Choir Wardrobe 8/24/14

A little vacation gettaway pulled me away from the blogsphere for a bit, but I'm back now and trying to see about creating new routines...which is typical after a little bit of refreshment. 

I've missed most of August...and next week My Sweet Babboo and I have duties that will pull us out of choir, so it looks like this is it for the month of emerald, navy and tan.

But I did get inspired to finish new stuff! 

I wish I'd've done the arms-straight-out pose, so you could really see the sheer jacket, but if you look close you can see it. I actually wore coordinates today...the Plaza jacket and pants from Sewing Workshop.  The pants are midnight blue tropical weight wool, and the jacket is a poly burnout that's been in the stash for ages and ages.  Not a fabric I would buy now, as I've learned even lightweight poly is HOT and STINKY, but I thought it would do nicely for a topper when navy is on the choir list.  And sheer cocoony jackets are kinda 'in' at the moment, so it was a good project.  The T is my fave Jalie-still-gotta-review-it twinset t, made from navy rayon jersey.

The blues don't match, but that's the trend now, right?  Avoid the too matchy-matchy?? 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A little Catch Up

August 1.
There is just no way.

Like, how could it be Friday already?  And I never did a Choir Post?

 Not that this is really anything to get excited about; the jeans and the jacket are RTW, and the gray top is my much-used Simplicity 2603  which, as this was taken at the end of the day that included dinner at the noodle place and a bowl of drippy asian noodles, had a spot that is conveniently  concealed by the point of the jacket.

I've been working in ten-minute increments on a sheerish navy Plaza Jacket; it only needs hems but the poly burnout fabric is not being very cooperative and I've got to hand baste the whole thing.  So it's taking a bit.  But the choir colors for August are tan, emerald and navy, so I *should* get to wear it before the month is over.

This ten-minutes-at-a-time stuff is killing my sewing mojo.  Oh, it's better than nothing, but, wow, projects that used to take a weekend are now taking a month or more. I can live with this, but I'm not enjoying it much.

But, maybe as an enticement to get it together so I can sew more,  there are New Patterns In.  Had to make a trip to Hancock's today...because I lost some things I bought last year...and Vogue patterns were on sale.  So I grabbed a handful.  Each of these has something I like...and two of them have A/B/C/D cup sizing.  I figured it was worth $5 to not have to do a FBA.  If I ever get around to really making something.





The missing things were the iron-on applique letters I needed for my Girls Only Award Stole.  I'd made them for the girls last year, with their graduation year on the sash, and decided I'd make one for me, too, with the pins that I'd earned teaching the units.  My plan was to have it available for any promotional events we might do regarding the girls ministry program. But I didn't get to it last year, and I  looked and looked and couldn't find the letters this week, so I had to run to Hancocks.

However, as it has just been made public, we are doing away with the K - 12 girls ministry program and replacing it with a program for girls in grades k - 5 only.  So I'm kinda late with my promo plan.  But I needed a place to put the pins anyway, so I grabbed the appliques and finished off the stole.

Not really sure what I'm going to do with it; I might be able to use it in Wednesday night's advancement service but that would be it.

At this point, it's just going to be a bit of memorabilia of eight years spent with some amazing young ladies.

But, who knows...with 3 Teen Girls classes no longer on my plate, I might sew a little more.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Choir Wardrobe 7/12/14

Same combo as last week...just turned inside-out, color-wise. 

Coldwater jeans, with navy rayon jersey Jalie 2566 cap sleeve t...I will do a review on that as soon as I get a minute, because it is turning into my TNT T shirt pattern and I really ought to have mentioned it on PR, at least. ;-) 

Also wearing the needs-to-be-replaced-because-it's-wearing-out Jalie 2919 Pleated cardigan.   Not sure when I'll get around to actually replacing it, but I've got the fabric now and hopefully I'll remember not to use it for anything else.

And a double scarf...a scrap of sparkly dot-infused netting, left over from some costuming something that was being discarded from the school costume stash and toted home by The Princess about 11 years ago, that she finally said I could have, so I just whacked it into a rectangle.  I have a pink poly chiffon scarf that I made some time ago, just to have a scarf the right color.  I think I hit on the idea of putting them together last year and I liked that so well I just keep em' that way.

Back from Girls Camp

...and I realized I never posted the Choir photo from last week...

Jeans from Coldwater, I think, an ancient poly tricotene Evan Piccone blazer,  a hot pink version of Simplicity 2603 and a scarf that got several compliments.

It's the remnant from the Jiffy Pop Top.  It was a very interesting fabric...a blue poly knit with the lame sort of printed on.  Sort of.  So I had this 3" bit along the selvages that were not lamanized, for want of a better term, so I just squared up the bit left at the end...it was at least 60" wide...and, bingo, a silver/navy blue scarf, which works great when gray and navy are in the choir line up.  :-)

And, when I got home, a package was awaiting.  I got 3 yards of a rayon/lycra jersey in a spot on perfect shade of gray...not too dark, not too light...for the cardigan I was going to make from the fabric I inadvertently cut into two tops.

The really significant thing about that order is that I only ordered one piece of fabric.  Which safely arrived WITHOUT a traveling buddy.

Changing paradigms... ;-)

Pattern Keepers Winner...

...is....

Angela the Creative Diva!

So, Miss Angela, if you would email your mailing address to me at

tig77LW atsign yahoodotcom

I'll get them off in the mail to you!

Thanks, everyone, for playing and for the comments.  It's always fun to see who's actually reading the blog; thanks to everyone who stops by and leaves a comment now and then!

Last Call for Pattern Savers Giveaway

Maybe I should've put the giveaway at the top of the post instead of at the bottom, in view of today's abbreviated feed collectors.

Giving away one package tomorrow morning to one person drawn from comments on this week's blog posts; just asking for you to tell me how long you've been reading Sew Random and what your favorite posts tend to be about...Choir Wardrobe?  Costuming?  The Sewing Assistant?

Happy Friday! :-)

Choir Wardrobe 07-06-14...and a birthday giveaway...

Choir colors changed for July...we're now doing navy, hot pink/fuschia and gray.  So I snuck in the inaugural wearing of the new Sewing Workshop Plaza Pants, slightly wavy pleats and all. 

Which turned out not to show up hardly at all.  So.

These are a tropical weight wool that I got absolutely ages ago at the Atlanta Sewing Expo.  Now, there are those who will think, 'Wool in Alabama in the summer???' and I have to tell you that these are WAY more comfortable than a similar weight poly blend.  They're downright breezy as air flows right through.   :-) 

The barely visible top underneath is a summer wardrobe staple, Simplicity 4076, the scoop-neck view .  The topper is a linen jacket from Coldwater. 

I have a hack for you, too... the necklace was really a bit too long for the neckline.  I had a brainstorm and found a small safety pin that I fastened between a couple of beads about 2 inches in from the end.  Then I fastened the spring clasp on the safety pin and let the tail dangle under my hair in the back.  And the beads filled in the neckline just right. ;-)

I did some hunting for a couple of odd things...like the waistband interfacing that I almost never use, but added to the un-elasticized front of the Plaza pants...and found some long missing stuff.  Like the missing half of the Farewell to Arms skirt that I feared I had thrown away...and two and a half packages of these goodies:

Yep, these are those zip closure bags with the extra pocket on the front for patterns.  Love, love them.
And apparently they're no longer available.  Now, I happened to think it would be selfish of me to keep such a bounty all to myself, and, as it happens to be my birthday week, I thought I'd do a giveaway.  I will give one package of ten to a lucky random drawing winner.

But I'm going to be shameless here.  If you're interested...and I'll send them anywhere in the globe... you need to leave a comment for me telling me how long you've been reading Sew Random, and what your favorite topic that I cover might be...costuming?  Choir wardrobe?  Stashing stuff?  Whatever? 

My birthday is actually Friday, so I'll let this run through midnight Friday night and I'll draw the winner Saturday.

Have a great week!

Pants off the WIP list...and learning the new machine

I don't have photos yet; I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later.

I finally finished the Sewing Workshop Plaza pants that have been hanging out on the WIP list since 2011.  I cut them out of a dark midnight navy tropical wool, and they'd just languished in the bag, waiting on me to get enough time to work on them.

I was afraid that either 1) the fabric would have had moth damage by now or 2) they would be too small; neither of which turned out to be the case.

But I sewed them on the new machine, and I learned some things about it that are different than my old machine.

I cannot adjust the pressure foot pressure.  This meant that I got more slippage between the top layer of fabric, which was next to the foot, and the bottom layer, which was next to the feed dogs.

And I didn't catch on.

Now, this machine HAS a walking foot, which would correct the problem.  However, it is something of a nuisance to put on/take off as it involves unscrewing the snap-on shank that most of the feet attach to, and Janome switched what WAS a thumb screw on my old machine to a screw that needs a screwdriver.  And the only one that fits is the little triangly one that comes with the machine and is slow as Christmas to use, as it has to be repositioned after every half turn.

So, when I took it off to do some zig--zag stitching,  I didn't put it back on.

And the Plaza pants have this funky pleat thing going on down the front of them.

I did not notice until the final try on that I have some ripply things happening in those front pleats, due to the top layer of fabric being pushed against the pull of the bottom layer against the feed dogs.

Now, it's not horrible and it won't keep me from wearing them, but it is enough that it will bug me.  Not enough to go through what would be a  burdensome amount of ripping and re-stitching that might not improve the look anyway, but just enough to make me annoyed.

If I *KNEW* I could make it better, I'd fix it, but I suspect that I'd go to all that trouble and end up with something that really won't look any better, due to all the wrangling that would be done to undo the  first time.   See, I'd reversed the direction of the pleat so I could put some pockets in under it, so it's not just a matter of restitching that pleat...there are pockets involved.

So, I'm just going to grin and bear it...it really doesn't show unless I'm standing stock still.  Oh, and it will probably be magnified in a flash photo.

But, that is one really long-standing item off the WIP (aka the 'UFO' list).  If I can get one thing made from that list every three months or so, I'll eventually get back to current sewing.

Choir Wardrobe 6/29/14

Mayhap the season of staying at church virtually all day on Sunday is starting to wind down a bit and I'll be able to post photos in a more timely fashion.... But in the meantime, I'm just getting it done when I can.

I do realize this is almost the same as the last Choir Wardrobe post I managed to get up.  But I have a new t shirt under the scarf and Jalie pleated cardigan, believe it or not.

I've managed to get a couple of gray knit tops done from the SWAP plan, in a nice silky feeling rayon blend knit.

It was AFTER I made them that I remembered I wanted to make just one top from this, and replace my much-worn silver Jalie cardigan.  But, as it turned out, a cutting mishap probably meant I didn't have enough fabric for the cardi anyway.  So its a a couple of tops instead of a top and a cardi...

Anyway, they're Jalie 2566 cap sleeve T, a pattern that I still haven't reviewed for the T shirt (it's the twinset pattern...I *have* reviewed the cardigan) and one of my favorite sleeveless tops, Jalie 2682 .  This *is* a replacement for a virtually identical top that just fell apart about a year ago; I wore it to pieces.  I think this is a better quality fabric...hopefully it will last a little longer.  I did add a pinch of fusible interfacing right where the center front seam ends and the neckline begins; I've had problems with the knit tops wearing out right there  and have had to retire two or three tops because of that.  We'll see if that helps.

And I'm making a little progress on the SWAP... I've about decided to change the plan just a bit.  I don't think I've got enough khaki fabric to make pants, so I think I'll use that for shorts and do a different pair of pants.  I've already got two pairs of khaki pants that are still holding up, so I don't really need another anyway.    Thinking....

Choir Wardrobe 6 08 14

Choir colors for June are yellow, coral and gray.  Just for grins, I pulled out the Jiffy Pop Top (Vogue 8669) , being as how it's silver gray and all, and topped it with iteration two of the Jalie Drape pleated cardigan, #2919, which is still going strong.

Can't tell you which jeans those are; I think they're Lees.  I just grabbed a clean pair. ;-)

Bonus photo of the kitty being friendly!  Took this photo in the evening after she'd been home alone all day...

Indy Expo Report, part 4 -- Oh, the irony...

I went to the cutting table and took a photo of the patterns I picked up;  my pattern purchasing has really dropped off of late.

Which makes sense, since I have nearly filled a second hand Simplicity pattern cabinet.  I mean, how many patterns does a girl really need?

I'm pretty much looking for details I don't have...or trying to save myself alteration time...in new patterns.

Or, in the case of Cutting Line Design patterns, I'm looking for great detailed instructions that I can use for other garments.

I actually purchased 3 patterns; the Eureka top and skirt came with the class.  Anyway:

I put the ruler in the photo, too.  I won the original version of that ruler...w/o the straight edge...in a blog giveaway and I love using it so much that I snatched the enhanced version when I saw it in Kathy Ruddy's booth.  It makes working with Burda Style and Neue Mode  patterns so much easier I can't even say.  Adding those seam allowances is a piece of cake with that baby.  Really.

I wanted a good skinny pant, and the Helix looked good...besides, there's that great t top.  I think I'm going to have fun with it.

Cynthia's jacket has a collar stand that you can't see and shoulder princess seams; the photo on the front has actually been modified a bit.  I have plans for that involving some stashed silk suiting..I really hope I can get to it in time to wear it to the next Expo...whenever that might be... ;-)

But I did make one other...minor...purchase at the Expo.  A bit ago, I mentioned that, for the first time in about 20 years, I had spotted a sewing machine model that actually interested me.

I did a little research on price and availablilty and such and found that the Janome dealer about an hour away had the  2013 model of that machine, which is virtually identical, for about the same price as what everyone seemed to be paying, and including a $50 voucher good for additional accessories.

One of my main motivations for wanting a new machine is that I'd been told by dealers here in town, who sell a hodgepodge collection of brands, that I could not get a straight stitch plate/foot for my old New Home, since it was such an ancient model, so I had plans for the voucher.

And I thought I'd look at the machine while I was at the Expo, if they had one.  They did; about 20 minutes before my last class on Saturday I sat down and sewed with it a bit and asked some questions and liked how it sounded when it was running and how nice the stitch looked.

I deliberately did that with just a little time before class so that I had to leave before I got that strong sales pitch.  I really didn't want to buy it at the Expo.  The price there was 11 dollars less than the price at Ken's, but with the voucher at Ken's that really wasn't an issue.  The only real difference was that this was the 2014 model instead of the 2013.  But, as I said, they looked to me to be the same, just a different color.  I was just getting more information...trying to decide what I wanted to do.


Now, the last class of the day was over at 3, but the Grand Prize Drawing for the day was not till 4:45.  And, as I said, that class was a pivot point.  There were only about 9 people in the class, so Cynthia just had us all come sit around the teaching table and she went over details on attaching convex curves to concave curves...think princess seams and collars to necklines.  And it all hinges on exceedingly precise stay stitching.

'Now, you can't stay stitch at a 1/8" distance with that zig zag plate,' she told us. 'Too much fabric gets sucked down into that hole and you can't control it.'

The lightbulb dinged on.  After class, I told her, 'My machine's like, 20 years old.  I can't get a straight stitch plate for it.'  She looked at me and said, 'Well, I think it's about time you got a new machine.'

Yes.  Yes, it is.

Now I just had to decide where to get it.  The 2014 at Indy...or the 2013 and the voucher at Ken's. My buddy Miss A had gone to the expo half planning to get a machine, and she had found the Pfaff she'd been thinking about and taken the plunge.  When I left class, I saw a parking place right by the entrance, so I got the car and pulled it around so she wouldn't have to carry the box far.  Then I found her and our new friend Valerie sitting by the fountain in the courtyard.  Lovely day...we chatted for a while and, just in case, I texted my Sweet Babboo...'Would I be in trouble if I bought a sewing machine?'   He replied, 'No'

Eventually, we drug ourselves away from the fountain and the lovely breeze and collected the Pfaff and got it in the car, and I decided I'd go take one last look at the 2014.  Miss A headed to the Expo stage to wait for the drawing...which was scheduled in about 30 minutes. I started down the hall to the Janome dealership, thinking.  About half way there, I made up my mind...I had to get that throat plate and foot from Ken, anyway,  I might as well just get the machine from him.  So I turned around and headed back towards the stage area.

But I passed a little seating/lounge area, and sitting in one of those seats was one of the Janome dealers.  As I walked by, he looked at me and said, 'So, did you buy your machine?'

'No, ' I said.  'I've decided to get it from my local dealer when I get home.'

So he asked me where I was from, and who the local guy was, and which machine I was looking at.

I told him, then added, 'You're selling that for 11 dollars less than Ken, but he's got a $50 voucher with his and I need some accessories, so, you know, I think I'll just go see him.'

He looked at me and said, 'I'll sell you the machine that you were sewing on for [$109 less than we've got it marked] if you'll take it home today.'

I am no fool.  Behold the new resident:

Notice that it fits the same table as the old one?  How convenient.  I haven't gotten to sew with it much yet...just a wee bit finishing up the Eureka top and a little on the knit tops that are currently in  progress.  I really like the even feed foot...

Monday night, I ordered the straight stitch plate and foot from Ken; it arrived Wednesday.  Just for grins, I tried it on the old machine.

It fits.

Ah, well, I now have a much lighter machine to haul around for any costuming I might do...

Indy Expo Report, part 3

I've been using a lot of 'I'm not buying fabric' willpower this year...first, no fabric until I finished the trench coat, and just right after I finished we started planning to go to the expo and I wanted to save my fabric dollars for the good stuff there.

So, you know, I totally used it all up by the time I walked in.

 I will throw this out as well...all those wonderful instructors make exactly NO money teaching the classes.  All their income from the show comes from product sales.  So I make a point to purchase SOMETHING from the booth of each instructor who teaches me during the course of the expo.

And this year, I had a bunch of instructors...

From Kathy Ruddy, I bought 2 rulers (including the SA curve ruler with the straight edge...love the 'just curve' I've got...the straight edge will make it perfect) and swedish tracing paper; they're not terribly exciting and I didn't take photos of those.

I came home with four patterns...and I intended to just put up links so I didn't take photos, and I JUST discovered that not all of them are link-able, so I'll describe them now and maybe put up photo next time...I got a jacket pattern from Cynthia Guffey (I also got her hand sewing DVD, but that came with the class),  Louise Cutting's 'Blouse Perfected', and two Sewing Workshop patterns...the Eureka top and skirt, which came with the class, and the Helix top and pant pattern.

So.  That leaves fabric.  And as I said, all my willpower was used before I got there...

Ten Pieces.  Doesn't this look like a SWAP to you?  I really didn't do it on purpose, but, wow, they all go together.  Maybe I'll use that for 2015...'Lisa's Expo SWAP'...if I don't get to it before then...

Black  and black/gray stripe bamboo/lycra, and a yummy   black/gray stripe/tan pinstripe tropical wool Vogue fabrics, who were there with a booth about 1/3 the size of their usual Atlanta booth.  The floral rayon challis in the middle is from them, too.  The white fabric is a pique cotton shirting...that and the large floral, which I think is a linen/rayon blend,  in the next to last spot came from Louise Cutting.  The other four pieces are a 'black denim-look' rayon blend doublknit and 3 yummy silks, which came from Nancy Erickson.

Detail of the silks; the gray is a rich crepe; the turquoise is a jacquard and the fuschia is stretch silk/lycra.  I got a yard and a half of each for a drapey top of some sort.  They are all frequent choir colors; I bet I will wear them to death.

One piece is going to be a challenge.  This is that (I think) Linen/rayon blend from Louise.  See that stripe on the selvege edge?  It is on both sides, but it's clearly not a typical border print.  The assumption is that it was printed with the intention of being cut for use as a detail on whatever the garment was.  I am not sure what I'm going to do with it, but it will be fun trying to decide.  Inserts between gores of a skirt?  Plackets down the front of a blouse?  Cuffs on sleeves?

Lots of possibilities, no?  Who has other ideas?

 I'll take a photo of the patterns and make that the last Expo post for this year.

And of course, I hope to get some sewing done sometime soon...

Indy Expo Report, Part 2

Aside from meeting up with cyber friends, the next most compelling reason to go to a sewing expo is the classes.

I had a full load...probably the most I've ever done at one of these.

 I had classes from Kathy Ruddy, Nancy Erickson (2), Sandy Miller, Louise Cutting, Linda Lee and Cythia Guffey.


Kathy, Nancy and Sandy were mostly inspirational...Kathy gave a talk on variations to a sheath dress; Nancy, of course, showed us jaw-dropping Chanel RTW and gave us tips on recreating it; Sandy talked about the history of sportswear and demonstrated building a wardrobe out of what was really capsules...using Cutting Line Designs patterns, of course.  I didn't take a lot of notes but I did see some really lovely things and picked up a couple of really good ideas.

Louise gave us just a ton of tips regarding interfacing, pressing, tools, matching stripes and plaids...she just started and kept going until her hour was up. She also told us a bit about how she buys the fabric that she offers to us; that was really interesting.

I actually had a hands-on construction class with Linda Lee.  After the last Expo I attended in Atlanta something like 5 years ago, I stated that the next time I wanted to make something to take home with me...so I looked the options over and decided to take Linda's 'Eureka Top' class.  We had to split our time between two classrooms...one for cutting and prep and another for sewing, and we had to be precise about when we left the first room for the second, so there was some time that I kinda lost after I had the prep work done before we could go sew.  I didn't finish the top, but I did get it sewn together; I finished it after I got home last night and wore it to work today:

It's kind of a crepe-y knit that feels like a polyester; it's probably not a knit I would've chosen but I think I like it just the same.  I love the colors in the print.   I've got it on over a red Jalie 965 tank top and La Fred's Daphne pants.  I got several comments on it today, which was rather fun.

We only used sewing machines in the class; although I did come home and finish off the armholes with my serger.  It was a novel idea to me to sew a knit top with a regular ol' straight stitch.  I'm not sure I'm really crazy about the results, but as this is a very loose fitting top I don't think the straight stitch is going to be a problem.  I think I could have finished the top in the allotted time quite easily if I had access to a simple serger and regular machine.  The machines in the sewing class were TOL from a well-known brand that is reputed to be both wonderful and expensive.  I found it extremely frustrating, as EVERYTHING was controlled by buttons and electronics.  Even raising and lowering the presser foot.  'You'll save 5 minutes out of every hour of sewing by using the knee presser foot control,' the sales rep told us.  Well, my knee didn't hit the bar just right and I had to bat it with my hand to get the presser foot to lower; I had to push the button to get it to raise up.  And it took its sweet electronic time to do both.  I guess some folks don't have any trouble getting used to that, but I'd much rather have a machine that I can push around to do what I want instead of having to politely ask it to do something and wait for the machine to align itself.

But it was fun to actually sew at the expo and have something cool when I came home.

I had three classes with Cynthia.  The first class was supposed to be the Core Sewing - Next Step class, but there were so many people in the class who had never been in one of her classes before that she started with her discussion of grainline on cut edges.  I've heard it before, but it's been a while and I've learned a lot since then and I understood it better.  She encouraged us to take her 'convex to concave' class at the end of the day Saturday;   I thought it was a fitting class that I had taken before but she said it was about sewing a concave curve to a convex curve. Hmm....

I took her hemming class Thursday evening; I'd taken her handsewing class at the very first expo I attended and wanted a review, particularly of the rolled hem stitch after bailing on it earlier this year.  I think I was doing it right...I just need patience and practice. ;-).

The next morning I decided to sign up for that last class w/her and I'm ever so glad I did...that was the best class of the weekend.  It was stuff I hadn't heard her teach before and was altogether pivotal in a lot of ways.  Cynthia is a Teacher ...one of my dreams would be to take her sewing intensive, although she'd probably scold me something awful for my costuming-inspired quick-and-dirty sewing techniques. 

Next:  the shopping...

Indy Expo Report, Part 1

It's really cool to pair a trip to the sewing expo with a trip to the ol' stompin' grounds and a night at my parents.

My traveling buddy and I certainly did our part to support and encourage the Indianapolis venue.

She came home with a bells-and-whistles-Pfaff.

I came home with...well, a bunch of stuff that I'll be sharing over the next few days.

Anyway, one quick story before I fall into bed for a night that's going to be way shorter than I wish...

At the end of Cynthia Guffey's evening hemming class, a lady came over to me and said, 'I read your blog!'

She had driven over from Illinois and her name is Valerie.  And I was really surprised.

I forgot to take my camera over to the expo until the very end of the last day, but Miss A took a photo of me and Valerie while we were twiddling our thumbs waiting for the final Grand Prize Drawing (nope...didn't win anything...)

Meeting sewing buddies...one of the best things about going to a sewing expo!

I've got lots more to tell...but for now, goodnight... ;-)

Indy Expo

Off  in the morning with my sewing traveling buddy Miss A to the Hoosier state; not sure, but I think this is the first time the Expo has been there.

It's a long drive, but we'll spend one night on the farm with my folks, and we'll collect the Flute Player, who headed up with her grandparents for a bit of a visit.  All in all, it will work well.

I have a full load of classes on Thursday, but I should have some time to shop on Friday and Saturday afternoon.  I've been holding back from fabric purchasing just so I could have some leeway to add to the stash if I find a Find. ;-)

I packed some rather random stuff to wear; two skirts and a pair of pull-on pants (I'll wear jeans up and back). It's  mostly all stuff I made but it's old and fit better when I made it.

Not that there's any pressure to wear sharp self-sewn things at a sewing expo...

But...the good thing is that it's all stuff that has been photographed about a million times on the blog, so anyone who sees me should recognize me...

The Last Last...

I really didn't cry.  Not much, anyway...

I also didn't get a picture of the dress.

But it worked...

We have a dress...

The lining still needs a hem, but it's gonna work.

I'm not crazy about it, but she likes it better than any that she tried on in the malls ...'It's swishy!'

I will readily admit that it looks much better in motion than it looks in a flash photograph.

I never dreamed that fabric would be such a beast to sew.  The bias has hung out a bit unevenly on the skirts; I just whacked the lining back so that it won't show, but I don't think I'll worry about the dress itself.

It's no worse than the RTW we looked at.  Really.

At least she has a dress to wear Friday.   I think a perfect dress would have a midriff band under the bodice, to move the fullness of the skirt down a bit. Maybe for the church events...we'll worry about the other occasions after we get past this week....

Rough day in the sewing room...

Let's just say that, if this had been any kind of competition like the Great British Sewing Bee, today is the day I would've gone home.

It was noonish before I actually sat down to sew; laundry and such, you know, but I figured it'd take me about six hours to sew up the dress.

ha ha and ha.

The dress has a lined surplice bodice.  The skirt was not to be lined, but the fabric I'm using is very nearly lawn-weight and needed a lining.

I did not think through how impossible it is to fully line a dress with a surplice bodice.  The bodice lining has to be sewn to the crossover parts, and that is sewn into the skirt.  There's no way to sew the lining skirt to the lining top.  I tried a number of things that didn't work; finally decided I was just going to have to sew the skirt lining on by hand.

And I had the graduate try on the dress.  I don't know what happened between the muslin and the first fitting...but there were some issues with the fit of the bodice.  I made a few tweaks; the before-the-lining fitting was the second try on.

And the right front bodice just Did Not Work.  It looked like it was shifted off center, but all the measurements indicated it was where it should be.  I don't know if something  in the lining was pulling wrong...that looked ok, too, from the inside, but there was no disputing the fact that it looked horrible when it was actually on her.

Really, really horrible.

Call it a wadder and throw it in the trash can horrible....and you know how much I hate wadders.

Except 'wadder' is not an option with this dress; we are out of time and options.

Then I recollected that I probably had enough fabric to cut the other view of the bodice....

I thought of the nicely inserted zipper...and all the trimmed and serged seams...and I knew that it was the only way this dress was possibly going to be salvaged.

So I took the zipper off, took the skirt off, cut a new front and back bodice and front and back lining from the UNFITTED bodice on the pattern, hoping  it would work.

And I commenced to making stupid mistakes.

Again, things on the bodice went wonky.  I'm beginning to think the on-sale poly I'm using for the lining is off grain.  I'm not even going to try to describe the weirdness that happened when I put the lining in; even understitching didn't completely fix it.  I've got a cobbled up bit on one shoulder strap; and it's visibly narrower than the other, if anyone looks close.

Wadder not an option.  Forging ahead.

I put the first skirt piece on wrong-side-to right side.  Discovered it after I had serged and trimmed the seam.

Out it came...then I had to offset those two pieces when I sewed them to the correct one.

The invisible zip went in pretty much right the first time...except one of the waistline seam allowances got flipped down.

Took out a bit and fixed it.  It was just a teeny fix and, after I did it,  the zipper looked pretty good.

Then I noticed the twist in the shoulder.

I made sure I walked the edge around before sewing the second side of thezipper so that I did NOT get that twist...I have no idea how that happened.

There was no way I was taking that zipper out.  I opened up one of the shoulder seams...lining, understiching, everything.... untwisted the bodice,  sewed up the shoulder seam and then handstitched the lining back in place.

No, it's not like the other side, but it works.

And that's where I was 13 hours after I started.

No dress, and no assurance that what I've done is even going to be wearable.

Not even going to be home until about 7:30 tomorrow night.

So.  yeah. 

The Grad Dress part 3 -- cutting table...

For the New Look pattern all I needed to muslin up was the bodice...

So, of course, I unpicked the scrapped Vogue muslin and cut the bodice out of the skirt before I tossed the fail.  :-)

I added a bit to the front to raise the cross over just a bit; when the Flute Player tried it on and I told her that that had been raised about an inch, she gave me the big eyed-jaw drop.

Yeah.  It was pretty much a necessity.

But the only real adjustment I had to make to the muslin was to rotate a quarter inch dart out of the armhole into the tucks.  I dithered over adding a bit more ease to the back...it fit, but only just...and decided I'd probably make something quite acceptable into a mess.  I'll just narrow the side seams a wee bit and I think we'll be good.

I did, however, draft a new skirt.  She wanted more swish and fullness, so I drafted a four-gore half circle skirt.  Tedious, but it will avoid the whole 'cut a bigger size on the bottom' issue.

I hit both Hancock's in town...happened to eat lunch near the one on the other side, so I looked 'round in there...y'know...just in case.  They didn't have anything close to what I had in mind, so I stopped in the one on our end of the parkway on my way home and found a poly dot jacquard with a great hand on the  oddball fabric rack. It's not white-white, more cream or eggshell, but it is dressy w/o looking like it's intended for bridal wear.

There wasn't anything close to that shade for lining, though, and I ended up with white.  I thought it would brighten the face fabric a bit; but now I'm skeered it will just mean all the seams and tucks will be highlighted.

If it is, it is.  There wasn't anything else...and, you know, all the RTW dresses we tried yesterday had seams and such that showed through.  So  I don't know why I'm worried about it.

The skirt panel was too wide to cut on a fold; so I cut the dress and the lining out single layer.

Oy.

But...it's all cut out and ready to go.  I get to do the GBSB deal tomorrow;  the influx of folks for grad festivities begins Tuesday, and my house (and refrigerator!  I can NOT find the smell generator in there!) is a wreck.  I have all day tomorrow...but I ONLY have tomorrow...

Grad Dress, Part 2 -- Fruitless search

Today was the Flute Player's LAST Last Day of School, and she was done before lunch, so I used some of my mega comp time accumulated during the data base migration and took the day off and we went shopping.

Oy.  'Tis a desolate search in the world of retail.  We actually only found try-on worthy dresses in two stores.  Of those, there were about 3 that she rather liked.  But the fit was off in all of them just a bit, and the construction...well, lets just say it wasn't up to my standards.

But she tried on about 8 dresses and, in trying those on, saw what silhouettes she liked and got a good idea of what she wants.

So I came home and showed her  about 3 patterns that had elements of the dresses she liked; of those, she chose New Look 6935.

We had to leave again almost immediately for the LAST end-of-the-year band concert, but once that was history I came home and began tracing.  Hope to get it muslined up tomorrow so I  know it's a go and can make a quick trip to Hancock's for suitable fabric.  I have an idea of what I want...but, you know, I'm just gonna hafta pick the best of what's there.
Fortunately, both of the reviews the dress has over on Pattern Review say the dress is very quick to make.

Glory hallelujah.

The Grad Dress, Part 1...fail

There is not much time before graduation...it is a week from Friday.

The Flute Player requires a white dress.

She'll wear this dress at least 4 times this summer...graduation, her Girls Ministry Gold Medal award ceremony, the Honor ceremony at state girls camp and the advancement ceremony for our local girls ministry program.

The church related events have requirements...no off-the shoulder, wiggle, or above knee dresses.

Time being short and all, I just figured we'd go shopping.

We'd planned to go tonight.

However, she had a ton of work to do on a powerpoint presentation due tomorrow and it became apparent about 7 that we were NOT going to make it shopping tonight.

So I decided to give a muslin a go; if I could find a dress that worked, I could make it about as quick as we could wander over the city shopping.

So our first go was Vogue 1348, a Tom and Linda Platt dress that I thought would make a nice dress for her.  I guesstimated her size, traced a 10 w/ no adjustments and whipped up a muslin.

It fit great in the shoulders but was too small everywhere else.  So I let out the seams as far as the pleats, which helped a bit, but it was still too snug in the hips.

And, you know, it just looked sorta meh on her.  She's a pear, and the snug fitting bodice and fullish skirt really kinda emphasized that.

So, after an evening of work, I've decided that dress won't suit her.

So I'm back to square one.

and we won't have a chance to go shopping until Friday...

Choir Wardrobe - after lunch on Mother's Day...

May colors are black, tan and turquoise.

So I went with black and turquoise today....and all old stuff.  I am dying to get to the sewing machine and make some of the stuff I need...but, well, I have too much catching up on non-sewing stuff to do to get ready for a grad in...yikes...about a week and a half.

So the old stuff is a silk/lycra tank, made from a modification of the bodice of my Loes Hinse City Dress;  Loes' Bistro jacket from herringbone RPL suiting, and CWC jeans.

This is AFTER we had mother's day lunch at a local Mexican restaurant.  I haven't eaten Mexican in a long, long time, and I was careful today to order nothing with red sauces or heavy spices. 

Oy.  Still ate too much....

At least mother's day only comes once a year. ;-)

Workwear 11 - Red, White and Denim

...actually, one of my favorite summer color combos.  The 'me-made' item here is the tiered plisse' skirt ...aka the Hippy Earth Mother skirt .  The sweater and the jacket are both Coldwater Creek labels that have been in my closet a while; that sweater is probably at least 8 years old. 

And I don't remember the skirt dragging the ground last year...maybe the bias has stretched downward a bit....

Still.  It's comfy and it's fun.  :-)

Workwear 10 - Lime and Brown

I'd like to take the Me Made May pledge, but the requirement to take a daily photo is beyond me.  This is how they would all look... Jumping in front of the timer is definitely not the best way to take a photo, but sometimes it's the only way.

Besides, I would want to reserve the right to wear old promo t shirts and ratty jeans on days when I don't leave the house; neither of which is made by me.

So I've kind of worked a deal out with myself; I'm going to try to wear at least one me-made garment every day I leave the house, and I'll take photos when I can.

:-)

I did this quick before I went to work, then moved the photos off my camera after working all day and taking in a PTA meeting.

So...every photo I'd taken has a candle coming out of my head.

Oh well.

The lime-and-brown combo is one I discovered back when I did the 2005 SWAP...in fact, I'm pretty sure I got the fabric for these pants with the intention of using them in the SWAP that year but  they got bumped.  For some reason, I felt like lime and brown again today...

Jacket:  McCall's 5191, in brown-eyelet on stretch denim
Top:  Simplicity 2599 in lime green rayon challis.  This is the third tweak on this pattern, and it's very, very close to TNT status.  I really need to update the review and retire that awful shiny rose first draft photo.
Pants:  Stretch N Sew 704 no-side-seam pull on pants w/welt pockets; in hefty brown linen.  That is a really good pants pattern...I need to make more of them...

Speaking of TNT's... in the 'oh, no, not again category'...I cut out a Farewell to Arms skirt out of a gorgeous rayon challis last fall, thought I bagged it up when I cleaned the 'cutting room' for The Artist to spend Christmas with us.

Decided to sew it up quick and...I could only find half the skirt.  One set of skirt pieces (there are two sets) and one set of pockets.  And it was wrapped up with the remnant, not bagged up like I thought.

I can't find the rest.

I really, really hope I did not accidentally throw it away.  I've done that before...

So, I've set it back for the time being.  Either it will show up again...or it won't.

Bummed.

Machine Dreaming

It has been over 20 years since I last purchased a sewing machine.

I stumbled across a blog post a day or so ago that has put me into new machine fever.  The comments and reviews that I can find on it (not many, actually) seem very favorable.

However...I'm still somewhat hesitant as it has an electronic display.  Not a full out touch screen, just an LED display with the stitch selection but...

I'd really rather select my stitches with a dial. It's not gonna go out or get fried.  It just seems more reliable.


But, maybe there's the rub?  The manufacturers no longer want to make a machine that can be handed down to granddaughters?

Funny...I bought my New Home when my Kenmore was 12 years old, thinking it was time for a new machine.  In 1992.  Or maybe it was 1994.  It was either the year before or the year after The Actor was born; sad that I can't remember which.  Anyway, I really haven't found a machine that I'd even consider purchasing as a replacement.  Until this week.

I just have to get over my fear of short-lived electronics.

But, hey, I'll still have the old machines as back up, right?

Maybe I'll see if there is one available to test run at the Expo....

Trench coat photos

I don't do photo shoots well...just not in my nature, I guess.   But here's the final product!

Looking at the back photo, I think I sewed too much of the pleat closed at the waist.  After the photo,   I went back and released about 2 1/2" inches from the bottom of that stitching.   Don't know when I can get another photo...


The upper pleat doesn't open too much, even with my arms crossed.

My hubby commented, 'That looks like a raincoat!'

To which I replied, 'Good!  'Cause that's what it is!'

eta...I fiinally went back and did the math. Given that the gabardine was on a crazy clearance sale, the entire coat cost less than $40.

So Much for Good Intentions

I made myself a solemn promise that I would not buy any new fabric until the trench coat was done.

Finished sewing yesterday and I was tempted to flip through fabric sites, but, well, I'm going to the Sewing Expo in Indy at the end of the month, so I thought I'd just save my fabric dollars for that.

But at lunch today the internet went down at work.

You can't do  much work if the database is in the cloud and the server is down.

So I decided to spend some of the comp time I racked up during the data migration and take the afternoon off.

And my route home takes me right past Hancock's.

You know what happened next.

I thought I'd just pop in and see if they had any fabric suitable for a white shirt.  I have some, but it's really pretty nice (and pricey) stuff, and I'd like to have a TNT to use it on rather than an untried pattern.

Didn't find any suitable white fabric (does anyone make white shirting that you can't see through any more?), but I did find some stuff that was on my wish list...

 

They had a flat fold table of miscellaneous knits; I've been wishing I had some black and white knits for cap-sleeve t's to wear this summer; that fills a gap in the wardrobe.  And, lo and behold, stripe knits!  (the triple stripe is actually dark navy blue).   The knit feels very nice, but there's no telling what's in it besides a hefty dollop of Lycra.   I grabbed those two and then hightailed it away from that table before I came up with a pile of knits...

 The chambray is just about the perfect weight/color for the denim shirt I intended to put in the SWAP collection.  It got bumped by the black denim jacket, but I still need a good denim shirt.  The sale price didn't strike me as being a real bargain, but since I've been hunting for it for a while I splurged.

And I checked the pattern books to make sure I was getting enough fabric (you know the trick...find a similar style and use that  yardage) and, oh, goody goody, Burda patterns were on sale.  So I got the pattern I used for my sample yardage, and then I spotted that jacket/dress combo and fell in love with that jacket.  So that came home, too.

At least all these things should be quick to sew...and, believe me, I am READY for some quick sewing...

C'est Fini!

....er, well, almost.

I still need to pull out all the basting stitches in the pleats and give it a good steaming, but all the sewing is done. ;-)

Hopefully I'll get a review-useable photo or two before the week is over.

Woot!! :-)

13 Buttons

That's all that stands between me and a finished trench coat.

13 buttons.

The button holes are on... and they'll do.

My biggest question...how on earth do I mark the placement of the inside buttons, the ones that button at the top and the waist to secure the underlap of the double breasted front?

I am gonna hafta study on that one....

Next Week for Sure

I did have hopes of finishing the trench coat this week....

Um, for those keeping score, My Sweet Baboo did take his Hunting Frock to the big camp out this weekend, but, in his own words, it's wearable...but not finished...

Anyway.  This is the week after Easter.  I am the church data base admin.  The sum of those two facts translates to...not much time for sewing.

Plus, the drama magnet spring play (Noises Off...hysTERical!) was this weekend.  The Flute Player was not on stage...she was in charge of props...but, being good theater parents, we went to Opening Night on Thursday...and today there was a fundraising dinner before the show.  Since I was there, and I had to hang around to take her home anyway, I volunteered to help with concessions.

Anyway, what that meant was that I stuffed the trench coat into a tote bag and took it with me last night and tonight, to work on while I waited for the show to end so we could go home.

I got the hem in and the sleeve lining sewed down.  And I had a bit of extra time, so I redid one of the  epaulette carriers.  And I was greatly encouraged by the folks who noticed what I was doing and had very nice things to say about the coat.

I've got a wee bit more hand work I could do...I could sew down the epaulette buttons and the pocket flap buttons; I could sew the belt carriers on and I could sew the belt onto the slider buckle.

But the next major step is to topstitch the front edges and sew in the button holes.

Once that's done,sewing on the buttons will be the only additional thing.

I'm beginning to think about the next project...and I'm gonna stick to the SWAP plan, although I'm not going to get ANYTHING done by the deadline except (hopefully) the trench coat.

I really, really need a button up white shirt .  That may be next...

End in sight...

Dunno if I'll finish this week or not...it's possible, though.  We'll see...

Got the hem pinned and pressed but I think I'll put the lining in before I actually hem the coat, that way I can finish off the bottom of the facing when I do the hem instead of just slipstitching it to the hem fold of the coat.
 So I thought I'd pull a couple more pics off the camera and show them...

The collar band fix; I've got the bias hymo tacked into the collar band here; next step is to tack the seams all together.

I could NOT get a nice flat coat photo of the inside; it kept slipping off the ironing board.  But at least you can see the key elements I added... namely, the front and back shield and the sleeve header.








Finally, here's one more bit that I added...there are two buttons for the sleeve tab; one in a sort of normal position and a second one a couple of inches over, to cinch up the sleeve a bit.

However, there really isn't any support for those buttons.  I fudged the first one over a bit and put it on the seam allowance so that it had some support, but that second button is just in the middle of nowhere.

So I cut a wee bit of interfacing and fused to the button position on both sleeves...just to give those buttons something to hang on to.

Progress...progress...

Choir Wardrobe: Easter Weekend Edition

Sewing blog.  For talking about sewing.

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I post about what I wore, for goodness sakes, when there's so much stuff that is so much more important to talk about.

I will refer you to the  link to the Choir Wardrobe explanation on the side bar, take a breath, and talk about what I wore.

Old stuff, all of it.  Someday I will finish the trench and commence to updating the rest of my wardrobe.

I'm just glad that April's colors are primarily ones that are in my wardrobe...purple and gray, and some yellow.

Anyway, Friday night I pulled out my One Yellow Top (Simplicity 2603)...yeah, the one that was missing all last summer.  I found it when I switched the fall wardrobe in October; somehow, it had gotten mixed in with the fall clothes and stored for the summer.  It's paired up with my slowly disintegrating gray modal knit Jalie 2919 cardi.

Replacing that cardi is high on the priority list; it really is falling apart.  The fabric has several holes that are just showing up for no discernible reason.  Fortunatly they're still quite small, so it works for what is basically stage wear, but, wow, I canna get much more from her, cap'n... Lee Jeans?  Maybe?

  And, lookit, on Saturday it's another Simplicity 2603, this one out of a sparkly gray poly/rayon knit, with the gray denim Jalie 2320 Jeans Jacket.  (I totally did not realize I did that...)   I don't remember which jeans I wore, which is really sad considering it was just last night.


Today I managed to wear something other than Jalie and Simplicity; this is the Loes Hinse Sweater Set from yummy bamboo jersey.  I had a yellow bracelet on when I left the house this morning, but I think I pulled it off and left it in my office as it was getting in my way typing.  I actually attended the Friday night service, and then sang in the choir, grabbed the data entry cards and worked in my office for the other 5 services (two on Saturday evening and three today).  I honestly don't remember taking the bracelet off; but I know that bangles typically annoy the stew out of me when I'm typing, so that's my guess.  Coldwater Creek jeans today...

Church staff have all been given tomorrow off; I forsee laundry and, if I manage it, some work on the trench.  My Sweet Baboo is getting very close to the finish line on his Hunting Frock...very close indeed...

Photo tests...

Downloaded Picasa and I'm slowly figuring it out.

I have to move the photos to an 'export' folder in order to resize them...the resized versions go in the export folder, while the originals remain untouched in their spot.  Makes sense, I suppose, it's just a paradigm shift.

So, I pulled a few photos to check the process:

 Drafting the pattern for the fleece batting sleeve header...

It's a really thin batting, used for baby quilts, I think.  It came in a pre-cut package and went into the sleeve very nicely.

 The back and front shields.  Incidentally, I've got that put in and I love the nice smooth look it gives the shoulder area.  Plus I can sew the shoulder pads straight to it.

I will take some more photos of the interior of the coat before I put the lining in.

Buttonholes by the Kenmore.

I read somewhere that a buttonhole should start exactly one button's width from the finished edge.  I think that might be a bit too far away for the tabs, but not enough to redo them. Just filed away for 'next time'.

Actually, I was supposed to use a smaller size button for the tabs, but I didn't catch that until after the WAWAK order w/all 7/8" buttons had arrived.  I'm not stressing over that.

Moving on...

Before I jump into the progress report, I have a question.

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a downloadable photo editor? Or, maybe I should rephrase that...does anyone have experience with a cheap photo editor?   I just need something that will crop and resize pictures, nothing fancy schmancy.  Microsoft apparently removed the photo editor from  their home package; I always used the one that was included in our Microsoft 03 package on the old HP, but, well, that has gone the way of all electronics. I really want to post some photos...

So.  Back to the sleeve dilemma.  Debbie had a very good point...something that Cynthia Guffey has stressed in her classes...you can't judge fit of a garment unless you've got both sleeves on.  I knew that...but I didn't really want to put that other sleeve on just to take it off again.

Then I had a facepalm moment...I'd already FINISHED the lining...it had both sleeves set in, cut at exactly the finished sleeve length at the moment.

So I pulled the lining out and put it on.  Hm.  Looked promising, so I took a breath and put the other sleeve on.

Yeah, it's still pretty long.

But when I cross my arms, the sleeves hit precisely where I want them to.

I need that extra length after all.

So...woot woot, I pressed the sleeve seams, pulled out all the gathering/basting stiches and serged the seam allowances.

I'm looking at a fair amount of handwork now; I've got a floating back shield that I attached at the shoulders to floating chest shields and I'm going to hand tack that assembly to the shoulder seams and the armsceye seams, and have a look and see if that gives me just that pinch of extra support or if it really makes the top boardy.

And I also have some fleece sleeve headers to put in as well to support the shoulder cap.

None of that is in the pattern guide, btw.  I'm making it up as I go.

Then I will add the shoulder pads; at some point in there I'll hem the sleeves, too.

Then I'll put the lining in.

I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  There's only one more major hurdle now...the buttonholes.  The Kenmore makes nice ones, but with the cam set up it's always a bit of a guess as to just exactly where it's going to start sewing in the button hole pattern.

I'm still trying to think how to get rid of that guessing...

Tripped up again....

Got one of the sleeves on last night and could not resist putting it on to get a glimpse of what the finished coat would look like and had a bit of a shock.  If you go back and look at the photos of the muslin, you'll see that the finished sleeve length hits right about the bottom of my thumb joint...which would be about right for an overcoat.

I was really surprised, since I almost ALWAYS have to shorten sleeves.

But that looked good.  So I made no alterations.

And last night, when I put on the one-armed coat, I found that the finished sleeve length hit about the tip of my thumbnail.

Whhaaattt???

I did put the muslin on over a sweatshirt, since I wanted to make sure it had ample ease for wearing over a bulky underlayer.  The only explanation I can come up with is that the muslin fabric just didn't slide over the sweatshirt fleece totally and I didn't catch it.

But I went to work today, thinking in my head about how simple it will be to shorten the sleeves, especially since I caught it before I had them both on.

I came home, put the unattached sleeve on the ironing board and suddenly was confronted with a detail I had forgotten.

I'd put a lovely bit of fusible interfacing on the hem.  To fix it properly..., well, I'm not sure I can fix it properly, since I will not have to remove enough length to cut away all the interfacing.  But I definitely want interfacing on that hemline.

So...the only other alternative would be to shorten the sleeve from the top.  Which is probably do-able, I just haven't done it before.

Or, do I just leave the extra length, knowing that it will allow me plenty of ease for bulk in chilly weather?

Oy...

Off and On

My inner perfectionist took over for a bit last night and the collar and band came off the coat.  I trimmed as much off the ends as I could w/o messing with the actual collar, and cut a bias strip of hymo and painstakingly whipped it down to the already graded  collar/band seam allowance, then I put the collar assembly back on the coat.

It went in MUCH smoother, and the collar band stands up nicely.

So all I have to do now is catchstitch the inner band/facing seam to the outer band/coat seam and I'll be back to where I was when I got home from work last night.

Maybe I'll get the sleeves in tonight...

Two steps backwards

Moan about the collar band, part two...

Finished all the handstitching on it and got the sideseams sewn up so I could actually try on the coat.

I wasn't happy with the collar band...it had some bagginess/rippling going on due to being kinda squeezed into the available space...but I thought I could live with it.

However, once I put it on I realized that it really wasn't beefy enough to support the collar...it kinda flops around.

My fabric is a tropical weight wool gab...not at all heavy...but the fusible tricot just wasn't stiff enough to hold it up.

What to do, what to do.

I could ignore it; it's not really something that noticeable.

But I wasn't happy.

I've just about convinced myself I need to pull the whole thing off, take the collar off the band, sew the collar band at exactly the end of the collar (right now, there's about a 1/4" notch that sticks out beyond the collar) and maybe tack in a strip of  hymo to hold it up.

Or maybe just putting the hymo in there would support it enough to get rid of most of the ripples.

Hm. All I'd have to undo then would be the hand stitching.

Might be worth a try.

Still No Pictures :-(

I thought I 'd be able to share some photos of the trench coat progress...I really am making some!!...but, while the new computer is up and running, the Microsoft photo editor that I was using on the old machine apparently has not been part of the upgrade and I can't edit my photos to get them into what I consider 'post worthy' shape.

So I'll give a little report.  As of this morning, I'd gotten everything done I could possibly do before making buttonholes and I pulled out the Kenmore and made some keyhole buttonholes in the pocket flaps, the sleeve tabs and the shoulder tabs.

The pockets were then staring me in the face...I'll admit, I was really intimidated by those pockets, and the directions were, at best, sketchy.  I altered the recommended process a bit; I did NOT slash the dart open until after I was satisfied with the placement of the flap and pocket bags.  All in all, it was probably easier than doing a regular welt pocket with a flap, but, well, I'd be nervous doing that, too.  Cutting into the coat front is just scary, period.

Next up on the nervous-o-meter was the collar.  I already had the collar constructed and on the band, ready to be attached, so I gulped and kept going.  It gave me some aggravation; the band was a bit bigger than the neckline.  I'm not sure why, other than after all the wrasslin' I wondered if I put 5/8" seams on the ends of the band pattern (although I don't know why, unless I thought I had to match the front or something) and then sewed it w/ 3/8" seams, which would've made it about 1/2" too big...and that's about what it seemed to be.  I need to check the pattern tracing.

But, by clipping and stretching the coat neckline and the facing neckline and workin' it, I managed to get it on and, surprisingly, it's not too awful, once it's pressed out.

But, should I decide to make another coat from this pattern, I WILL be checking that.

Current status: pressing out the lapel points and the long facing seams and catchstitching the facing/inner band  coat/outerband seams.

My Sweet Babboo has been sewing a coat, too...something called a 'Hunter's Frock', made from unbleached canvas,  for his frontiersman group.  He's using a pattern from Missouri River Patterns -- and he's handsewing it.  With a needle and linen thread.  He's been toting it around with him for the last 6 weeks or so, working on it every chance he gets, and he's farther along on it than I am on my trench.

How embarrassing.  :-)  Fortunately, I'm in the rapid progress stage; even the lining is completed and ready to go in.  If I can manage to get into the sewing nook at all in the next few days, I should have something that looks like a coat.

'Course, the finish work is all hand sewing...hemming and lotsa buttons.  So he could still beat me.

Yikes.

Moving to 7...

Which means all my photo files are in limbo land at the moment.  So I'm not going to be able to post any photos until we get the old XP tower switched out for the Windows 7 machine that has been sitting in the middle of the room waiting on 1) all the files to be backed up to the external drive and 2) My Sweet Babboo to have a few hours to block out to switch wires and install the software.  I'm hoping he can get to it in what remains of the weekend, but, well, you  know how these things go.

So, now that I think (I HOPE) I've got all my stuff on the external drive, I'm free to do other things...like laundry and sewing on the trench coat.  I've been doing it in an extremely unorthodox sewing order, but I'm trying to get as much done as I can before I pull out the old Kenmore so that I can use its button hole cams to make keyhole buttonholes.  I've got to do them in the pocket flaps, the sleeve tabs and the shoulder tabs.  Then I've got to put the coat together before I can add the rest of the button holes.  I don't want to haul the machine out, put it up, then haul it out again, so once I set it up it's going to stay up until I get all the buttonholes made.

So, as of right now, all the little bits are done to the button holes.  The front and back shields are made; not 100% sure I'll use them but they're done.  The back has the darts in, the pleat sewn up, basted up and hand basted flat.  The rain fly has been lined and attached to the shoulders.  I've thread traced the stitching lines on the darts on the front where the pockets will go.  The front and back facings are sewn together.

I'm starting on the lining.

I probably should take some photos of it while it's in progress, just for documentation purposes.  But I'm not going to be able to post any photos (including the Choir Wardrobe...:-( )  until we're on the other side of the switcheroo.

Whee.  Here we go...

Watching the 'Bee... (Spoiler Warning!)

It was semi-finals on The Great British Sewing Bee today.

Yes, I'm going to talk about what happened, so if you don't want to know yet, you are excused and encouraged to close the window and come back later. ;-)

Fair warning?

Ok.

I fully expected Lynda to be one of the last three standing.  She was off to a great start in the semifinals with her adorable draped-on-the-mannequin dress that, thanks to Patrick's word of advice, she did NOT overdo.  The sleeve challenge was not so good for her, but there was still no indication of what would happen to her on the second day of the no-pattern week sewing.

My heart broke for her.  I've been there...that odd garment that creeps up every once in a while that just seems to be doomed from the start, the one that seems to get in a bigger mess as more effort is put into making it right.

And of course it's something that  just can't be ditched.

Patrick and May said before their final discussion that Lynda was inconsistent.  Well, so am I.  I'll have something that turns out spectacularly, then a row of so-so garments, then the one dud that makes me wonder why I thought I could sew.   Her horror at realizing that she did not have enough fabric to cut her dress took me back to the recent realization that I'd cut the wrong piece out of the face fabric on the trench coat.

I'll even tell you a secret...despite my checking and rechecking, somehow the very first thing I did to that coat was fuse the front interfacing to what I intended to use as the right side.

I guess I'm glad it was the first thing; if I'd done the first side as intended and THEN messed it up there'd be no fixing it.  But the coat is now being constructed matte side out instead of the shinier twilled side out.  Because, well, that's what you do...make the best of it.

And I've watched Lynda make the best of it all the way through, not only with the garments that she's won individual challenges with, but also with the ones that just didn't work.  She hung in there and did great work, so-so work and had a couple of duds.  That's sewing for most of us.

I think that's why I have enjoyed The Great British Sewing Bee so much.  It really is real folks.

I think I could've more or less kept up with the challenges up to this point, although I'm not sure how well I would've handled the 'high street transformations'. I'd just have to hope that the costumer anointing would kick in.   But today's program's no-pattern week would've been over my head.  I don't sew that way...I don't even own a dress form.  I've drafted some skirts, but that's about it.  I don't think I could do a bodice or a sleeve.  My idea of copying a garment is finding a similar pattern and altering it up.  So I don't think I'd've made it through this week.  I'm really impressed with how well those ladies did, especially given the time constraints they had. 

Delighted to see the little bit on Madeleine Vionnet!