Versatile Tee Pattern - FSG 1960 Part 2: Tee

As I said in Part 1, most of you probably know by this time that my very favorite TNT Tee pattern is Nancy Erickson's FSG #1960.   I change it around quite a bit, but the 'bones' remain the same.  This version is called Tropical Palms.

FSG#1960 Tropical Palms

 This fabric came home with me from Santa Fe Fabrics in April.  It's only July, so almost immediate gratification!  I loved this print, which is a horizontal stripe, not usually my choice, but with the changing colors and the palm tree print behind the stripes, it has enough interest that the stripes recede in importance a bit.  That's my story, anyway.

FSG#1960 Tropical Palms Back

I bought ONE yard only, and it was plenty, but only just.  The sleeves are this length because that's how much fabric I had.  I ended up cutting them lengthwise (which I think looks cuter than they would have the usual horizontal way, since the stripes continue over the shoulder seam) between the front and back pieces.  I needed the remaining length to cut the neckline binding.  It's a crosswise strip cut carefully following the stripes, and I think it turned out really cute.  Of course I used the No Fail Binding Method.

FSG#1960 Striped Neckline Binding

You can see how following the stripe made for a cute binding on this striped fabric since the neckline has a curve.  There was nowhere near enough fabric to do a bias cut, and I think the effect might have been lost in all the stripes, curve, palm trees, etc.  This worked out just very well.  And yes, I know my 'in the ditch' stitching wandered slightly for a while.  It happens.  But this is a quick summer top and it's fine.

The hems on the sleeves and lower edge are stitched with a straight stitch, fairly short.  I stretched the fabric quite a bit but not excessively and steamed it back into shape.  It doesn't show any signs of popping, and I think there's enough thread in the stitching that it should be all right.

Another "Design Opportunity". FSG#1960 Plaid

I love design opportunities, but not as much when they appear because I have made a mistake that needs to be rectified. You get a hint of the solution on the right.  The third photo will show you the problem that I fixed.  All of the photos are also at my photo site.

    

I naturally planned to match the plaid on this top.  I didn't think much about it, and since the most plaid I've matched were all the shirts I made for Pearle, I just used my fall-back plaid matching method, and matched the lower armscye points.  It always worked beautifully on his shirts, but as you can see in the following photo, there was a little problem when I got to the dart.  Duh.  So, now I had a design opportunity camouflaged as a mis-matched side seam.  Although something like the seam shown below would be unremarkable in a lot of RTW, it is almost unthinkable in what I make for myself. 

  
 

I think my solution is rather fun, and it was fairly simple, although the spongy knit made it tricky to do a horizontal tuck very easily.  Not like pressing a beautiful tuck in say, linen.  But with a little hand basting, it all worked out, and the side seams are fine, and the back is FUN, if I do say so myself.

Marfy Flounced Top #2484

From Marfy 2484

From Marfy 2484

I've been avoiding pattern alterations for some reason, and I can't really sew a decently fitting bodice without at least an FBA, so I just forged ahead on Marfy #2484, one of the free patterns in the 2011/12 catalog. At first glance, I wondered why on earth Marfy had only extended the flounce to the shoulders or a little beyond. Seemed a little like "coffin clothes" but then I thought about what would happen to that flounce if you wore a jacket or other layer over it. You'd be fighting that back flounce continually and having to reposition it when you took your jacket off, and trying to get it to lay smoothly with the jacket on; in short, a real pain. So, this seems like a good plan after all.

I used an extremely thin knit fabric that I bought in the LA Fashion District while shopping with Kathi, Sue, and Lisa in February. I love the soft, watercolor effect and the colors, and the irregular slightly pleated/folded/wrinkled texture added didn't hurt either. The fact that the fabric is so very thin and soft let me use a faced technique for the flounce with great results.

From Marfy 2484

From Marfy 2484

I added a FBA and darts to this, but otherwise cut a straight 46. There are patterns given for the shaped front bands and facings and the sleeve hems, but since the pattern suggests either a woven fabric or a knit, and I used a knit, I just cut crossgrain strips and interfaced them lightly with PRO-TRICOT Deluxe fusible interfacing from Pam Erny's Fashion Sewing Supply. I used the same interfacing as a stay behind the neckline treatment. I used Jalie's binding method, which I like very much.

From Marfy 2484

Here is the binding pinned to the right side after the first pass, and with the flounce attached.

From Marfy 2484

The buttons are just for show, and I didn't bother putting buttonholes in. I handstitched the hem, just because the fabric is so soft, and I thought I'd have better control.

From Marfy 2484

Please don't laugh at me in cropped pants. I've been resisting them mightily for years, and found this pair in Irish Linen from Eileen Fisher for a song, so figured my time had come. I'm still not sure they're really "me", but they are comfy, so that's something I guess. Good color, too.

I've been wearing skirts a lot this summer, just little straight skirts from knits, and I have a new one almost done, and a couple on the cutting table.

Pink Top with Brown Polka Dot Trim

From

I saw a really cute crocheted dress pattern the other day from a Bernat vintage pattern leaflet called After Five and fell in love with it. Then I realized I'd be crocheting tiny motifs and attaching them to each other for the rest of my life, and decided to copy the idea but sew it rather than crochet. This top is what I came up with in my test.

From PinkTop

Here are the original photos for the dress.


I need to angle the lower binding more, as it reads horizontal now when worn. I would need to raise the neckline to more closely copy the original as well. Both of these things would be easy fixes, although the neckline change might require the addition of a closure.

I used my usual FSG#1960 Twinset pattern Top for this, although I think I might have done better with a Marfy tank pattern I like. I put a little side seam ruching at the hem, although you can't really see it in the photo.

From PinkTop

The polka dot fabric is a scrap I had on hand, and I think it turned out really cute.

I used the binding method given by Jalie in their #3024 knit dress pattern. Thanks Kay for noting these great instructions some time ago. I use them a lot now. Basically, you cut your binding 3x your seam allowance width, which will also be your finished width. This works for either binding on the right side or on the wrong side. The other side is always clean-finished.

From PinkTop

Narrow Pants – Marfy 0913 & Jalie 2682

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This is what I wore on Thursday of the Textile Symposium.

This pattern (Marfy #0913) turned out to be 'the one' for the narrow pants I was looking for, as far as I'm concerned. It's one of the free patterns included with the 2009 catalog, and is for woven pants, with a zipper, back darts, and a faced waistband. I used knit fabric, a blue mystery knit for the first pair, and a brown ponte knit for the second.

I added 4" in length for the blue pair, 2" above the knee, and 2" below. For the brown pair, I added another 2" below the knee, and did a straight hem instead of the curved vent. I think I might like the curved vent with a little more length, so I may try it. For the brown pair, I actually added another inch for a hem allowance, and so they're really great with heels, but I wore them with flats for the Symposium, so I just turned up the hem, with looked much like a cuff since I'd topstitched the hem both at the hem edge, and at the lower edge.

On both pairs I did a Hollywood waistband without a zipper, but still using the back darts. I didn't have to cut the waist straight from the hip since the knit has plenty of stretch, and in fact I ended up taking about 3" out of the CF at the waist, tapering to the crotch.

I used Ann Rowley's Flat Seat Adjustment, and re-did it for a little more flatness on the second pair.

I added side-seam pockets on the second pair, which will be automatic in future, I think. I should have put them in the blue pair too, but I've been wearing them with my fleece vest, which has lots of pockets anyway.

The knit top with the blue pants is Jalie #2682, lengthened. I really like how it turned out, especially with the fleece vest which was the perfect color all around. I had thought of making a brown vest from the ponte knit, and making it cropped, but I'm not sure how that would look. What do you all think? I remember a very cropped jacket a few years ago (Vogue pattern?) that stopped just below the armscye, and definitely above the bust point. I like the idea of that, but I'm afraid it would look really strange. It wouldn't take much fabric to try it I guess....

Here are the brown pants again with an older Jalie 2005 Tee. It was the right color for the Collar and Cuff set.
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This is what I wore on Saturday of the Textile Symposium.
Friday I wore my Burda WOF ruched 'twirly' skirt and blouse. It was definitely the right venue to wear interesting things, as everyone else was wearing interesting things too, and we were all interested.

Trendy Top & Pant

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Well, I think it's kind of trendy, anyway. I've been thinking about the whole leggings or no-leggings question since it's been on Stitcher's Guild for a while, and I went so far as to buy a pair of leggings and wear them around the house. I love them for the comfort, but I haven't quite been able to get out of the house in them, and I think that's probably a good thing. I like the general idea though, so I thought maybe I'd try some very narrow pants. This is what I came up with, along with the top from the print knit I got in California.

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I haven't quite decided if it's better with or without the belt. I think it needs something, and I thought of pockets or something, but I hate to break up the print, as I think it's very graceful, but perhaps the belt breaks it up anyway?

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The top is FSG#1960 once again, but with the funnelneck from Christine Jonsen's Travel Basic #3 added. I also lengthened it by a couple inches, as I think it is imperative that a top worn with these pants must fall below the rear.

Since the pants are a kind of trial pair, I used some old doubleknit fabric I had, and pulled out a couple of simple knit pant patterns. This one (Stretch&Sew #100) has an 11.5" hem circumference. I faced the hem, and then used a twin needle to stitch around once as an edge-stitch, and once at hem length. Together, this gives it a little bit of a band effect, and I remember seeing this kind of finish on Givenchy knit pants in the 1980's. I would think about putting a vent in the hem if I make more of these, which I think I will. I think a fairly high spandex content would be appropriate as well. This fabric has none, and I don't expect it to hold up terribly well, at least in the knees. I'm basically happy with the style though. They could be a little narrower toward the thigh, and that's something I may experiment with. I feel comfortable wearing these however, which is a good change from leggings.

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Some Activity

There has been some sewing and needlework activity occurring, which is good. It's nothing wonderful, but I hope that will change too.

I did make up one of the knits I got in Chicago, the blue/green animal print. I used Jalie #2682 Here's my result after a test version, and a little more alteration. I did an FBA, and lowered the seam a bit. I like it raised some, but even the girl in the pattern photo has the seam a little high for comfort, IMO.


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I also knitted a Prayer Shawl for my church to give to someone. We've noticed that some people are wearing them as scarves, so I thought I'd just make one that was very scarf-like. It was from some pale pink donated mohair, and a blue novelty yarn. I made two of the little bows, and attached them on opposite sides of the same spot so there's no front or back.


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I also finished a couple pairs of socks, and am working on another one that's a really different pattern from Knitty. I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, and I don't know if my yarn is too great, but at least it will be a good test. I'm going to visit a dear friend in Maryland tomorrow for a while, and I need to get some projects together to take along, although she's promised me that the yarn shopping is very good, so I'm taking a couple of patterns in anticipation.

Polka-Dot Stripes on a Windy Day

Last night I decided to make up a quick knit top from some cute fabric I'd just gotten, and this is the result. As you can tell, it was windy while I was out taking photos. This is why I love hairspray, but it doesn't always do the trick.


Link to Photo

As usual when starting a project a little too late at night, there were some strange twists with this one. I used the top pattern from the FSG #1960 Twinset Pattern, and decided to try an unsewn dart this time. I'm not sure that was a success, but it's acceptable for casual wear I suppose. The really "interesting" thing I did was to add 1/4" SAs to the pattern, meanwhile forgetting that it includes 5/8" SAs already. I ended up redoing the seams, as it was very shapeless at 1/4".

I added a small yoke to the front and ran the fabric crosswise there to take advantage of the stripes. The neckband was cut on the bias, but in places it still lines up with the stripes on the front, so I'm not sure it was a complete success there. Generally I'm happy with this, although I will go back to darts in my next tee.

I ordered yarn from Elann.com the other day and it always comes so quickly. I got a full bag of Needful Yarns Geranium in a colorway very similar to the photo.
and also some Adriafil Fruttamix in Summer Shower.
I just couldn't resist the summery look of them.

I finished the knitting on the baby sweater and need to block, sew on buttons, hide yarn ends, etc., and I'll be done. It's kind of cute, and although it looks kind of big to me, it matches the measurements given, so I'm hoping it will be all right.

Since it's done, I've gone back to Alex's sweater and have finished the ribbing and am just establishing the pattern stitches. Now the fun should begin.

Back Pattern Piece

Thank you all for the great comments on the knit top, and on the photos. My sister is the genius behind the camera when I'm lucky enough to have her here, and this just worked out really well.

LisaB asked that I post a picture of the Back pattern piece I used for my Circle Dot Knit Top to show the shaping, so here it is.

I'm almost embarrassed by the alteration 'method' I used on this. I just marked the waistline, took a 1/2" tuck (total of 1" removed) and stuck a pin in it. I lay it out with the upper part of the CB line on the straight grain, and I just smoosh the piece flat where it wants to have a little bit of a third dimension to it. For a knit top, it's not critical, and this works very well.

NancyW asked about the armscye and whether I raised it. I didn't, and it seems to be fine. I did do an FBA on the front, which changes the height of the armscye on the front pattern piece when you pivot, but when it all goes together, it ends up pretty much in the same place I think since the back isn't changed.

Circle Dot Knit Top

I got some nice ITY knit fabric at JoAnn's the other day, but there was only a little bit over a yard of it. I was sure I could make a knit top with shortened sleeves, and this is what came of it.


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The original pattern is the top from Fashion Sewing Group #1960. I've made it before and add a CB seam to allow for a swayback alteration. This time I wanted a different neckline, and I turned to a book called 19 Shirts From 1 Pattern. It was a prize I won at the fair several years ago, and it's not a new book, but it has lots of ideas for changing a plain Tee pattern with different necklines, sleeves, etc.

I lowered the front neckline about 4" and did a binding. I then added a collar. I think it turned out pretty cute, and I really like the fabric. It's completely different than anything else I have, and I think it will be fun to wear when it warms up a little.

You can see another front view, and a 3/4 back view showing the nice back fit below.


Thanks to my sister for taking the photos for me!

Edited to add a link to the book mentioned. It's a 1982 copyright, and somewhat dated, but there are still a few copies around apparently.

Marfy Fish Tank & Lace Musings

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I'm still trying to get back in the groove, and so rather than just wandering around my sewing room wishing I was sewing something, I whipped up a little Marfy tank last night. It's #9829, a TNT pattern for me, and I ordered this cute knit print from FabricMart early this spring to make up this summer, so I thought I'd better get at it, or summer will be over.

I used the twisted binding again on just the neckline this time, with plain binding on the armscyes, and I think it's cute. I thought about using a contrast binding, but not until I was just about done with this, and the pink I had wasn't quite the right color anyway.

Here's a side view. I really like the side coverage I get with this pattern.

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You may have noticed that I never wear plain white, and this is about as much white as I am comfortable with in a print. It's just not a color that I feel secure wearing, but I was crazy about these fish.

Lately I've been thinking more and more about the wonderful lace pieces that Prada had in their Fall collection. There have been multi-page spreads in all the magazines, and while I am not a lace person, these were just my cup of tea for some reason. I've been looking around on-line for a lace fabric that would approximate the look, and I think I may have found some. Now to decide if it can be dyed, since I don't want white lace. Here's what I'm looking at.


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I also played around last night with some organza I have, both gold and rust, and some gold lace with fabric leaves in it. I think it would make a really nice overlay, but I think it needs more of a contrast color under it, as both the gold and the rust make the lace disappear a little bit. I'm thinking of a sleeveless tabard or tunic-type thing over a plain dress, or even pants with a matching top, almost a jumpsuit effect.

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Lots of ideas here, but how many will come to fruition is another thing.

Burda WOF Top

Link to ALL PHOTOS pertaining to this post.

I subscribe to Burda WOF (World of Fashion) magazine, and I almost always find several patterns that I would really like to try in each issue, but I don't often get to them, or at least not in a timely manner. The August issue was different. I found a cute top pattern that I thought would be great for a shell to wear under jackets and cardigans this fall or winter, and possibly even by itself this summer. It has a high neck, but very short cap sleeves, so it's versatile.

Burda #108 08-2008.

I made a quick muslin from a very thin mesh knit that turned out pretty good, Photo Link so I made a few changes and forged ahead with a very silky, fine rib knit fabric that I've used before and have quite a bit of. That's the top you see at the beginning of this post. It's a little bit of a problem fabric, although if one had a coverstitch machine, it might be fine. Sewing across the ribs, it's difficult to make it look straight, even if it is. I solved this by using a 3-step zigzag for the hems, and I think it turned out cute. It also shows every tiny bump underneath it, and that's why there's no photo of me wearing it. I need to get a different bra, with no cup seams before I wear it. You can read my review at PR here, and see all the gory details.

The difference in fabric weights led to some interesting discoveries on the second (non-muslin) version. The weight of the fabric dragged down the darts from their original position, and necessitated my removing and redoing them. Since I had sewn the side seams with my serger and included the dart take-ups in the seam, I really didn't want to remove that stitching. I took out the darts and using the original starting position and depth, I curved them to end up where I wanted them. I then stitched them by hand from the outside while the top was on my dressform. That form really comes in handy for tricky things like this, that would be almost impossible to do successfully while flat.

The other big change I made was to use 2 hanging snaps to close the collar at CB, leaving the top 3" of the seam open, as a keyhole. They wanted you to use an invisible zipper, and I just don't care for zippers in knits if I can avoid them, and this works great, and is easy to get into, too. If you don't know about Hanging Snaps, I did a Technique Tip at PR on them. They're easy and so handy for closing edges that are abutted rather than overlapped. I wanted something quick, and including altering the pattern, I made them both in two days, and not long days, either. I think this would make a really cute dress just by lengthening it.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing lately, along with thinking hard about my coat, but not doing anything yet. I'm waiting for one more sample of underlining to test before I actually cut and start.

Quick Burda WOF Top

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I wanted a quick project, and decided that the popular #105 from the May, 2008 Burda World-of-Fashion magazine would be it. I traced it, altered and cut it out Sunday evening, then made it up yesterday. It turned out pretty well, although I don't think it's exactly my best style. I used a printed cotton, and it was very easy to make up. I like the sleeves and the way the shoulders and sleeves fit. I think it's the elastic waist I'm not crazy about. It's okay, but I don't think the poufiness of the peplum is doing anything for me. It calls for 3 large buttons and the 5 snaps underneath are the actual closure. I did as instructed, and then added a few more snaps to make things stay just right.

If I make this again, I would change the elastic to darts or tucks or something. I may just use the sleeves with my favorite saran block blouse, which has kimono sleeves. This would be a nice change, and I love the way the body of that blouse fits. It has fisheye darts in front and back, and lots of shaping in the side seams. It would be interesting to see just how much of the dart shaping of that blouse is in the kimono sleeves, and how much I'd lose if I changed to raglan.

I'm ready to topstitch the collar and lapels on the Marfy #1234 jacket, but I thought I wanted some Tiger Tape to help me make perfectly even stitches. I was amazed to find that none was available in town, even with all the quilt shops here. I have read some more since, and decided that I can probably do just fine without it. I hope so anyway. I think I'm going to just go for it, as usual. I've been doing samples, and I like a thicker cotton thread the best.

Cutting Up

 

This is the fabric I've been attempting to cut out for the last few days. At the time I ordered it, I planned a skirt with some flare, and a princess seam sleeveless top. Bu the time I got the fabric, I'd changed my mind to doing a top with vertical darts instead, and with short/cap sleeves. This made it a bit trickier to get it all out of the same yardage. I finally conquered it this afternoon, and it's all cut out, and the skirt is nearly done. It's underlined with silk organza, and I love this fabric. It sews beautifully, and has a lovely hand. Quite a bit of body to it as well. You can see how very large the print is, but I think it's just perfect for this spring. Huge prints seem to be the thing, and I love the watercolor effect of this one.

Vicki wondered why I didn't draft a princess seam top from my saran block, and I suppose that's what I should do. Maybe it's not that princess seamed garments aren't my thing, maybe I just haven't had the right one for me. This top is actually taken from a pattern that I altered extensively using my block, and I love the sleeves. I had to shorten them to get this out of the fabric, but I think it will still be alright, although I may face the sleeve hems if I need to. I almost made a terrible error while cutting. I was so thrilled to find that I could make it all work that I almost cut 2 left backs. That would have been a disaster, as I doubt I could get any more of this.

You can see my layout above, sort of. I folded the fabric so that the doubled part was no wider than necessary for the skirt pieces. I then cut one Top Back from the space between the skirt pieces on the opposite selvedge, and the other Back and both Fronts from what was left above the skirt back. I hate having a close layout that I have to keep refolding, as if you make a mistake, there's generally no fixing it. This fabric only has 44" of usable width, as there are extra-wide unprinted selvedges. I think I'm spoiled by all the 60" fabric there is. I can't even imagine having to go to 36" all the time, as is called for in vintage patterns.

This is really going to be a pretty quick project I think, once I got it all cut out finally. The sewing should be very easy, and as a good omen, the zipper went in like a dream.