Lining Going In

I've just about got the lining in the trial jacket. I inserted the body pieces today and will do the sleeves tomorrow, then the hems, and it will be done, although I need to understitch the front edges, which I will do by hand. I may use a chain weight in the hem if it acts like it needs it. I used Pendleton lining in pink. It's stiffer than what I've gotten from them before, but very nice to work with. I'm handsewing it all except the side seams. It seems to make the jacket hang much better than I had even hoped. I decided against shoulder pads, but I think on the "real" jacket, I'll at least interface the insets at the shoulder. Of course, I plan on using Textured Weft on the whole thing, so that may be enough. I want to do a little bow detail at the back neck on this one, and perhaps a pleat in the center back. It seems to have a lot of width there, but I'll pin the front shut and see how much there really is back there.

Drafted Blouse/Jacket Progress

I just finished basting the drafted blouse together, and it really has turned out beautifully. It's more of a jacket than a blouse, which is what I was hoping for, but wasn't sure I'd get. The lapels lay very nicely, and actually look very good either up or down, and the turnback cuffs look good. The back is about 4" longer than the front for some reason, but it almost makes it look like a Sewing Workshop pattern or something, and I can always straighten it. It's plenty long either way. I can't decide if I want shoulder pads in it or not. The fabric is so drapey that there's a lot of show-through with them, but with a more stable fabric, I think they would be great. There's a little too much cap to the sleeve, but that's easily changed. I believe I'll line this and finish it, as it's quite nice and I may as well wear it. If I use this pattern for the Resort Tweed, I'll probably do wider front facings.

More Fabric!

Well, I am so pleased! I went to WalMart today, and looked at fabric as usual, and they had more of the clay rib knit! I'm sure it's the same bolt as before, as it was so bent and beat up, and looked like they'd really stretched it when they wound it on. They must have been hiding it. Anyway, I bought 5 yards this time, so I'll have plenty. I plan a FFF skirt, and possibly a cardigan jacket. It has such a heavy drape to it, I think it will be great.
I also bought 4 yards of a practically see-through 4-way stretch knit that's a fuschia plaid, . which is darker than it looks in the scan. The top of the scan is just one layer with several folded toward the bottom. It doesn't look as white in real life. That's the scanner bed showing through. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, possibly a skirt? I also found a nice gold/tan woven that's satiny on one side and matte on the other. It doesn't feel like a synthetic at all, has a really "dry" touch to it, and it will be nice for a dyed-to-match look using both sides of the fabric. I bought 5 yards of it.

Clashing Ideas

I finished the KwikSew lace undershirts on Sunday. . I really like the foldover elastic, and will plan to use it again. It's apparently sort of hard to find in colors, but is very dyeable, so that's always an option. I've decided to enter the BYOC contest again, and I will do a Lingerie Collection for it. These will be my first garments.

I am thinking now that for the SWAP contest, I will end up doing kind of a 2 stage SWAP all at once, as things may work together better that way. Here are the first 4 pieces. . The dotted top and skirt will be in Stage I if I change the tweed/abstract silk jacket to Stage II. As things are finished I will place a * in front of them.Basically, this means my garments over all stages will be:

Jackets

• *Olive Rayon Knit cardigan
• Brown Double Knit cardigan
• Resort Tweed jacket with Abstract Silk lapels and cuffs
• *Brown Wool Basketweave cardigan
• Sage/Spruce Silk Matka jacket
• *Brown Rayon/Wool Drafted Jacket

Tops (including blouses)

• *Olive Rayon Knit Jalie Tee
• Blue/Taupe Batik Blouse
• *Clay Rib Jalie Tee
• *Cream Textured Knit Jalie Tee
• *Taupe Dotted/Stripe Jalie Tee
• Brown Rib Jalie Tee
• Resort Tweed Bias DKNY top
• Abstract Silk top
• *Plaid Poly Silky Shell
• *Brown Rayon/Wool Bias Top

Skirts

• *Olive Rayon Knit FFF skirt
• *Brown Double Knit FFF skirt
• Brown Rib FFF skirt
• *Taupe Dotted/Stripe FFF skirt
• Resort Tweed Bias DKNY skirt
• Clay Rib FFF Skirt

Pants

• *Brown linen/poly Double Burda pants
• *Green Tropical Wool Double Burda pants
• *Tan Tropical Wool Double Burda pants (previously sewn)

So as you can see, I have lots of ideas, and many of them fit together, but perhaps not just exactly the way I would wish for a one-stage SWAP. I'm hoping to get enough of them done to do the Stage I and then some.

I worked on my drafted blouse again last night, and it's coming along pretty well. The fabric has turned out to be terribly drapy, perhaps almost unstable. It would be perfect for Loes Hinse's designs. I hope it's going to be okay for this. Time will tell.


I went to a Sewing Guild meeting last night, and the speaker was Vince Quevedo, a professor and designer from the University of Nebraska. What a great program! He was very engaging, and very inspiring. I would imagine that he's a wonderful teacher. His website is well worth looking at. It's Vinci Designs.

Cold Weather Change of Plans

This morning I decided to cut out 3 KwikSew undershirts that I've been going to do for a long time. I ordered 1/2 yard each of 3 stretch laces from Timmel's quite some time ago, and then looked long and in vain for stretch lace for the edging. I have finally decided on fold-over elastic instead. It goes around the neckline and armscyes. I ordered some in colors from a co-op, and it's nice, but I didn't get quite the colors I asked for, so some of them may be contrasting. It should be fine though. Maybe I should just use clear elastic and turn the edges. Hmmm. The bottom on these tanks will be the scalloped edging of the lace itself. I cut them on the crossgrain to take advantage of that feature, and I think it will be very pretty, plus no need to hem! What could be better? They are brown, caramel and wine colored. I think the cold weather has inspired me to finally get them done. I need more layers.

I wore my embellished skirt this morning with one of my new Jalie Tees, the clay ribbed one, and it was very nice together with my short reddish brown wool jacket. I also tried the taupe dot Tee and Skirt with various things, and it's going to be a nice combination piece, but the color is very changeable. It appears brown if you put black with it, and mauve if you put purple with it. Interesting. I also found that a plain cream colored half slip works just fine with it, so no need to make another really. I may do so in future, but there's no rush anyway.

New Skirt Done

I finished the Taupe Dot/Stripe skirt this evening. It turned out very well, and the CF and CB seams are not a problem at all. I'm glad I did them after all. Otherwise it seems like the skirt has a little of the dreaded "barrel effect." The skirt is very sheer, as the stripes are sheer and the rest is very thin. I need to make a slip to wear under it, but I need a nice nude color knit for that, and I don't have one. I may order some from EmmaOneSock. She has some new stretch linings of nylon/tencel that everyone's raving about. I could use a slip for these skirts anyway. I wear a plain half slip with some of them, but something the right length would be very nice. I need to make something of tricot for the Sewciables challenge for next Thursday, and a slip would fit the bill, but no go on the color.

Apparently Pendleton's outlet is planning to stay open until toward the end of February! That's a nice turn of events. Maybe I will get up there again before they quit forever. I may call them Monday anyway and have them send me 5 yards of the yellow/pink coating wool. I wanted 2 lengths when I was there last time and ended up with only one, and I don't think 2 1/2 yards is enough to do much with, and 5 really would be plenty, but I may as well get 5 more, and then if I want a dress to go with the coat, I'll be okay. I need to make a sheath dress pattern from the Palmer/Pletsch shell pattern. It should be just a matter of lengthening it.

I cut out the brown wool/rayon tonight for the test of the drafted blouse pattern. I'm planning to do the lapels with the wrong side up, and then I can roll the cuffs on the sleeves for the same effect if I like. It's really a springy, stretchy fabric. I believe knit interfacing will be the thing to try first.

3 New Tees

Tonight I finished 3 Jalie Tees for my SWAP. They are the clay rib knit, the cream textured knit, and the taupe/white/black dot/shadow stripe knit. I used SteamASeam2 Lite for the necklines on all three, and also for the hems on the clay and taupe Tees. The fit on all 3 is outstanding. I don't really understand why it's so much better than others I've made from this pattern, but I think it's probably the fabric. I have a FFF skirt cut out from the taupe also. I really wish I'd bought more of the clay rib, but I was really unsure whether it would be anything wearable when I saw the fabric. Guess I should have just taken a chance.

One of my 2 extra lengths of Resort Tweed arrived today. I need to get working on it, possibly next, or soon anyway. I still want to test the drafted blouse pattern in its latest incarnation. The brown rayon should be a good test fabric for it. I will finish the dot skirt first, but that shouldn't take long. It's supposed to be cold and rotten tomorrow with 40mph winds, so that should be perfect for sewing.

Something ate our biggest koi fish and several large goldfish out of the large pond. I am really upset about it. Everything was topsy-turvy in the pond, the fountain was disconnected from the filter, etc. Then I discovered the koi's head and one of the fantail's bodies on the ground. Lots of scales everywhere, so they ate most of them I guess. I assume it was raccoons. I'm leaving the pond lights on all night from now on. I hope that will deter them a little. The remaining fish are finally peeking their heads out to see if the coast is clear. I'm still not sure we've seen all of the ones that are left.

More Resort Tweed

I had another very kind offer today, of 2 more yards of the Resort Tweed. This will definitely give me enough to do my SWAP as originally planned, without any wondering whether I will have enough. The more I see of this fabric, the more I like it, so I'm really pleased to have all I need. If I were smart I would do a muslin of the Vogue DKNY dress before I cut it, and I probably will. Someone on Sewing World spoke about using a Saran wrapping to fit a skirt yoke, and I think that's a brilliant plan. I never have good luck with yoked skirts fitting correctly, as I'm not the standard shape. I will definitely test treating the yardage with Eucalan, and then go ahead and steam it.

Quick Sewing Fix

Well, I decided that I'd better get with it on the SWAP contest, and get something done already, so I cut out 3 Jalie Tees this afternoon (cream textured, clay tiny-rib, and taupe/white/black dot) and one FFF skirt (taupe/white/black dot.) I didn't get any actual sewing done, but I'm ready to go, and it should be quick, although I have a few detail ideas that may need a little tweaking. I have enough of the dot left to try an attached scarf at the neckline, and the cream textured knit has a lovely, interesting selvedge that looks like a delicate ruffle. I must do something with it. It would be a crime to waste it. I may have made a big mistake in cutting out the skirt. I definitely like them with 4 seams, but this fabric has a pronounced shadow stripe, so perhaps I should have just gone with no CF or CB seam, as the vertical line would be there anyway, and maybe now it will look weird if the stripes do not match, which they probably will not. Oh well, it's only fabric! It was very inexpensive, but it's nice, and I hate to ruin it with a silly mistake.

While I was cutting out Tees, I decided to prewash some fabric for a test of the drafted blouse pattern. I put a brown rayon blend from Pendleton in with the dark brown doubleknit for the SWAP, and added a Color Catcher. Did it ever catch color! I looked a few minutes into the wash cycle, and the water was brown. So, I added another Color Catcher. They were both dyed completely when it was all over. So, I did another rinse and added another CC, and it had some splotches on it too. Amazing. The rayon must have had some wool in it as it shrank from 4yds+ and 60" wide to 3 1/2 yds and 54". It also lost the shine on one side, which is a good thing. I hadn't liked that and planned to have it be the wrong side. Now I can use either side, or both, as they coordinate nicely. One side is more gold, the other is more brown. I like the feel of it now too, it's a little beefier, but still lovely and drapy.

Pattern Ready to Test

I finished the new and improved version of the blouse pattern I've been working on, and tried it in PatternEase. It seems to be a success, and I'll try it in fabric tomorrow. It's hard to tell much more than the basic fit from the PatternEase test, as there's no drape to it. It's very much like tissue. I'm sort of planning the blue/gold Timmel's batik for it if this works out.

I sent the wrong tweed back to Nancy today, and printed out a mailing label which was so nice and easy. The Post Office is really improving things for their customers, and I can see why people are pleased. I'm always glad to give them my business. They have really beautiful "skyscape" stamps right now too. All different kinds of clouds. They look like your average day around here. All of them. Every day.

One of my embellished purses was shown to a Sewing Guild group in California tonight, and they raved about it! How nice. Apparently I am invited to do a program anytime. I am afraid my secrets will remain with me.....

I may do a few of the knit tops for the SWAP contest before I do much else. That way at least I'll feel that I've accomplished something concrete for it. They're easy, fast, and I know the pattern works already. What could be better?

Even More Drafting

All kinds of interesting things today.

My order came from FabricMart, a dark taupe wool crepe (4 yards) and a yard of beautiful, funny, very solid brown wool printed with a floral pattern with some gold accents. It's not recommended for garments, and I plan to make a purse. It's very interesting, but very odd. It almost feels like a very heavy synthetic interfacing. I'm not quite sure how they did it, maybe it's bonded wool fibers and isn't woven at all. I don't know. The crepe will go with lots of the things in my SWAP group as well as other things. It's more of a brown than a taupe, but a very nice color. Since it came, I believe I'll order the olive rayon knit and the blue/taupe batik from Timmel's to go with my SWAP. That's part of the rules, you must order at least $25 worth of fabric from them. That's okay, it's very nice, and she sent lovely swatches.

I worked on my pattern drafting this morning and again tonight. I believe it's about ready to go. I've decided to use just one side and double it in the usual manner. Since I've raised and lengthened the shoulder seam for a dropped shoulder effect, I don't think it's going to make that much difference. I tried half the pattern in Patternease tonight, and it seems just fine. Now to do a sleeve that will work for it. Shouldn't be too tough, with the dropped shoulder. I'm thinking of an edge-stitched inverted pleat at CB, maybe not this version, but sometime. It definitely needs a little bow right under the collar at CB. Possibly with a tab and button a la the pink robe from Charles Keath in my Inspiration file. I'm going to lengthen the whole thing about 6". That may be a good length, and if not, I can shorten it. I can see it with the pleat in a contrasting color, and maybe Guffey seams in the same color. There are lots of possibilities if only the fit and the look are what I'm hoping they'll be. It needs to be in a fabric with some body, nothing too drapy, but not boardy either.

Good Luck & More Drafting

A very kind poster at Sewing World came to my rescue and offered me 1 3/4 yards of the Resort Tweed! That may be enough to keep me going anyway. I would like a little more if I can get it, but I'm not counting on it. Nancy was kind enough to offer me a refund on the 3 yards of the wrong tweed that I ordered. It will go back in the morning. I need to order my other fabrics from Julie at Timmel's. She sent yummy swatches, and there are several that will really fit right into my SWAP collection.

I spent the afternoon and evening redrafting my blouse pattern. I'm basing it partly on CG's jacket pattern shown below. It has the squared insets in front of the armscyes. This is where the darts are. I believe I have the fronts done to my satisfaction, and the backs should be much easier. I will make it up in another throw-away fabric, just in case.

I made up the first blouse pattern in a thin, slate-blue suedecloth. It's not too bad, but needs some improvement. For this type of garment, the armscyes need to be lowered more, and some added width in the body will be good. It almost looks more like a jacket, which is kind of nice. I really like the collar. At the center back it comes down to a slight V, which is unusual, but I kind of like it. It would be darling with a tiny flat bow right below it, or a button or something. It looks like a really chic detail.

Bad Luck

Oh, I'm just not pleased. I received my package from Nancy Erickson today (very fast service!) and opened it, and it's the WRONG fabric!! I couldn't believe it. The coloring is very similar, but it's not the same thing. More of a horizontal-line tweed design. I looked through my old newsletters and realized I ordered the wrong thing. The one I call the gray/beige tweed (and which is described as such in the newsletter) is named Resort Tweed. The Gray/Beige tweed is indeed the one she sent. Not surprising, since that's what I ordered. Oh well. It won't work into my SWAP the way I had planned, so I'd better think up something else quickly. Perhaps a nice wool crepe or something for the 2-piece DKNY dress. I have one coming from FabricMart, but whether it will be a good match is anyone's guess. It's Dark Taupe, so it may be alright, but I can't tell yet. How annoying!! Own fault. Sigh.

Pattern Testing & SWAP Developments

Today I've been testing the blouse pattern I drafted from my saran block. So far, it's going slowly, as I keep having to do other things. I'm using a slate blue suedecloth, quite lightweight, with no give at all. That's important, as I want to see whether the pattern works itself, not whether it works if I have enough give in the fabric I choose. I added a stand-up lapel collar to the basic pattern, and an overlap for buttons. It will have long sleeves without cuffs. If this works well, I may use the pattern in my SWAP.

I've posted photos of my
SWAP fabrics and some of the patterns I will use. I have about 18 fabrics that I'm planning on using or considering for this 11 garment SWAP, some for Stage I and further stages. Now that I've found that I can get more of the beige/gray wool tweed, my SWAP has come together fairly well. Besides the tweed, which will be the Guffey jacket and DKNY 2-piece dress, I plan a shell from the abstract silk, 4 bateau-neck Jalie Tees from the cream and clay knits, brown doubleknit and lighter brown ribknit, and another blouse from one of the silky fabrics. I will make a brown doubleknit skirt, and I'm waiting for fabric swatches from Timmel's to make my decision on pants. There will be 2 pair, probably in a taupe and a brown.

Future additions to this group of coordinates will include a brown doubleknit cardigan, a brown wool basketweave cardigan with brown doubleknit trim, silk matka top/jacket, brown ribknit skirt, and various other tops. I would like to use the forest wool boucle knit for a Chanel style knit pantsuit, similar to this. . I'm a little afraid it might look too "tracksuity" though.

Pattern Drafting

I've been working the last several days on drafting a master waist-length block and a master hip-length block from my Saran wrap block. I also drafted a sleeve. The waist block is tested and seemingly very good.

Today I drafted a blouse pattern from the hip-length block. It has a stand-up lapel collar, horizontal bust darts, back shoulder darts, long one-piece sleeves with no cuffs, and it buttons down the front. Drafting the collar was interesting to say the least. I am using Modern Pattern Design by Grace Auditore as my guide, and it's very thorough, but I am using 2 separate fronts and backs for this pattern rather than cutting two fronts the same, and the back on the fold. Since the reason the wrapped block will give you wonderful fit is because you can address your anomalies and asymmetries, I decided not to give up these attributes, and to cut 4 separate parts for the body. The sleeves are identical, but reversed of course. Anyway, since the two fronts are not identical, it was interesting to get each side of the collar to match, or at least to look like it matches.

I hope to test this pattern tomorrow and see whether I'm way off. It looks pretty good from here.

Saran Wrap Block

I've been working on a block (sloper, or master pattern) made by having myself wrapped in saran wrap from the waist up. It was quite a process, but the results have been very gratifying. We used instructions by Kathleen Fasanella printed in The Creative Machine Newsletter in 1999.

After cutting the saran off, I laid the pieces on pattern paper and cut darts to open them flat, and then taped them down. It's interesting to see how asymmetrical one is. I added 2" wearing ease to the pattern and tried it out in a very stable woven with a separating zipper in the back. It was almost the most comfortable thing I've ever worn! I marked a few changes, mainly in the armhole size and shape, then drafted a sleeve pattern from scratch. I finally got the sleeves tested today, and they are great. Now I plan to make an actual top from nice fabric, and see how I like it. I will lengthen it from the block, which only goes to the waist, and change the neckline, as a jewel neckline is deadly on me, but other than that, I'm going to stick with the basic shape. I'm hoping to be able to draft patterns from this, and I don't see why I can't really. Of course, I'm trying to do this in the middle of the SWAP contest and the JJJ, so it may not happen particularly quickly, but I think I'm on the right track anyway.

My fellow wrappee agreed to help if I would draft her pattern for her, so I will be doing that too, but not just immediately!

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

This is a sewing blog. Sewing is my avocation, and I've become rather serious about it over the last few years. Right now I'm working on a SWAP wardrobe as well as several other in-progress projects. SWAP stands for Sewing With A Plan, a good idea for any of us. The rules are at Timmel Fabrics and you can also read the articles from Australian Stitches magazine there that started the whole thing. Basically, you make 11 garments that all go together.

• Jacket
• 2 Skirts (one in a print/texture)
• 2 Pants
• 4 Tops
• 2 Blouses (one will match the print/texture skirt)

You must choose a print that goes with all the other pieces, and a jacket that goes with everything. Obviously both skirts do not have to go with each other, similarly the pants and tops, but you should be able to make everything work together. Two main colors are preferred, and both of these should be in the print.

I did a SWAP last year about this time in charcoal/mauve/pink/blue, and have been very happy with it and have worn it a lot. This year I'm planning a brown/taupe/sage group. I have a lot of fabrics in those colors, and quite a few garments already, so it should fit in well and make everything more wearable. I'm waiting on some swatches from Julie at Timmel's to make my final choices of fabric.

I'm also participating in the January Jacket Journey at Sewing World on the Sharing Inspiration XIII thread. We've already all agreed that January is just code for "sometime this year or so." So far my jacket plan (subject to change of course) is to use a gray/beige wool tweed from the Fashion Sewing Group to make Cynthia Guffey's Jacket #5002 . I want to make the lapels and turnback cuffs from this abstract print silk crepe. .

Here's the tweed. . I am hoping I'll have enough of the silk to also make a shell or blouse, and I'd like to use more of the tweed to make a 2-piece DKNY dress from Vogue # 2683. (Ignore the picture on the left.).

SWAP Coordinates List

This has turned into at least a 2-Stage SWAP. Garments in bold type are the 11 garments in Stage I. As things are finished I will place a * in front of them.Basically, this means my garments over all stages will be:

Jackets

• *Olive Rayon Knit cardigan
• Brown Double Knit cardigan
• *Resort Tweed jacket with Abstract Silk lapels and cuffs
• *Brown Wool Basketweave cardigan
• *Sage/Spruce Silk Matka jacket
• *Brown Rayon/Wool Drafted Jacket
• *Taupe/Black Brand-pattern Wool Marfy Jacket

Tops (including blouses)

• *Olive Rayon Knit Jalie Tee
• *Blue/Taupe Batik Blouse
• *Clay Rib Jalie Tee
• *Cream Textured Knit Jalie Tee
• *Taupe Dotted/Stripe Jalie Tee
• Brown Rib Jalie Tee
• Resort Tweed Bias DKNY top
• *Abstract Silk top
• *Plaid Poly Silky Shell
• *Brown Rayon/Wool Bias Top

Skirts

• *Olive Rayon Knit FFF skirt
• *Brown Double Knit FFF skirt
• Brown Rib FFF skirt
• *Taupe Dotted/Stripe FFF skirt
• *Resort Tweed Bias DKNY skirt (changed to Marfy pattern)
  
• *Clay Rib FFF Skirt

Pants

• *Brown linen/poly Double Burda pants
• *Green Tropical Wool Double Burda pants
• *Tan Tropical Wool Double Burda pants

So as you can see, I have lots of ideas, and many of them fit together, but perhaps not just exactly the way I would wish for a one-stage SWAP. I'm hoping to get enough of them done to do the Stage I and then some.