A Linen Jacket for my Friend: Simplicity 8172

It’s not too often that I sew for someone else, but today’s project is one of those rare ones.  I can probably count on one or two hands the people I’m willing to sew for, and my friend Jo-Alice definitely makes the cut.  If I listed all of her wonderful qualities, this blog post would become a book, but let’s just say that she’s one of those rare people who manages to be both very real and very loving—not an easy feat.

When she mentioned that she liked some of the views of Simplicity 8172 after I made it last year, I mulled it over and then asked her if she still liked the pattern and would want me to make one for her.  She said she did still like it, and after I convinced her that I really wanted to make her something for her birthday, she agreed.  Being a maker of things herself (you can see some of her pottery and knitting here), she knows the time that goes into creative projects, and she didn’t want to pull me away from my personal to-make list, but this was a gift I was happy to spend the time on.

l

I found some beautiful Limerick Linen by Robert Kaufman Fabrics at Pintuck & Purl as well as a floral rayon by Rifle Paper Co. for Cotton + Steel (this one I think?).  Jo-Alice chose View C, because it had some nice waist shaping, and I made a muslin out of an old sheet to check the fit.  We thought we were going to have to shorten the pattern, but the muslin showed that the length was good as drafted.

It was important to think about seam finishes on this project since the pattern doesn’t always specify what you should use.  Because the linen was on the lighter side, I chose to use French seams throughout.

The fabric itself is a slightly loose weave, which made it a bit shifty, but it was such a beautiful fabric, that I loved working with it regardless.  I kept my eye on things to make sure that everything stayed on-grain, and it was fine.

l

I decided to make my bias tape from the rayon which, admittedly, I stalled on.  I really wanted to teach myself how to make continuous bias tape, but I was intimidated by learning a new process.  My co-worker, Bea, an accomplished quilter, gave me a few tips on using starch on my fabric, which was the push I needed to keep going.  She let me borrow some Linit starch, which she said to mix 1:1 with water in a spray bottle.

Next she told me to spray the back of the fabric (testing in a small area first) and then press the fabric.  I didn’t use steam.  This stiffened the fabric enough to make it really easy to work with.  It was still flexible, but wasn’t overly shifty or slippery.  After that, I used the tutorial for making bias tape in Learning to Quilt:  A Beginner’s Guide by Lori Yetmar Smith.

I made single fold bias tape to the size I needed using a bias tape maker (I got assorted sizes on Amazon—similar to these).  One yard of 44″ wide fabric make A LOT of bias tape.  I definitely could have used less, but you don’t know until you try.  And…it’s not like I mind having all this beautiful leftover bias tape.

While my bias tape was uniform on the visible side, the edges that were folded under weren’t perfectly even.  To help myself out when applying it, I sewed a line of basting stitches 3/8″ from the edge where I was going to attach the bias tape since that was the seam allowance there.  Then I lined up the folded edge with my basting stitches so that everything would look nice and even.

l

The one area where I wasn’t quite sure what seam finish to use was the cuffs.  I did a quick experiment with some scrap fabric just to see if all those layers would be too bulky, but with the lighter weight of the linen it seemed OK to me, so I was able to use French seams there as well.

Overall, this was a very simple and pleasant project.  I was worried at the end that the fit would be different than it had been on the muslin, but Jo-Alice loved it, and it looked beautiful on her.  I like this longer view much better than the short view (View A) that I chose the first time I made this.  And, although I told her that she didn’t have to pose for blog photos, she has always been a huge supporter of my creative projects and assured me that she was more than willing.  She makes a great model.  We had lots of fun shooting these pictures even though it was gray and rainy out.

l

l

l

l

l

 

 

Advertisement

McCall’s 6848 Top (Again!) in Watercolor Rayon

I feel like the title of my post makes me sound like I’m rolling my eyes because I’m sick of this pattern, when actually the opposite is true.  I love it!  This simple shirt is the meeting of this beloved pattern and the remnants of some beautiful fabric.  This is McCall’s 6848 which I also made in black silk crepe de chine, and it’s actually a pajama pattern!  In a fabric with some drape, however, like this watercolor rayon, left over from my Hannah Dress, this pattern also makes a perfect drapey shirt.

McCall’s 6848 comes together quickly and easily with only three pattern pieces, one of which is the bias neck binding.  It’s a quick sew and a great palette cleanser after a more complicated project like the Hannah Dress or Thurlow Shorts.

l

I didn’t do anything different on this iteration of the shirt.  Like last time, I used French seams to finish the insides and double turned hems on the bottom and armholes.  The rayon I used is a little harder to work with than the silk crepe de chine was, but it’s so soft and beautiful that it makes up for it.  It was also nice to compare the two fabric types on the same pattern.  So far, crepe de chine is my preference to work with–both are excellent to wear.

l

This was one of my 2017 Summer Sewing projects.  I only have one more of those to blog, and then I’m all caught up with summer.  😉  It all works out, though, because I’m planning to slow down a little for fall and experiment with various areas of sewing that I’ve been interested in.  We’ll see how that all works out.

l

I highly recommend this pattern to anyone looking for a quick and easy project that will make a great top for every day (or pajamas) in the right fabric.

Recommendations

• • Mary of Birch Dye Works is really knocking it out of the park with all the cool yarn she has been dying lately.  Her color names are pretty great, too.
  • I was reading the Oliver + S blog and Liesl pointed out all the creative quilting influences she found in the September issue of Vogue.  Check out her post here.
  • I love cheese so much, and I have to recommend brie to you.  I tried some brie with mushrooms at Costco, which combines two foods I absolutely love. (I can’t find it on their website to link to but, trust me, it was GOOD.  I wish I had bought some…)
  • Are you thinking about sewing skinny jeans?  Judith Dee compares three patterns on her vlog.

Vintage Butterick 3731 Dress in Blue Rayon Challis

This summer we attended two weddings, which seemed like a great reason to challenge myself to sew a few dresses.  I’ve never been much of a dress-wearer, but I’d like to find a style or two that I like for summer, and wear dresses more.  My original plans involved making a fit-and-flare dress for the first wedding and Butterick 3731 for the second, but creative plans often change.  I don’t know what it is, but so far, after trying two different patterns, the fit-and-flare, darted-bodice dress style eludes me.  There must be some fitting knowledge that I’m missing.  So, after a hearty (but failed) attempt, I put that style aside and got to work on Butterick 3731.

l

l

This pattern is probably only my second vintage pattern that I’ve worked from.  On one of my trips to the Brimfield Antique Show I found this pattern, which was in my bust size…but was missing instructions.  The antique dealer gave it to me for free since it only had the pattern pieces.  I posted about it online, and crossed my fingers hoping that someone in the sewing community would have it and could send me directions.  And a wonderful lady named Sara did.  Isn’t the sewing community great that way?  Thanks again, Sara!

My original intention was to make the maxi dress.  I graded the waist and hips out to fit my measurements and made a muslin (which was a good idea, because I found a few little problems I needed to fix).  Then I bought some rayon challis from Joann Fabrics at a great price.  The fabric is one designed by Gretchen Hirsch for Joann’s, which I was excited to try.  I laid it all out, only to realize that in grading the waist and hips up, I hadn’t considered the sweep of the skirt.  It was too wide and I didn’t have quite enough fabric.  I could have made the skirt more narrow, but even so, I was somehow still short on fabric, so I decided that this dress would have to be the shorter version.

l

l

This pattern was so easy to make and fit!  It was great to have a project that wasn’t overly hard to fit!  That being said, however, there were little parts where notches didn’t align or seams needed to be finished beyond what the directions instructed.  I made sure to use French seams or clean-finished seams so the insides would look relatively nice.  My goal wasn’t perfection, just a dress that was well-made and that I felt comfortable in.  And I do feel comfortable in this dress.  I’ll admit that the picture of how I look in my head isn’t exactly how I look in real life, but I still love the dress.

The flowy fabric turned out to be a good choice as well.  It’s soft, yet cool. I will say, however, that having used both the rayon challis from Cotton + Steel on a shirt for my mom as well as this rayon challis from Joann’s, there is a marked difference.  I don’t have full confidence that the fabric in this dress will stand up to wear and tear, whereas the Cotton + Steel rayon feels really durable.  Cotton + Steel rayon is also far, far more expensive, so you have to weigh your priorities.  This was the right fabric for this dress at the right price point.  I’d still really love to make the maxi version, but that will also have to wait for the right fabric at the right price point…that maxi will take a lot of fabric!

If anyone is thinking of trying this pattern (and it seems like there are a number of copies out there on Etsy and other sites), I would recommend it.  It’s comfortable, easy to fit, and great in a drapey fabric.  Despite a few little oddities in the directions (a few notches that didn’t match up and a facing that ran a little short), the directions and pattern pieces are good overall.  It also feels current as the ’70’s return yet again.  😉  I’d love to try this in a soft linen.

Recommendations

• Siobhan of the blog Just Keep Sewing made one of my favorite versions of the Victory Patterns Hannah dress, which is on my 2017 Summer Sewing list.
• If you love 1970’s fashion, you might want to check out the #70sfashioncult hashtag on Instagram.  It’s full of patterns and ’70’s clothes.  You could even add your own retro creations or ’70’s patterns!
• Do you live in the Midwest of the USA?  If you do, and you have a Meijer near you (which is like a Midwestern Target), try their Michigan Cherry coffee.  It’s one of my favorites!  Several of my friends in New England have also grown to love it since I have wonderful in-laws and parents who are willing to ship it to me.  😉
• Since knowledge is power, let me help you with your bowling game.  After watching this, I want to ask my local bowling alley if they oil their lanes with ‘The Badger’ or ‘The Cheetah’ or a house pattern.  They’ll probably think I’m super cool if I do that.  Right? 😉  Check it out:  The hidden oil patterns on bowling lanes.

Tilly and the Buttons Coco Top in Striped Rayon Knit

Hi, friends!  It’s back to sewing this week.  I have a nice little backlog of sewing projects to share, but the weather hasn’t been cooperating for picture taking.  When the clouds started to brighten on Wednesday, I rushed outside to take pictures of this shirt.

This is the Coco Top from Tilly and the Buttons.

l

I made the dress version around the time I began sewing regularly, but I had never made the top.  The fabric came from Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak, Michigan, and I’ve been holding onto it for over a year trying to figure out the best use for it.  It’s a great substantial rayon jersey that is actually reversible:  blue and white on one side and orange and white on the other.  I really wanted to make a reversible garment, but in the end, the mental gymnastics became too much and I decided to go with a Breton-style shirt where I could incorporate both sides of the fabric.  The Coco pattern was just right since it had the little pocket and it wasn’t hard to color block (stripe block?) the sleeves.

As far as details, I made the size 5 (Tilly has her own sizing system that is different from other patterns and ready-to-wear) in the long-sleeved shirt view with the pocket.  I used the 3/4 length sleeve line as my color/stripe blocking placement line and just added in seam allowance.  I used a jersey needle and a walking foot as well as polyester thread.  I did try out fusible stay tape for my neckline as suggested, which worked out well.  Instead of zigzagging the neckline, however, I used a twin needle, which I also used on the sleeve edges and bottom hem.  And I opted to zigzag my side seams instead of using a straight stitch.  I used to use a straight stitch on knit seams that weren’t going to stretch a lot, but after wearing those garments for a while, a lot of my stitches popped and I had to resew them with a zigzag, so I went right for the zigzag this time.

I liked sewing this pattern.  Tilly’s directions are very easy to use, and she includes helpful tips here and there.  Her pictures are really clear, and I’m a big fan of her color scheme, which makes all her images fun to look at.  I would certainly make this again–maybe in the dress version.  🙂

Recommendations

• • I recently watched the movie “Queen of Katwe” about a girl living in poverty who learns to play chess and how it changes her life.  It was excellent.
  • Itch to Stitch just released the free Lago Tank pattern.  It looks like a great basic for summer.  I’ve never tried any patterns from this brand although I’ve been tempted.  This might just be the project to start with.
  • Speaking of free sewing patterns, the Curvy Sewing Collective posted an EXTENSIVE round-up of free patterns with a great size range.
  • And to give you a laugh this week, here is a video that reimagines an important part of the Sleeping Beauty story.  😉

Summer’s Last Garment: Simplicity 1020 Pants

Fall has officially started (the autumnal equinox was Thursday, September 22), but I still have one more summer garment to share with you.  I also have a few other projects I did during the summer, but those are great for any season, so we’ll save them for another time.  Today I want to talk about these pants!

I really wanted some wide-leg linen pants for summer, and I also wanted to try sewing with linen, something I hadn’t done until I made this Datura blouse (also pictured).  When trying to find a pattern for the pants I had in mind, I remembered some scrub pants I owned in college.  They had a wide, straight leg and were the ultimate in comfort.  Since I hadn’t been able to find a pattern I really liked among the “regular” clothing patterns, I turned to the scrub patterns, and found Simplicity 1020.

 

I figured I could use that and just leave off a few of the extra pockets, keeping the front and back ones.  I found my fabric at Fabric.com–a Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen blend (55% linen, 45% cotton) in blue and a cotton/rayon (50% cotton, 45% rayon, 5% Lycra) knit in Indigo for the top of the pants.  Other than that, I just needed elastic and thread, which I had in my stash.

I made a quick muslin out of a sheet since I’ve had to do so many fit adjustments on recent bottoms, but while these could maybe have been tweaked slightly, they were good overall, and I decided to make them without adjustments.  This makes me wonder if the Simplicity pants/shorts patterns will fit me better (i.e. with fewer adjustments) than McCall’s and Butterick.  I’ll have to explore that as I make more pants.  The pants themselves were not too difficult to sew up, although I did prolong the process by finishing all my seams.  Finishing seams used to feel like such a chore and while it still does sometimes, I didn’t want thready insides once these pants were finished and went through the wash.  I used a turned-and-stitched finish (a.k.a. clean-finish) per the instructions in the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing.

The linen seemed too thick for French seams, although I’m open to hearing about other finishes people have used.  I also basically did a double turned hem for all the pockets and then topstitched them on so that I wouldn’t get threads in the pockets, either.  Last, but not least, I covered the seam where the main pants fabric joined the knit waist fabric with bias tape.

All of that added quite a bit of time, but I was really happy with these when they were finished.  I don’t know what has happened to me, but it makes me really happy to see those beautiful insides in a project.  I guess I’m “growing up” as a sewist.  😉

I think my only question on the whole thing is the hem length.  If I had hemmed these at the suggested spot, they would have been long, but probably good with heels.  I turned them up one more time so I could wear them with flatter shoes, and I think that is the right length for lower shoes, but sometimes, at some angles, they look a little bit like floods. (Wow.  I just used Google Images to look up “flood pants”.  It was a little different than I expected, but I think my statement still stands.)  I didn’t actually cut my excess off the hems, so if I change my mind later, I can rehem them to be longer.  I’m done with them for this year, though.

These pants are super comfortable (secret pajamas for the win!) and they wrinkle much, much less than I thought they would–maybe because of the cotton blended in?  I think of cotton as pretty wrinkly, but who knows?  Maybe because of the midweight?  I don’t know.  Whatever it is, I’m happy with them.  Now it’s on to fall sewing!

 

 

Recommendations

• Here’s one more post from Cotton + Steel about the fabric called cotton lawn.  Sounds like lawn is a winner for your button up shirt needs.
• I’m really impressed and intrigued by the embroidery of Tessa Perlow.  This article about her has some great pictures so you can get a feel for what she does.  I think I’d like to try adding embroidery to some of my garments someday…
• If you are a garment sewist in fairly close proximity to Exeter, NH, you might enjoy the Pattern Review Meetup happening at Pintuck & Purl this Saturday, September 24 from 2-4pm.
• Jellyfish or jelly fish?  Be careful how you say it!

Adventures in Shorts Fitting: McCall’s 6930

We’ve been talking a lot about shorts lately, haven’t we?  I’ve noticed that in my sewing, I tend to make tops.  I have a lot of me-made tops in my closet, but not a lot of shorts and pants.  Why is that?  Fear.  That’s it.  Silly as it sounds, I have been afraid of making shorts and pants because I don’t know how to fit them.  But this was the year of sewing first jeans and then, this summer, shorts.  I’m so glad I finally plunged in because now I have a better grasp of some of the fitting issues I might face and how to fix them.

So let’s talk about this particular pattern, McCall’s 6930 (View A).  There are a couple of shorts options in this one, as well as capris.  They have a flat front, shaped waistband, back zipper, and pockets, with optional belt carriers.  It actually took me three tries to get this right, and I took pictures of each of them, so you could see some of the things I had to fix and the mistakes I made.

 

Last summer, I began my first version of this pattern.  I could tell that something was wrong with it, but I wasn’t sure what to do, so I put it away until this summer.  I nearly threw these shorts out when I was cleaning up one day, but I tried them on first and realized that they weren’t as terrible as I remembered.  So, I finished them, and came up with ideas on what I wanted to improve.  The front was baggy and went up too high, and the back felt like it needed more length in the crotch seam.

The baggy front was no good.

I looked in my trusty book, Sewing Pants that Fit from the Singer Sewing Reference Library, and decided to try taking a wedge out of the front and add a wedge into the back.  After I had done this, I saw that the book said not to take wedges out of the front, but there was no explanation as to why, so I decided to try it anyway.  I took out the wedge and redrew the top of the front crotch seam, making sure it was straight like before.  When I asked a friend who used to work as a pattern drafter what was up with the book’s advice, she asked if I had redrawn the center front line and, when I told her I had, she said it ought to work.  Her other suggestion was to take some of the length out of the top of the front, thereby leaving that front seam intact.  She also told me that the new grainline should be more or less perpendicular to the top of the shorts so that they would hang straight down.

The front pattern piece, above.

The back pattern piece.

Version two came out much improved.  There was one main problem, however.  I had made these out of a stretch denim…but the pattern didn’t call for a fabric with stretch.  So, as you may imagine, these shorts tend to “grow” throughout the day until they are a bit large by the end of the day.  Another minor thing that I noted was that using a lighter weight fabric for the back of the pocket is not as good as using a fabric of the same weight.  I did this in versions one and two.  It creates wrinkles and doesn’t hang as well–not super critical, but important to note.

This picture makes me look excited about the hugeness of these shorts, but I’m really just making funny faces for my photographer.  This photo shoot got a little silly by the end…

 

Fabric the same weight as my denim would have worked better than the lightweight denim scrap I used.

I cut into some of my precious fabric from Pintuck & Purl for my third version…and it came out great!  When I put these on, they just feel right.  The one thing I will probably tweak if I make this pattern again (which I’ll probably do) is to lengthen the back crotch point just a bit as the front of the legs feel closer to the body than I think they should.  The leg openings aren’t too small, it’s more like they are tilted toward the back when they should be more balanced.

Front view.  There’s a little yellow on the darts from my chalk markings, but that washed out easily.

Back view.

Each of the adjustments I made were the same as those I made on McCall’s 6848, the pajama-turned-everyday shorts I recently blogged about.  It feels good to know I am on the right track.  Now the question is, will these be standard adjustments for me, or will they be limited to McCall’s patterns?  Either way, I feel like I’m making progress in learning to fit pants and shorts, and a lot of the scariness is dissipating.  It’s such a pleasure to occasionally wear an outfit that I’ve made–not only the top, but both the top and the bottom.  I’m really happy that I tried despite my fear.

 

And…..guess what?  Today is this blog’s third birthday!  That’s pretty cool!  I thought about doing a round-up of past posts, but I wanted to talk shorts one more time instead.  I’m so thankful for this blog, which has helped me grow in confidence as a writer, seamstress, and photographer.  I think I have a good groove, have seen some improvements in those areas, and I hope for more improvements in the future in both sewing and blogging.  I’m also thankful for you, my readers, some of whom have been with me from the very beginning.  Thank you for encouraging and supporting me in this.  Learning these skills goes far beyond sewing–the confidence and happiness that comes from sewing has expanded into other areas of my life as well.  So, I’m thankful for the blog, for you, and to God for the skills, time, resources, and frame of mind to grow.  Thank you.

And last but not least, let’s have some Recommendations!

• Another fun post in the Cotton + Steel substrate series is the one all about rayon, which is new to me.  I’m looking forward to trying it out in the near future.
• Have you ever wanted to turn your favorite button up shirt pattern into a popover top (a top with a button placket that only goes partway down the shirt)?  I have!  I just wasn’t looking forward to figuring it out on my own.  Luckily, Craftsy did it for me.  You can read all about it here.
• Did you know it’s National Sewing Month?  It is!  To celebrate, Pintuck & Purl is doing a fun Q & A with various bloggers and pattern designers over on their blog, and I’m one of the bloggers!  You can read their blog here.
• When knitting takes over…