and that is what I will try with my next Ottobre top pattern in March. Other than that, I adjusted for square shoulders (about 0.8cm), high round back (with shoulder darts) and lowered the bust point. I lowered the bust point a LOT, actually, Ottobre seem to draft for a woman whose bust is right up around her armpit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SFfw2garNqo/Wpa4TdT6cFI/AAAAAAAAEMI/HtNJ03MLiGonCqJFEezDH3bknEW_0sLkwCLcBGAs/s1600/Photo%2B27-02-2018%252C%2B18%2B59%2B10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SFfw2garNqo/Wpa4TdT6cFI/AAAAAAAAEMI/HtNJ03MLiGonCqJFEezDH3bknEW_0sLkwCLcBGAs/s640/Photo%2B27-02-2018%252C%2B18%2B59%2B10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On me, with visible shoulder poofiness</td></tr>
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I made one change to the design of the pattern, which is that having eyeballed the neckline I decided I didn't need to cut the back in two pieces and have the button closure -- I just cut it on the fold so I could pull it over my head. This works fine, although I wish I had cut the neckline in a slightly lower scoop because I find that more flattering to my body shape. However, the biggest problem is that I just don't like gathered shoulders. I knew that going in, of course, but the modelled garment didn't seem to have the poofy shoulders that gathered shoulder garments often have and so I decided to risk it. Alas, my version <i>does</i> have poofy shoulders, and I am not a huge fan. I do like the full, floaty short-sleeve that you get as a result of the wide sleeve, but I probably won't make this pattern -- or anything else with a gathered sleeve head -- again.<br />
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And that's it for me for February. I am very pleased with my sewing output this month, even if some of it felt like very hard work at the time. :D<br />
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I am also calling an end to my winter sewing. It's actually still very cold right now and spring therefore seems very far off, but I like to have my wardrobe mostly waiting for me to start wearing when the change in season rolls around. For that to happen, I have to start sewing a few weeks ahead. That said, I don't actually have a spring specific wardrobe. In spring and autumn I typically just take out the heaviest clothes from my winter wardrobe, and substitute in a few transitional, mid-weight pieces and layering items. I usually add in a couple of warmer weather garments just in case we have a couple of days of more warmer, sunnier weather.<br />
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Here are my plans for March: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8vWhJwuBpg/Wpa58I6oqdI/AAAAAAAAEMY/tfgEvu4KyVQ3hTXMvsRTyoy8ZLVvIeWggCLcBGAs/s1600/burda0409109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8vWhJwuBpg/Wpa58I6oqdI/AAAAAAAAEMY/tfgEvu4KyVQ3hTXMvsRTyoy8ZLVvIeWggCLcBGAs/s640/burda0409109.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planned raincoat pattern: Burda 08-2004-109 (images from Burda.ru)</td></tr>
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- My most urgent spring/autumn/transition wardrobe gap is another raincoat. <a href="http://sewingnovice.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/operation-outerwear-victory-o-or-more.html">I did make a red raincoat in 2016 </a>that I like a lot. It is still in my wardrobe and I've worn it quite often, but to be honest it's not the most useful colour coat when the
rest of my wardrobe is so very heavy on blue, green and turquoise. I'm planning to make one in navy this month. I did consider making a classic trenchcoat, until I tried one on in a shop and remembered that actually, double-breasted, boxy cut, raglan sleeved coats are not my favourite look on me AT ALL, and I would be much better off with a different sort of pattern. The front-runner at the moment is Burda 08-2004-109. Is it weird to make such an old pattern? I feel like it's a pretty classic style but there's a part of me wonders whether it wouldn't be better to find something more recent.<br />
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- Long-sleeved cotton button-front shirts are a favourite layering item that I wear year round, so the "Make All The Shirts" plan continues (hopefully less painfully this month). I'd like to get at least one more finished before the end of the month, two if possible.<br />
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- My Magazine Challenge for the month is also a collared shirt -- Ottobre 02-2018-10. I don't dislike the March issue of Burda at all, but nothing really jumped out at me that I instantly wanted to make, nor from Knipmode March, whereas I am very taken with the slightly vintage-y look of this blouse. The personal/skill challenge for this one is that I have some doubts about the fisheye darts at the front, as that's a bust fitting method I've never quite managed to sew successfully.westmoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05305132395354227560noreply@blogger.com2