Wednesday 10 August 2016

Something of a disaster (Silhouette 511)

I almost don't know where to start with this top.

Silhouette 511 "Angie's Top" in white double gauze front and back

On the one hand, on Flossie, I actually think the top looks actually pretty good. The main feature of this top is the front collar/placket piece, which is a nice feature that I still like tremendously. I actually didn't sew the collar in perfectly, but even with my somewhat substandard execution I genuinely think the collar is very cute.
 
The top is made in white double gauze, which I purchased at vast expense (by my standards) earlier this summer after I made a blue polka dot double gauze top. I agonized for ages over what pattern to use with it. Double gauze is lovely but it feels really fragile -- it's very easy to snag and stretch. I wanted to avoid anything that involved working the fabric hard, like a shirt with a button placket and collar or anything like that. My original instinct was to make another woven tee pattern from Burda, and really, I should have stuck to that instinct instead of going off-piste with Silhouette 511, a pattern from the very darkest depths of my pattern stash. 

Line drawing of Silhouette 511, from the Silhouette website
I bought this pattern right back at the start of my garment sewing adventures and it's lurked about ever since. At the time, I was drawn to it by the line drawing of the top and by the way that Silhouette advertise their patterns as having cup-sizes.

Front cover of the pattern
If you were buying this, wouldn't you assume that the big banner "with EXCLUSIVE B, C & D cup sizing" on the front of the envelope meant that the pattern would have cup sizes? That was for sure what I assumed. Well, you'd be wrong -- despite the princess seams, which would have made for ideal cup sizing -- there are no cup-sized pieces for this pattern. This false advertising has annoyed me every time I thought about this pattern for the last several years, and frankly I am still annoyed by it now.

The other sizing thing with Silhouette is that they are like "Body measurements won't help you choose a size! You only need finished garment measurements!" Then you're directed to measure a garment you like the fit of and then pick the Silhouette size closest to the finished garment you like. I can see some validity to this argument, and for sure I've measured some favourite garments to get an idea of fit that I like. However, as a pattern company solution to the sizing problem, I can't bring myself to agree with this at all -- I want both the finished garment measurements AND some sense of how much design ease the pattern creator was imagining, even if it's just to say "the model is wearing a top with 6" of ease at the bust" or something, the way that knitting patterns on Ravelry do.


As it turns out, I chose TOTALLY the wrong size. I'm not really trying to shift the blame -- I should have known better -- but I also don't think they made it easy for me to pick the right size, so I am still holding a grudge.

Silhouette 511 on me

So first: this top is the wrong size. I made a size 2, which notionally has 3" of ease vs. my body measurements at bust, waist and hip. It doesn't NOT fit, in the sense that although there are some little drag marks they're mostly from the shirt getting caught up on the cami I'm wearing underneath. However, it's MUCH too close a fit for the design, which was intended as an overshirt.

Top pre-sleeve-surgery
I also HATE the sleeves -- I added the photo with my hands on my hips so you get some sense of how the sleeves are constructed and why there are so many vertical wrinkles around the shoulders in the other shots. You can see I ended up cutting off the sleeves, which were weirdly constructed and weirdly shaped, in favour of short-sleeves.

A great deal of my current grumpiness about this top is actually about my own mistakes. I am VERY annoyed with myself for using an expensive piece of fabric to make this and not making a muslin first. I am annoyed because I cut the pattern to size 2 rather than tracing it the way I normally do and now I have one sheet full of the pattern at sizes too large for me (5W-8W) and the pattern at sizes 1-2 and not the size I actually needed. Not that I necessarily want to make it again, because I don't think even at the right size that shoulder/sleeve arrangement would ever suit me.

My cardigan hides the things I don't like, especially those shoulders!
The only SMALL plus is that I actually do like the way the centre front of the top looks on me, even though the fit is closer than I'd like, and it's therefore possible that I'll salvage some wear from it by wearing it under a cardigan. I feel like if I were a different sort of sewer I'd try to frankenpattern the collar, which I really do like a LOT, onto a different pullover shirt that worked better for me. However, I have to admit that I am not at all sure I am that kind of sewer or that I will ever be.

On to more cheerful things: my new Ottobre magazine just turned up in the post, so I shall be perusing that (images and line drawings for the 05/2016 issue are here if you've not seen them yet). I have a bunch of things in mind for the rest of this month but nothing concrete for my next sewing project quite yet.

18 comments:

  1. I am so glad you posted this blog post today. I thought I was the only one that had troubles with Silhouette Patterns. I like the way your top looks on you in the back & I do love the collar also. I think you need just a little more room around the waist/hip area and you will be good there. The sleeve are something that when I made the #350 pattern that I did not like at all. I agree with you all the way on the selection of size by measuring my ready to wear clothing.....well, I don't have any, I sew them all. I think your thoughts on Silhouette Patterns came straight from my own mouth!!!
    Please don't be discouraged, keep sewing & keep posting!

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    1. Thanks! I definitely don't think Silhouette is a pattern company I'll be investing any more time or money into -- not that it matters, since I have so many other options. :D

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  2. These are all of the exact reasons why I'll never buy or sew another Silhouette pattern. Plus their symmetrical sleeve caps. It's been years since I was burned but the bitter taste is still fresh. So sorry you used an expensive fabric but don't blame youself. Trash the pattern and move on. And pat yourself on the back for following through with a helpful and honest review.

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    1. Definitely once burned twice shy here too -- I can't imagine I'll ever use the only other Silhouette pattern I have, for sure. Good to know I'm not the only one who struggled with them.

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  3. Very interesting & informative! I only have the S Classic Blouse #600 and I really, really like it. Love her front facing and collar method and the cup sizes are so helpful on that one--I finally have a blouse/shirt pattern that works for me with no alterations other than to convert it to sleeveless. But I know what you mean about the measuring/size thing. I agree w Bonnie: just keep on sewing! --and it looks great under the cardi

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    1. I definitely have seen very positive reviews of Silhouette elsewhere, and people rave about her videos on her site as well. It's all a matter of finding what works for you, I think. I'm glad you like your pattern!

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  4. Totally don't blame yourself.
    Not taking body measurements into account is just crazy. And that envelope is misleading about cup sizing. I was going to run and buy the pattern because I really love it on you but never mind.

    I do like it solo but with the cardigan it is really gorgeous. I hope you can get some wear from it.

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    1. Yeah, I really can't recommend the pattern to you at all. It's a shame because that collar element is so great, but I really dislike pretty much everything else about it.

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  5. I never get to update my blog, but I follow yours with great interest. I've been sewing for about a year and trashed 3 muslins in the past 4 months (made, tweaked, made again, tweaked more, made again, thrown out in rage) and sometimes it feels like that's all I do with my precious sewing time! So it's lovely to read a review that actually tells me other people have this experience, and it's lovely to read all about what you make. Thanks for telling it :)

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    1. Oh, I am a total warts-and-all blogger! I love blogs where people are like "and here is yet another utterly gorgeous and perfect thing I have made!" and read a lot of them. However, it's so very much not my own experience of sewing, which is mainly of trying very hard and failing quite regularly, and so that's what I talk about. :D

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  6. I have never sewn a silhouette pattern and won't be after reading this. It seems an odd system with the fitting. The shirt could saved with some effort . Adding lace or something along the princess lines at the front would give more room or fabric inserts at the side seams. I know though going back to a project when it is finished is hard.

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    1. I've seen some great, positive reviews of Silhouette elsewhere, but personally I won't be using any more of their patterns either. I can't say I'd recommend them to anyone else either, particularly since I feel like the majority of the patterns could easily be found either in Burda or a Big 4 envelope.

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  7. I hope you've set fire to that pattern! I have a couple of silhouette patterns, but have only made up one, and the business about not including SOME kind of body measurement sizing is still annoying to me. Secondly, I want to say that you REALLY shouldn't beat yourself up about not making a muslin. You have limited sewing time an energy, and with the unpredictability of your illness, it seems like the prudent thing to dive in with the 'good' fabric both of those resources are available, but in short supply. Finally, as sewing disasters go, I'd say you actually got a really nice top out of it in the end!

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    1. You're so right! I wore the top a couple of days ago and you know, it really was fine on a cardigan-wearing day. Still annoyed with that pattern though (although I haven't set fire to it QUITE yet!)

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  8. Great review and Peggy Sager would probably love to hear all about it

    I have never used Silhouette before just too pricy for my budget but I do love her you turn e videos. I thought her final measurement thinking was new school and it actually has helped me get a better fit on some things
    Appreciate your honest review and the top is a win with the cardi

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    1. Thanks! I definitely think her sizing process is divisive -- some people love it, some people not so much. So long as people find things that work for them, I suspect it's all good :D

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  9. The collar is fab, a lovely design feature so it's a shame the rest of the pattern lets it down, have you thought about removing the sleeves and binding them, not sure whether it would be more wearable? It looks lovely fabric. I haven't used this company or heard of it before and will stay clear, I need all the help I can get.

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  10. You are not alone! I purchased a few Silhouette patterns over the years and I never get the outcome I expected. I can measure my favorite garments, but that does not in the end help me pick the right size. As Debbie C noted above, this pattern line has left a bitter taste in my mouth as well. I like how they look on the model on the pattern envelope but I have been disappointed every time.

    There are a lot of other patterns out there to try.

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