Sunday 9 November 2014

In which there are many frustrations but I like the end product (Ottobre 05-2014-03 zipper hoodie)

Ever since the latest issue of Ottobre Woman came out in August, I have been talking and thinking about making pattern #3, the asymmetrical hoodie with a zip.

Image from Ottobre 05-2014

Technical drawing of Ottobre 05-2014-03
It's actually a very straightforward knit garment, when you look at the technical drawing, with only two complications: 1. that asymmetrical zip; and 2. the welt pockets. There's no actual reason that I've left it so long to make except that I had to change out the thread in my overlocker (why I make such a DRAMA out of this when I can change the thread over in less than ten minutes, I don't know, but EVERY TIME I am like, urgh, I have to change my overlocker thread, woe, grumble, moan, etc.) My only other reason for delaying was that I needed to buy all sorts of little notions (twill tape, grommets, the zip -- and I wanted a NICE zip with metal teeth) in order to make it and I kept being lazy about ordering them.

At any rate, everything came together for me to make it this week, at last, and so I did. Unfortunately, that's where the frustrations started.




Ottobre 05-2014-03 my version, on Flossie

The fabric was, to say the least, problematic. It's GREAT to look at, and when I bought it (back in January from Croft Mill) I thought it would make a great ponte jacket to wear to work. However, whatever chemical had been put on the fabric to make it stay nice on the roll triggered my allergies like CRAZY and I therefore flung it into the washing machine having only just handled it enough to think yes, this WILL make a good jacket. Not so much when it came OUT the washing machine. It went from feeling quite firm and jacket-like to being a VERY soft and unstructured feeling.

Plan B was some kind of loose cardigan, but due to the way it had been cut I had a very scant 2m of fabric and couldn't find a pattern I liked that worked with that amount of fabric. (These plans predate my discovery and love of my first Swoon Scarf Neck Cardigan which would have worked with the fabric, but oh well!) Plan C (prompted by the similarity of my fabric to the picture in the magazine because I am really that unimaginative) was this hoodie.

It was not a perfect matchup of fabric and pattern. I didn't have enough fabric to pattern match on ANY seam (though, having abandoned the idea and cut however fit, by coincidence the side seams actually come so close to matching anyway!). The fabric is so squashy and plush that it just swallows thread, so unpicking anything was a COMPLETE nightmare. I unpicked about 1cm of one seam and was like, yeah, no, I can't make any more mistakes. Also, the squashiness and... looseness? I don't know how to describe it! At any rate, the qualities of the fabric that make it plush and warm also meant that it was SHIFTY AS FUCK when it came to sew. Like, no matter how many million pins I pinned it with, and even hand basting, the seams rippled like crazy and shifted out of alignment on my overlocker, to a MUCH greater extent than with other knit garments I have used. However, other than that it's actually quite nice as it stands today, with half a day of wear, but I can tell it's going to be a horror for pilling and pulled threads. I mean, I can tell because it's ALREADY a horror for pulled threads, at least. Ugh. On the plus side, I used fusible bias tape for the zipper and that worked brilliantly to stabilize the edges when I was sewing.

Ottobre 05-2014-03 Open to show wrong side
The next problem was the welt pockets. OK, so I have not made welt pockets on garments before, but I've made loads on bag patterns. I know for some reason the sewing blog world wants people to be TERRIFIED of welt pockets, but I wasn't at all worried about it, except insofar as I was sewing it on this squashy, shifty, badly behaved fabric.

So, I made the first welt pocket, and it was PERFECT. I mean, not really perfect, but pretty damn close given the nature of the fabric and so on. I did an actual little dance around my sewing room, because I am a dork, and THEN, THREE SECONDS LATER, I REALIZED I HAD SEWED IT ALL ON BACKWARDS. BACKWARDS. ARGH. I may have flung everything on the floor and run away from the sewing room in a tantrum, but you can't prove that I did.

Recall that unpicking 1cm of seam had previously made me throw my hands up and declare I could not possibly make another mistake. There was absolutely no way in hell that I was going to unpick an entire welt pocket. So in the end I sewed it shut and cut off the actual interior pocket pieces using my overlocker. All that is left is a ~~~~design feature backwards pocket that you can't see (it's "visible" in the first of the two photographs above, but I really don't think unless you know it's there that you can see it at all) and a sort of vestigial interior piece of pocket which really nobody would know about unless I told them. I didn't bother to put the second pocket in because I decided it would annoy me much more to have one working pocket and one sad non-pocket than no pockets at all.

As modelled by yours truly, open
Sadly, the other frustration is that I made some HUGE assumptions about how well this would fit me. I made an Ottobre size 44, which is a pretty usual size for me. However, it's toooooo big through the shoulders and too long through the sleeves. Rolling up the cuffs resolves the sleeve issue but I think I just need to admit that a size 44 is TOO big at the shoulder for me in Ottobre and I need smaller size + FBA :| And oh my god, why so many weird wrinkles when I wear it? (The sleeves are because I pushed up for the shot.)

My version, zipped up
I also REALLY DISLIKE the fact that the edge of the lower layer of the asymmetrical closure, which DOESN'T hang down on Flossie, hangs down when I wear it. SO ANNOYING. I might have to put a little popper on to stop it doing that, ugh.

However, all my MANY MANY complaints notwithstanding, and acknowledging that the fit is really not that great, I really like this! It's REALLY comfortable, and it does look just as I expected with black trousers. Plus, I wore it round to dinner with my parents tonight and they really loved it and thought it was great. So, that cheered me up about the finished product.

In conclusion, I mean, I really love Ottobre patterns and none of my problems were with the pattern AT ALL, except for picking probably the wrong size. And I'll probably wear it LOADS just because it's warm  and cuddly.

12 comments:

  1. I feel your pain!!!

    It's super cute and even if it just becomes a lounging around the house jacket, it's nice and comfy.

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    1. I cannot even begin to tell you how fed up I am about that backwards welt pocket. I don't even know how I DID that, it's so epically stupid >>>>>>:( Still, as you say, it's a great lounging/throw it on over anything kind of sweater, and I will probably get loads of wear out of it. It's just sad I screwed it up!

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  2. The perfect, backwards welt pocket sounds like something I'd do. :P I feel your pain, but it looks like you've got a really comfortable jacket out of your struggles, at least.

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    1. Yes, it's actually super nice to wear. I am still frustrated by that welt pocket though!

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  3. Thanks for your review. I made this up, too, but totally chickened out of making the welt pockets. My fabric had a vertical design that I thought would look weird with the bias direction of the pockets. My sleeves are long, too, but maybe like you I didn't want the bulk of the wrist bands in the pattern design. I just turn mine up. I wonder if we shouldn't sew a discreet snap at the upper edge to keep the overlap from hanging below the hem when zipped?

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    1. I wish I had passed on the welt pockets too, rather than making the attempt and doing it backwards! I am sort of glad to hear it's not just mine that dips below at the hem. I've been thinking about putting in a snap as well, except I feel like it's unlikely I'll remember/bother to do it up most of the time.

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  4. So glad to see this made up. I really want to make this for myself but have been unable to find a suitable fabric so far. I have made welt pockets before, and although not difficult, I haven't perfected them yet. It is hard when you make two; it seems I get one great and the other one not so great! Great job with a difficult fabric!

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    1. Despite my struggles I really do recommend it if you can find a fabric you like! I have worn it a couple of times already and I don't miss the pockets at all (though it's sort of frustrating to know I could have had them!) so if you don't fancy doing the welt pockets you could easily miss them off and still get a great jacket from it.

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  5. I had to LOL at the tantrum comment. I've definitely had those moments and considered heaving several sewing-related items off of a bridge. It's a cute jacket; I like the asymmetric look.

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    1. I've worn it a couple of times already and really like it!

      The annoying thing when something goes wrong with my sewing is that I know it's all my own fault. Very rarely can I blame anyone else or the instructions for my mistakes, which makes me doubly cross!

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  6. I felt your pain as I read through your post as i can't tell you how many times I have been there myself! I really do love your fabric and your finished garment is very nice. Please wear this!

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    1. I have worn it surprisingly often already! Unfortunately, the fabric is absolutely TERRIBLE and has developed pulls all down the sleeves. So disappointing! :(

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