Fabric Aquisition Road Trip

Not getting the opportunity to attend any Expo this year, Miss A and I decided to do a little jaunt up to Nashville to take advantage of Textile Fabric's Moving Sale...50% off all fabric and trims...as much for a change of scenery as anything.  I really didn't intend to buy much.

Famous last words.

The Remnants rack was actually marked at 75% off retail, so I looked there first.

Sequins on black mesh; I know they look red, but trust me, they're a rich burnt orange...a color we wear every October in choir.  Hoping to get a little shell top or tank top for some fall bling.  Not to mention a new sewing experience...I've never done sequins before...







 I found a gorgeous piece of rayon challis for, like, five bucks.  It's just a yard and a half, but it should be enough for a camp shirt, eh?  The green/black lace is non-stretch;  but we'll be wearing that kelly green later this summer so I thought I'd go for a lace T.  Not sure if I'll line it or just wear it over a tank.






I also picked up a few pieces off the bolts at half price.  Cotton/lurex/lycra shirting...it's black and silver...a gorgeous rayon/lycra jersey knit and brown/black/white stripe bottomweight linen.

I only got the pieces that I decided I'd be mad at myself if I came home without them.  There was another piece of lightweight wool that would've made a KILLER tunic top for winter, but at $50/yd on sale it was still too rich for my blood.

Then we ate lunch at a posh restaurant and headed back south.  We decided to do a little jog on the way home and swung 20 miles east to Fayetteville for a visit to Sir's Fabrics.

I'd forgotten that the entire month of May constitutes Sir's Founders Days...with 20 - 25 percent discounts on almost everything in the store.  I was particularly looking for some brown suit weight fabric I could use for some costuming...and you'll be hearing more about that in the days to come...and I STRUCK GOLD (click on the photo to read the selvage):

I got 6 5/8 yards for the astonishing price of (including tax)  $4.15/yd.  The Superfine wools I'd seen at Textile started at about $89/yd retail...so, yeah.  GOLD.  That should do for my costuming and maybe some regular clothes for the closet.  It's a birds eye weave and it feels MARVELOUS.

So, yeah, the fabric in totals jumped a bit (sheepish grin).  But I'm probably not going to buy any more for quite a while.

Yeah, yeah.  Famous last words. ;-)

A Lavender Herb top!

The final selection was Cutting Line Designs'  My Heart's Aflutter shell top.  It's one I've been wanting to try out for quite some time and I knew it would be wearable, since I've sewn with CLD patterns before I had an idea how it would fit.

I don't  have a photo of it actually on me yet, but I can report that it's not bad.  It does need a bit of tweaking to be dead perfect, but I can wear it under a top layer for the choir this month and it will be just fine.

Mostly, I need to petite the armhole about 1/2"...which would not ordinarily be a problem, but there's that dart in the armhole.  Which points just a wee bit high for me.

I might need a slight FBA, but it could also be that once I have the darts pointing right the fullness will drop down into the right place and I won't need one.

I made a M+, and swung out to the L for the hipline band.   I don't think I need to do that in the front; the fabric just kind of hangs straight down from the full bust, which, while very comfy, is not terribly flattering.  I'm thinking I could move the front back to an M+ and that will help a little with that extra fullness.

So basically all I have to do is figure out how to shorten the armhole without messing up the dart.  And make another one pretty quickly so I've got it down pat.  Then I can crank out about a dozen.

:-)

Choir Wardrobe 05 10

...In Which She Actually Remembers the Scarf:

Colors for May are Black, Gray and 'Lavender Herb'...which is kind of a pinky lavender.  Or maybe it's pink with lavender overtones.  Whatever.

CWC jeans with a gray Jalie 2566 T and Loes Hinse's Bistro Jacket in black poly suiting.

With the fringy poly burnout scarf.

Photo taken after three church services, a delightful lunch and ice cream treat with the kids.  Mother's Day and all...always glad for an excuse to hang out with the offspring. ;-)

Now I'm going to go up to the cutting room and not come out until I have something cut out of the lavender linen...

A Quick choice

Although this may look pink on your monitor, it's actually lavender...really and truly the very shade of lavender that is this month's accent color for choir.  I was looking for another piece and found it in my linen bin.   4.5 yards that I believe came from Michael about 11 years ago; I probably ordered 3 and it was cut very generously.

But it is a fairly substantial linen.  Soft and kind of lofty.  If you click on it, you can get an idea of the weave and the texture.

Obviously not getting it done for tomorrow, but there are 3 Sundays left in May and I really and truly have NOTHING but a scarf in this color.  So I need to make at least one item up really quick.

A tunic?  A tank top?  An unlined jacket?  A little tailored top?

Oy, the choices are endless but the time is not.

Think think think....

Almost Choir Wardrobe...Substitute fit photos.

May's colors are gray and black, along with the current Pantone lavender, which is rather pink toned rather than blue/purple. 

My lavender tops are on the blue side.

So I thought I'd just wear a black sweater shell, gray Jalie pleated cardigan, and a fringed poly print scarf that is pink/lavender.  Only the scarf is polyester, rather scratchy and hot and very fringy, so I pulled it off to eat breakfast.

And realized about halfway to church that it was still draped over the chair at home.

Not much purpose in taking a photo of just the black sweater and the cardi; you've seen them both lotsa times before and I'm sure the scarf will find its way into the wardrobe before the month is over.

So, instead, I dug the jacket muslin out of the bag I'd stuffed it in and let My Sweet Baboo take some pics that will hopefully show the issues I"m having with it.

I have moved the left front armsceye into the garment about 5/8", just as a test; the right sleeve hasn't been adjusted.

You've got to click them to get them to show the details; firstly, note that the front armsceye seam is on my arm, not on the pivot between my arm and my body. Secondly, I've got foldy things going on in front of the armsceye.   There is a little excess around the princess seam as well, but that would be an easy adjustment.  It's the vertical slop that really bugs me.

 From the side and back...I think the back is just a pinch too long, and, while the armsceye seam sits on my shoulder back much better, there's still a lot of drapey goo going on; folds that run from my shoulder blade right down into the sleeve back.  That might go away with shoulder pads, but I really don't want shoulder pads in a casual denim jacket.

I don't know if the princess seam adjustment would be enough to pull the front up to level with the back.  But there's the suggestion that the peplum has hung up on the jeans so it may not be hanging quite normally anyway.

I don't normally have to make sway back adjustments.

So there's the  4th iteration on the muslin.  Better than the first in some ways but still a long way from wearable.  I'm not throwing it out...but I've got to learn more about sleeve fitting, or at least come up with a different TNT pattern that I can use to correct this one.

It's a cute jacket...but I've hit the wall on this one.  I'm ready to try something different, if only to clear my palate. 

It's going into the 'maybe someday' bin...

Enough already

I'm crying 'Uncle!' on this one.

This is the 4th muslin.  The sleeves, while no longer batwing droopy, STILL do not join the body correctly.  They look to me as though the armsceye is set too much round to the back and there's a bunch of what Cynthia Guffey would call 'goo'  in front of the lower armsceye.

It just doesn't look...right, although it doesn't feel too bad.

Moral:  I need to develop a good, basic jacket pattern onto which I can morph specific details, like the cute little peplum back on this jacket.  Trying to alter up the shoulder/sleeve/armsceye is just not working for me.

And, you know, looking at those original photos, it looks like it would be a simple adjustment to scoot the sleeve up and in.

Ha ha and ha.

Oy.  I hate starting over.

Choir Wardrobe 4/26/15

So, two days before the last day to wear the bright turquoise blue, I pulled out some rayon/lycra jersey that  had been in the stash since Feb 2012. It was too intense for the lighter turquoise we were supposed to wear that year, but it was dead on the color for this year.  I cut out the Jalie Pleated Cardigan, and, the day before the last day to wear that color, I managed to get it through the machines...much against their wishes, apparently.  Or it could be that flimsy rayon jersey is just beastly to sew.  We're good so long as no one looks really close

But it meant that I got to wear it on the last day for the bright turquoise.  Along with  the gray sparkly Simplicity 2603 and new dark wash Levis.  Good ol' Levis...still under $40.

That's the fifth Jalie 2919 cardigan I've made; I altered up the sleeves, and there's a fishtail sweep in the back, both of which I've done before.  But this time I actually followed the pattern instructions and put the pleats to the OUTSIDE.  I didn't even notice they were supposed to be that way until after I made the 4th one...

I have enough of the turquoise to make another Simplicity 2603.  Twin set time.

Refresh the cover...

My ironing board cover was showing its age.

I'm not sure exactly how old it is; I *think* I bought it after we moved into this house, which would mean it's no more than 10 years old, but I found some photos with the current cover in 2007 and it was already rather marked up. It was, I believe, the 3rd ironing board cover I have used since we got married in 1980.

But over the years, water stains, odd bleeds and mucho fusible residue  had left its mark.  I  had gotten to the point where I was laying an old shirt over the cover to keep it from marking white fabrics.

So, when I was in Target a couple of days ago and happened to walk through the homegoods section, I spied ironing board covers and got one.  No print comparable to the sky-and-clouds that makes me smile, so I got a plain one.

For some reason I decided last night that it was time to do the switch.  I pulled the iron stand and cord support off,  unclipped the drawstring and released the velcro straps and pulled it off.

And was astonished to see that the inside of the cover was just as nicely finished as the outside.  It was self lined and...oh, my, the seams are all on the inside...could it be???

I turned it inside out and put it back on the board.  Except for wrapping the velcro straps backwards, with the free end next to the board, it was completely reversible.  I had a nearly ...a few water marks had bled through...new looking cover right there.

I put the other one in the cabinet for use  at a later date and commented to my hubby I had purchased a better cover than I knew.

Then he asked me if I replaced the pad.

See, he's gone on a wool blanket kick.  First he made his capote from a wool blanket, then he began scouring ebay for good deals on wool blankets.  He made another capote for a friend, but the blankets have piled up.  One of them was a green army blanket, which turned out to be too small for his purpose, so he gave it to me for an ironing board pad.

I'd forgotten about it.

But, whilst I had the clamped accessories off the board, it seemed a good time to add the wool padding, so I pulled out the blanket, washed and dried it on hot to felt it up some, then cut it out, using one of the old poly pads as a guide (I actually had 3 pads on the ironing board...the original one, the padding from the second one, and the padding that is built into the current cover)

 I serge finished the edges, although that probably wasn't absolutely necessary since it's been felted, then put it on the board.  I threw away the oldest poly pad (not pictured anywhere) as it was pounded paper thin, but I kept the one I used for a pattern as it was still pretty cushy.  I cut two wool pads and laid them over the old one.

 Then I rather carefully secured the cover, reverse-side- out, over the triple layer.

You can't even tell that's the inside, can you?  I figure it's going to be good for another 5 years...and I've got the replacement already.

It might take me a while to get used to the smell of the wool under the steam iron, though...

And, I might have enough of the wool to make a button-in lining for my trench.  Maybe. ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 4/19/15

I'm cutting myself a little slack; it wasn't just Sunday...it was also The Artist's birthday.  So we had a very busy day.

April colors are deep turquoise, coral, yellow and gray. I'd worn nearly all my acceptable wardrobe on Easter weekend.  So I pulled out the 'I only wear it if I have to' yellow fuzzy knit Simplicity 2603 top and put it with the gray rayon jersey Sewing Workshop Ann's Cardigan, after I mended the teeny hole in the shoulder that was beginning to get bigger.  Such nice fabric...and it had holes.  I thought I had managed to lay the pattern out around them, but one landed just outside of the seam allowance on the shoulder.  The darning job is  not as good as my grandmother would've done, but it looks better than the hole.

The jeans looked darker...and therefore dressier...in the mirror.  I think the lighting washed them out a bit.


Good darkwash jeans are so hard to find.  I should just bite the bullet and get a jeans pattern tweaked and make my own.... ;-)

Quick Trip Weekend

No choir post this week; we watched first service via 4G as we were driving through southern Indiana.

My father-in-law turned 90 on Friday, and all the far-flung children and grandchildren congregated for a surprise celebration.  Only one in-law couldn't make it, due to an unalterable schedule conflict.

Just to make this applicable to a sewing blog, I will say I packed jeans, my gray Jalie Jeans jacket and an assortment of TNT Jalie T shirts; it was no-hassle packing and dressing.

But we drove 26 hours in 4 days.  Not sure when I'm going to catch up and manage a coherent blog post... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe: 2015 Resurrection Weekend

Five services spread over 3 days.  And, as is usual, to talk about what I wore just seems...kinda pitiful.  We had an amazing word.

So, if you want to know why I bother talking about clothes when there's so much more significant subject matter available, I'll refer you to the post that 's linked on the sidebar for explanation and throw out my disclaimer that  'It really ain't about clothes...but this is a sewing site'.

The choir wardrobe colors for April are:

Or sort of, anyway.  Turns out the representation of that turquoise on my monitor was a bit off from what the actual color is...which is pretty deep and intense.  So the turquoise pieces I had picked out to wear this weekend got put back in the closet.  I do have a 3+ yard piece of rayon jersey that IS the right color, and it is currently on the cutting table to be turned into a Jalie pleated cardi (linked below) and a Simplicity scoop neck top, but it didn't happen in time to wear it this weekend.

So I made do.  Fortunately, I had things in the other colors from previous years. :-)  But I hadn't switched the seasonal wardrobe yet, so I had to dig some things out of the off-season bin.

 Friday night...it was Jalie and Jeans.  2919 Pleated front cardigan, in a coral rayon blend, with a sleeveless Jalie 2682 top, in what is actually a kinda crisp rayon jersey.  And, yes, that's a new haircut; the stylist wanted to straighten it so I have a hair style this weekend that probably will never quite be replicated by yours truly.





Saturday I grabbed the sparkly sheer knit Sewing Workshop Eureka Top, which is over a gray rayon/lycra Jalie 965 tank because it can't be worn alone for any reason.  The loopy scarf was made for me by my sister for Christmas.  And jeans.



For Sunday, I pulled out my linen Vogue 1055 Adri Jacket and ironed the storage wrinkles out of it.  It's over a rayon/lycra jersey Vogue 2925 top that's a good 4 years older than the linen topper and matches purely by serendipitous chance.  However, the effect would be more impressive if I had had time to get the photo before we left for church, instead of when we got home many hours later.

And I attempted to recreate the professionally-done hairstyle the same morning as crock-potting the roast and veggies and baking some goodies to treat my data entry volunteers who were working today.  Limited flatiron experience and less time and...why I'm embracing the hobbit hair... ;-)

We'll see if I can squeak out enough time to get that cardi/top set done before the colors change again.

Choir Wardrobe 03/29 -- the Hasty Photographer edition.

I suppose I can't complain too much...we had professional portraits done back in 2006...one of those fundraiser deals...and the lapel on my jacket was turned up in every picture exactly the same. 
Except we didn't notice it until AFTER we'd gotten home the whole package of photos we'd bought.

My Sweet Babboo was late for a meeting by the time we got home today; he snapped the picture and left, I went and changed clothes and ate lunch.  Then I pulled the photos off the camera and saw what he missed.

I almost didn't post them...then I thought, what the heck.  This is real life, y'all. ;-)

So...for a cold snap on the last day of 'lucite' green, navy and gray, here's what I wore...except I *think* the collar behaved itself better when in public:

Navy Cotton Jalie 2566T, with frankepatterned 3/4 length sleeves,  Burda 05-2009-108 vest, made from a poly/lycra matte -backed satin that the online vendor had labeled as charmeuse;  I made the vest with the matte side out and used the satin side for the collar.  It worked, but it was very unpleasant stuff to work with and it's rather cloying to wear; as a vest, it's bearable.  I tried to make a jacket from it and got a very bad wadder.  The scarf is a remnant from the same fabric that I used for the tank top that I intended to wear today, but as it was 31 degrees when we left the house I reverted to the wintery version.  Lee jeans, labeled 'short' but requiring at least a 2" heel.

Easter is coming...5 services spread over 3 days.  The choir post next week will be picture heavy.

If I can get my photographer to take a breath and look at  his subject. ;-)

Back to the cutting board...

I got the 2nd go at the Neue Mode jacket complete to the sleeves; it was looking pretty good.

Until I tried to put in the sleeves.

I had something like 1 1/4" too much ease in the front, after I *thought* I had painstakingly walked the seams to make sure I didn't.

I pondered what to do.  At some point, I wished I had an already-tweaked TNT jacket to compare the pattern to, but I didn't.

Or did I?

I wore one of my McCall's 5191 jackets to work last week, and when I got home that night I realized...that one might do.

Now, I looked hard at the McCall's jacket and it is wide on the shoulders, with a shallow sleeve cap.  I don't think I'd be comfortable in it had I not made it from lycra-blended fabric. But, taking that into account, I compared the Neue Mode jacket to the McCall's and found that I still needed to raise the underarm (cough) slightly. 

 You can see the two iterations of underarm-raising clearly...I ended up raising it something like 2", and adding a good bit of fabric just in front of the lower armsceye.

Once I had the  armsceye adjusted, I began to work on the sleeve to make it match. 

The Neue Mode sleeve was actually rather large on me anyway, so I narrowed it  by slashing from the cap to the hem and overlapping the sleeve cap.    I did it to both in front of and behind the shoulder point, and that resulted in a need to shorten the cap height to true up all the seams.

But I was still over an inch too long in the front.  I finally took a wedge out of the front, tapering to to nothing by the back seam.

I have a weird looking sleeve, but it does actually kind of resemble illustrations I have seen in old pattern books.  So who knows. 

Finally, I ended up narrowing the back at the lower armsceye, where I had a pouf of fabric.

So I took apart the muslin, trimmed down the pieces that could be trimmed down, cut some of the new ones from pieces that had to be replaced, and ended up cutting a new front and side front.




So it's ready for the 3rd time.  If this one looks bad, I may just ditch the pattern for the time being and  try one from a pattern company whose sloper is more familiar for my black denim jacket.

And, you know, I was cutting , so I also cut out  a first go at the Sewing Workshop's Helix pants...to which I have, whaddya  know, added pockets.  A turquoise Jalie top and a black-and-gray strip Jalie t.

A goodly number of these garments will work for SWAP, but I'm not sure I'm going to finish.  The Refashion/reversible requirement may KO me at the last minute.  I had a plan for that...a silk blouse that's been cut out and in the queue for a REALLY long time, using buttons I'm removing from a worn-out version of the same pattern.  But the SWAP plan is turning out to be fairly casual and I'm not sure a silk blouse will be 'sympathetic' to the rest of the collection.

And I'm losing an  entire weekend in April to a sudden out of town trip.

We'll see...

Choir Wardrobe 3/22/15

March colors...'lucite' green (mint), navy blue and gray.

I took the LaStrada top to the cutting board and whacked 3" off the length of the shoulders, 3" off the length of the front and 5" off the length of the back and sewed the sideseams up about 3" beyond the only mark on the side seam.

It turned out much less floppy than the original, but I'm not sure how much wear it will get; the hip still fits a big snuggly and the fabric is so fine all the seams and facing show right through.  So it may get relegated to PJ top, but I was able to alter up the pattern based on this and I'm planning to give it another shot soon.

But with just a bit showing under a cardi, it's not bad.  Lee jeans, a navy Jalie 965 tank and the gray Jalie 2919 cardi.  Makin' it work. ;-)

Little switch...

So, I have the in-need-of-alteration Hot Patterns top on the cutting table upstairs, but I'd already switched out the thread in the serger so I decided to get something else out of the queue.

Made it on Monday, but, as yesterday was St. Patrick's day and I had to wear green to celebrate my1/16 Irishness, I wore it today.  And took a crummy bathroom selfie, but you can get the idea.

Katherine Tilton's Vogue 8691, made up in a marbled cotton/lycra jersey that was kind of a last minute 'oh, what the heck' addition to an on line order late last year.

Very good impulse, that time.  It feels wonderful and was very nice to sew.

My only complaint about the top is that the band is just a teeny bit too wide for the curve of the neck and buckles slightly.  But not bad enough for me to take it off and trim it and certainly not at all difficult to edit next time.  

Back to the LaStrada  top...

Choir Wardrobe 3/15/15...Punting...

I intended to show you a new bright green Hot Patterns La Strada top today in the choir post.

Still in the plan...but not like I intended.  The green top didn't work and, faced with a need to pick something quick, I went with something that's going to look really, really familiar.


Yup.  Switching the scarf for the mint/seafoam/ Lucite green necklace, and a rayon Jalie 2566 T for the cotton/lycra one...it's the same as Thursday's work wear post.

Because it works with March colors...blue, gray and Lucite green.

I finished the top last night and sighed over it's extreme oversized-ness but figured I'd make it work.  But as I got ready this morning, I thought of something I *might* be able to do to fix it up a bit, and I didn't want to wear it if it might be fixable.  Hence the last minute swap.

But I put the top on over my blue T, just so you would get an idea of what I'm up against.

The extreme sheerness of the fabric is certainly not the pattern's fault;  I knew when I ordered it that it was very thin and planned to use it for a loose drapey top layer.  It was supposed to go over a blue Jalie 965 tank top.

 Very seriously drapey.  The sleeves are a good 3" longer than they look to be in the pattern illustration.  And, as that length really comes from the width at the top, it looks hugely oversized above the bustline.

And, since the shoulder line is so long, the underarm seam is pretty low.

As in it hits just above my waist.

Even if I didn't need an underlayer due to the sheerness of the fabric, I'd need an underlay for decency's sake based on that open side seam.

The back shows the huge shoulders really well...but you can see that I don't have a pinch of extra ease below the waist.  In fact, it might could use a pinch MORE. (I cut a size 12, based on the bust measurements/ finished garment measurements)

Anyway.  Gonna try cutting that upper chest/shoulder volume down a bit by shortening the shoulder line substantially and raising the underarm seam to a much higher stopping point.

Maybe it will work, maybe not.  I like the design...but it's gonna need some work to be wearable.

Work Wear 17

...Because today was an 'If you see it, I made it' kinda day...

I wanted to wear the new cotton voile scarf.  So I scrounged around in the closet to see what I had that would work today.

And I pulled out my original Sewing Workshop Thai Coat. which is a deep blue with white pindots.

At first, I put on a white T and jeans.  But it just didn't work...the slits on the side of the coat were high enough that the white t peeped out on the sides if I didn't tuck it in and, while jeans seem to go with most everything...they just didn't seem to be quite right.

So.

I tried the tropical wool Sewing Workshop Plaza Pants...and they worked.

'Sympathetic' is the word May Martin uses on the Sewing Bee.

 And, as luck would have it, my navy cotton/lycra Jalie 2566 was hanging in the closet instead of in the laundry basket.

Column dressing, to be sure.

And the blues in the scarf pretty much worked with it all.  But that camera flash...sigh...

Oh well.  It was fun to wear.

Here's a look at the scarf;  I had two yards of the fabric and thought I could just split it in half lengthwise.  But I found that I needed to pay attention to those zig zags...and they got wider as the pattern moved across the fabric.  So I ended up cutting it a little less than half way across, and I used the side with the narrower zig zags.  Getting some practice using the narrow rolled edge foot... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 3/8/15

This looks so uber casual...but the gray fabric sparkles...

Sewing Workshop Eureka top...hm, nuther review I need to write...from a really sheer, really sparkly, really devious to sew rayon jersey over a gray rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 965 tank top, with RTW Jeans.

And a navy blue necklace, 'cause the colors for March are gray, navy and 'Lucite Green'...which is the current Pantone-speak for 'mint'.

I actually ordered this fabric last fall specifically to make this top and, since we're wearing gray for three straight months, figured maybe I'd better get it done.

I did give the back of the top a little hi/lo action, with a downward swish that doesn't show at all in the photo  but made it more graceful, IMHO.

I'm not kidding when I say it was ghastly to sew.   Had to baby the serger big time to get it to even make a stitch on it.  The neckband...well, the fabric curled like a pillbug with the least amount of stretch, so the first attempt at the neckband didn't work....it curled and skinnied and didn't even stretch enough to go on without puckers.

So I cut another one...wider and longer...so that it wouldn't disappear and I wouldn't have to stretch it so much.  It looked nicer from the stitching point of view, but it was too wide and long to lay flat on the neckline.

So my solution was to press the whole thing to the wrong side and topstitch it down. Worked great, and it doesn't matter that the neckline is too wide; I'm always going to wear it with an underlayer anyway.

I was really relieved to finish it...but now I'm enjoying its funky sparkle.  You may see this a lot in the next 3 months... ;-)

In the Queue...

We had a 'winter weather event'...basically an ice storm although it was not as bad as it could've been, it was bad enough to close the roads for a couple of days.

So I spent some time at my cutting table...

I unpicked the denim jacket muslin and trimmed some pieces, recut others.  It's back in the queue to be sewn up; hoping I have solved the shoulder issues and can cut out the fabric.

But I moved on to the second version of the McCall's 6436 shirt; this one in the white.  I moved down the bust dart, cut the collar about 1/4" back away from the center front on the band, added a pinch to the back hip and reworked the 'painless placket' to be a little more useful.  Hoping that works on that one as well.  If it turns out, it's a SWAP item done.

One of the things I kinda went crazy on in the last sales was fabric for scarves.  I bought two pieces of silk chiffon/charmeuse burnout...two yards, split in half lengthwise, will make two oblong scarves.

So that's four scarves...two for me, two to give away.

I also bought two pieces of cotton voile, with the same thing in mind.

One of the pieces of cotton voile I've put back for later...I may make scarves, or I may do something else.

The silk has been cut into rectangles and is slowly getting fed through the narrow rolled hem foot on the sewing machine.  I'm very glad these are not going to be closely inspected.  There is a knack to that rolled hem foot...maybe I'll get it by the time I get all four of those made.

The other piece of voile I cut first...it was a bit longer than 2 yards, and it was 54" wide so I'm thinking I might actually squeeze a camp shirt out of the piece that didn't turn into the scarf.

But...it was kind of a border print.  Ziz zags running the length of the fabric; broad on one side and narrower on the other.  I cut the scarf from the narrower side, and the campshirt...or whatever...is going to have to be cut on the crossgrain, I think, to keep the pattern balanced.

Thank you, Patrick Grant.  I've learned the importance of pattern balance... ;-)

I did that scarf first and the rolled hem foot finished it off quite nicely.  The silk is another story...

Anyway, whilst I was cutting I pulled out a remnant of some poly shirting that I had to give a go at  the cut-on-cap-sleeve shell  from New Look 6273.  I'm auditioning it for the silk charmeuse  tops that I need for the SWAP plan...if it works, I'm a happy camper.

And, Lucite green (or mint green or seafoam green, as it has gone by in years past) being a color for choir, I managed to get one piece in that color in the new acquisitions as well. It's a bit thin, so I'll have to wear a cami under the Hot Patterns LaStrada top I squeezed out of my slightly more than one yard.  I'm not sure I have thread the right color for that, though...I've still got to check.

Finally, since I was auditioning new patterns, I finally cut Katherine Tilton's Vogue 8691 from some marbelized blue-on-white cotton jersey.  I left off the little floucy things, because the reverse of my fabric is just white and I didn't want the backside showing.  I'm not sure I had enough fabric for the flouces anyway.  We'll see how it looks with the little peaks on the regular hem.

And a tablecloth, just because the fabric was in the way and it'll be a quick rolled edge on the serger. (yes, it was upholstery cotton intended for a tablecloth...).

So I've got somewhere close to 10 yards in the queue.  And I'm making myself do those fiddly scarves first, whilst the rolled edge foot is on the machine...

TGBSB -- Season 3 Semifinals thoughts

(Hopefully not too much of a spoiler, but you never know... consider yourself warned if you haven't seen it yet)
Wow wow and wow.


Anything can happen in the semis...
This is a very evenly matched group.

Neil...breaking stereotypes left and right, he's done exceptionally well all along and is the discussion-board  favorite to take home the golden dress form.  But he's not immune to the misaligned pattern or the not perfect embellishment...or, in the walkaway dress challenge, the unfortunate slip of the scissors.

Lorna, the consistent second-placer, is, I think, someone who sews very well within her own comfort zone.  She's branching out, though..and that refashion challenge this week had to be a big step for her.
Still, she's not experienced in the new territory and she's not inclined to practice techniques because, as she says, 'I don't like to waste material.' So her sewing is not always dead on.

I can identify with that.

I think Matt has really good technical skills; he's just inexperienced, and it shows every now and then in his fearless beginner's optimism that an idea is just going to work (like the hardware on his peacock costume).  His fit problems on the jacket were all related to the fact that he used a pattern intended to be made from a jersey knit, so the close fit did not translate well to leather. He's going to be formidable behind a sewing machine by the time his kids get to high school and involved in theater.  And, seeing as how they seem to be excited about costumes and dress-up now, I would expect them to be inclined to that.

 Deborah has a good instinct of what will and will not work, and running the slider off the end of an altered zipper  is a mistake I bet every one of us has made at some point.  My heart broke for her at that moment.  Been there, done that...knew she didn't have time to fix it.  But zippers aside, her jacket was too small for the model.  It needed a FBA.  I'm not sure the model she had didn't put her at a bit of a disadvantage; the other models were a bit less, um, curvy, so who's to say if anyone of the others would've caught and allowed for that issue?  They were allowed to cut out the jackets before they came; bit late to adjust for something as baseline as a full bust after that.  Surely they had the model's measurements to go by when they were cutting....

Paul squeaked by last week; I think if Ryan had done just one point better on his kilt...having the right underlap or having it the right height or having it the right length...he would've gone on and Paul would've gone home.  Paul was on the bubble this week and I think he was aware of it.  But the bubble was not for sure...and Patrick even owned up that there just wasn't much difference amongst most of the lace skirts.

Anyone can mess up...and anyone can do something stellar.  And two of the three going into the finals are pretty much who I expected from the beginning.  That third slot...well, it could've been any of several.


And I'm kinda sad that next week is the end....

Buying like I was really sewing....

I finally updated the 'fabric in' totals...

Shocking, but in 2 months I have managed to acquire a fuzz over 42 yards of fabric.

Whilst sewing up less than 1/4 of that amount.

Time to put the brakes on, I believe, and get some sewing done....

But I'm not going to get a sewing road trip on the schedule this year, it appears, so at least I don't have to resist fabric live-and-in-person.... :-)

Off to work on the Denim Jacket muslin #2.  If I've got the shoulders/sleeves right, we're full steam ahead...

Choir Wardrobe 3/1/15

I really am kinda making myself do this tonight.

March's colors are Navy, Gray and 'Lucite Green' (from the Pantone colors for spring 2015).

I actually have something close to that shade of green, but it's a rayon tank top and it was chilly and rainy today and I wasn't ready to pull out spring clothes yet. So I went with the Navy and Gray options. ;-)

Only one piece of this outfit came from my own sewing room, although I will admit to doing a rather botched job of shortening the sleeves on the Evan Piccone jacket I bought at Penny's way longer ago than I can remember...

The top is a sleeveless version of Christine Jonson's Basewear Two top that's probably about 6 years old, made from some wonderful rayon/lycra knit that I would love to find again in more colors...and, you know, Lee or something jeans.

I've started work on another Sewing Workshop Eureka top, but the knit I'm using is sheer, with metallic threads, and it curls like crazy.  I totally messed up one neckband and took it off, and cut out another ...a little wider and a little longer...to see if it goes on any easier.

Doesn't help that the serger doesn't like it either.  I gave up on that and I'm using the conventional machine w/ a zig-zag on the neckband, as that's the only seam that actually has any stress on it.

I may even resort to hand basting.  That's how annoying that fabric is.

Hoping to get to muslin number two on the denim jacket plan this week, too.  If the weather reports are correct and we have another Winter Weather Event on Wed/Thur, it might get done. ;-)

Workwear 16

Another jump-in-front-of-the-camera selfie.

Note to self:  look the other way next time so your glasses don't reflect the lamp...

The Zig-Zag Jalie 2566, teamed up with my much-loved-but-wearing-out Jalie 2919 cardigan and RTW black jeans.


I added a bathroom mirror selfie of the T shirt; I really wasn't sure what to do about the band.  There was no way to get a nice solid stripe.  I thought about doing a plain black or white band but decided that would be kinda standoutish.  So I just let the band do its sharktooth thing.  I could switch it if I decide to...but I think it's ok as is.  Any opinions?  Would you go with a solid color?

As the Governor of our great state has declared a state of emergency due to expected snowfall...in an area with primarily solar snow removal...our offices, as well as pretty much all of the town, are going to be closed tomorrow.  So my plan to post the new t's daily is not going to happen.

Not sure if I will get any sewing done.  I neglected housework and all last weekend; I might see if I can catch that up just a bit.

Or I might chuck it and sew anyway.  You never know with a snow day. ;-)

Work Wear 15 and a Goodie

I just may document each of the new tops as I wear it...

Today it was the long sleeved black Jalie 2566 T   (ahem.  You did notice that I FINALLY REVIEWED THAT BABY!)

It was worn with black/brown striped Loes Hinse Oxford Pants (and the stripe is not nearly so pronounced when it is not in front of a flash...)  and Burda magazine's 'waistcoat' from May 2009.

And my spontaneous infinity scarf purchase, just because it has black, brown and denim blue in it.  I felt way spiffier than the photo looks.

Two of the three outstanding fabric orders arrived today and one of them contained a goodie I've been trying to snag for years...  Emma Onesock actually carries those Pantone color guides!  I found out because she mentioned that it was excluded from her recent sale.

Now I can be spot on my choir colors! LOL!

Actually, I bought it so I could reference the numbers to get a better idea of what the actual colors of fabrics are from the retailers who cite them.  My monitor is NOT the most color correct thing out there.

I've marked two of our upcoming choir colors ...Lucite Green,just under the tab on the left and Scuba Blue, which is just above the sticky note on the right.

I will say that Lucite Green is considerably lighter than I thought, and Scuba Blue is more intense than I thought.

Two of the fabrics that came in today's boxes were ordered because I perceived them to be close to what I thought was Lucite Green;  neither one was...although one was the next-door-neighbor color to Scuba Blue and will probably pass for that.

So.  Hopefully the guide will help me actually pick the right colors going forward...lol...

Choir Wardrobe 2/22/15

Last Sunday for the February colors of Black and white; I grabbed  a black-and-white striped knit Jalie 2566 (still unreviewed) t-shirt and put it under the Vogue 8305 drapey cardigan. Black jeans that need overdying in the worst way...





And, just to pat myself on the back, I did it!  5 t shirts in one weekend.  The diagonal stripe is The Sewing Workshops' Helix T, and the others are...you guessed it...Jalie 2566.  The solid black T's and the zig zag stripe are cotton/lycra, the blue/white stripe is a mystery knit from the flat fold table at Hancock's, and the Helix T is a really, really nice rayon lycra from EmmaOne Sock that has actually been sewn up in the same calendar month that it arrived.

6.75 yds out.  But, oy, the yards coming in...too many cold weather sales going on...

My goal for tomorrow...write up that Jalie 2566 T shirt review...

My Challenge: A 5 -T Weekend

The  only event on the schedule this weekend is a breakfast meeting...that might or might not happen, depending upon the weather. 

I have 5 t-shirts cut out and queued up.  Gonna see if I can get all 5 sewn up.  4 of the 5 are my TNT Jalie 2566  that-still-hasn't-been-reviewed, and the 5th one is my first go at the Sewing Workshop's Helix T.

I want all of  'em in the wardrobe, and I want some yards out recorded.

I might or might not have fabric on order from one or two online vendors who had sales last week... (whistles a little innocuous tune...)

So!  Here goes... :-)

Are you watching the Bee?

I'd put up links, but they seem to only be actually good for a few days.

But go to Youtube and search for 'The Great British Sewing Bee season 3' and, if you're quick enough, you'll get some results.

Once again, Judges May and Patrick and host Claudia challenge, question, encourage,  rank and remark upon the sewing of a weekly dwindling number of home sewers.

Once again, I'm amazed at how well these folks perform under pressure.

Every week, my jaw drops at the 90 minute transformation challenge.  They complete incredible transformations -- I'd still be trying to make up my mind what I wanted to do.

The show is charming.  The folks are warm and friendly, and the only hint of drama comes from a camera shot of a somewhat stony face when one contestant hears that another has chosen to do the same creature for a kids' costume challenge.

If you watch in the background, you'll see the contestants joking with each other and helping each other out.

Five out of nine didn't even finish the little boy's lined, welt-pocketed vest.  Real people, real sewing.

Of course, I would've constructed it differently, so as to not have to 'sew blind'...and probably would've lost points for not following directions. :-)

I've heard that a pilot for an American version was actually filmed, then broadcast on some obscure cable channel with no promotion and so faded instantly away. 

Wonder if some kind of challenge could be wrangled around the Sewing Expos that travel the country...recorded and posted to Youtube, they'd go viral around the sewing community, if they were well done.  And it would be great promotion for the Expos.  But it would add the expense of a production crew.  Dunno if the ROI would be worth it.

So, I'll watch the rest of the season...and see if the stereotype shattering Lt. Col. will keep his string of creativity and excellent needlework running to the end, or if the continually-second-place retired air hostess will kick her game up enough to end up on top instead of runner-up.

Such fun... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 2-15-15

February's colors are black and white; it was cold this morning and I was chicken.

The pants were not as warm as I would've liked; RPL woven stripe, in a modification of Loes Hinse's Oxford pants...ie., I took the stovepipe shape and turned it into something of a flare.  It sort of works; worn these pants for years.  Dunno if I will ever try it again; I've got a Jalie flared leg pants pattern that works pretty well and seems to fit better through the thigh.

RTW white knit top and the hemmed gray-scale scarf panel.

And a RTW wool flannel jacket.  Because I was too self conscious to wear the hippie caveman vest.... I had it on, with an appropriate necklace and...I chickened out.

Fun...yes...but maybe a little too out there for choir.  For me, anyway...

Right there in plain sight...

If I had actually paid attention, I would've seen the problem when I traced the pattern.

Look at where that circle to match the end of the collar is located.

Right slap on the CF line.

The pieces matched up beautifully, just as drafted.

Only...the light has finally dawned on me... no shirt EVER should have the collar on that CF line.

I looked at every RTW banded collar shirt in my closet (I only have about 3).  Every one has the collar set back from that CF line between 1/4" and 3/8"...just like all my hubby's.

So why does the home sewing pattern industry not recognize this?

And why has it taken me so long to pay attention enough to realize that it is NOT my fault that the collars always look wonky?

So...I will be adjusting the collar pattern so that it hits about 1/4" short of that marked dot.

I've also got an idea for a little tweek for that 'painless placket' to actually turn it from a slit/dart into a placket and still be pretty painless.

So, yeah, I will be making another go at that shirt very soon.  :-)

Finally...something 'done'...

It's done, it's pressed, it's in the closet.

I need to go check a couple of things on the pattern before I write the review up, but my first iteration of McCall's 6436 finally gives me something to put in the 'done' column.

So, it's the pre-review photo discussion...

Not horrible, but a LONG way from TNT status.

The fabric is a lovely shirting that came from one of Michael's crazy sales about 12 years ago...but it's 100% cotton and so has no stretch whatsoever.  

This pattern comes in muti-cup sizing; I cut out the D cup and still need a wee bit of a FBA,   The darts are about 3/4" too high, too, and maybe just a bit too long.  Hard to tell, since they're not quite pointed right.

The shoulders fit fairly well, which is something.  I believe I did a little work on those, but I'll have to check my notes.  I cut it out before Christmas and now I'm not sure what I did to the pattern...

I left the back darts in and it's just a hair snug in the back.  I think I'll add a wee bit to the side seams, though, and leave the dart shaping there.  It at least gives the suggestion of a back waist...

I took a good bit out of the circumference of the cuff; it was huge.  But I think I need to put about 1/2" back in, just in case I want to wear a wristwatch. 

And I will change up that sleeve vent.  I've finally figured out what is wonky with that Palmer/Pletsch 'Painless Placket' that is used in virtually all their long-sleeved garments.... There is a seam along that vent line, and the opening is actually just a finished off bit at the bottom, not a true placket at all.  So, when the cuff is buttoned up, the sides of the sleeve are actually pulled into an overlap...creating a dart.  And, like all darts, it makes a bubble. Which means it's really just a gappy slit.

So, before I make it again...I'ma gonna tape the sleeve pattern up along that seam, which is perfectly FINE, as there is no shaping in it whatsoever, and put a true placket on it. 

Even a continuous lap lays flatter than the PP slit... and there was no mention of easing the sleeve cap, which was absolutely necessary.

The other issue is the collar bit that I pointed out a couple of days ago.  But I still need to verify that it was a problem with the draft and not my error.  Either way,  I'm not terribly happy with the collar directions...too much handwork, and it still doesn't have that professional polish I'm looking for.

But I'm not awfully disappointed.  I like the overall shape of the shirt and the fit in the shoulders is better than I've had in earlier shirts.  It's definitely wearable under a vest or a sweater.   I may very well make some pattern changes and give it another go before too long.

But first I think I'll sew up some quick knit tops.  I want to get some 'yards out' recorded...

Choir Wardrobe 02 08

 Black and white means I get to wear this jacket; it was the first one off of the Vogue/Todays  Fit 8043.  I had a slight matching problem with the plaid on the sleeves....put the match line on the wrong plaid line...but I'd forgotten that until I re-read the review.  So it obviously doesn't bother me much now.

RTW jeans and sweater...and it really was a bit too warm for this combo today, being as how it got into the low 60's, but I wore it anyway.