#1: Recycled Challenge - McCalls 6293

This is my entry for the first challenge in the FabricMart Fabricista Fashion Challenge.

The instructions for this one-week challenge were as follows:

Make a garment out of recycled materials or materials that would have otherwise been thrown away, such as scraps from your sewing room or grocery bags. You can reconstruct a garment to make it more fashion forward and utilize unconventional items to add accessories and embellishments. Be creative!

TOC

• Materials Used
• Pattern Modifications and Alterations
• Constructing the Shell
• Constructing the Sleeves
• Constructing the Lining
• Closure
• The Necklace
• Conclusion
• More Pics

Materials Used

Because materials were crucial to this challenge, let me explain what I used.

A few of my scraps

I had a bounty of riches to choose from. I have many bags of fabric scraps, including some bags I haven't yet located. (I have more wool scraps somewhere!) I had a large bag of failed sewing projects, wadded up. I also have bags of home dec samples and silk scraps that are so small that they must be collaged together to make a wearable garment.

After canvassing the contents of several garbage bags, I pulled out the bag that contained two failed projects. I vaguely recalled mentioning both of these failed projects in a blog post and I was able to find it! If you read the post, Failure Galore, back in March, 2012, I had made a list of wadders. ("Wadders" equals failed projects, as in you wad them up and throw them away or into a corner.)

A bag of wadders

If you look at the list in that post, you'll see failed project #1 and failed project #2. I shoved both projects into a plastic bag, stuck the bag in a corner, and mostly forgot about it. It saddened me because both projects used beautiful fabrics: one used a black and cream Narcisco Rodriguez wool coating from FabricMart. With this I had paired a solid black wool/rayon boiled wool for the sleeves and collar. I was very disappointed when this pattern did not work.

The failed coat. Only one sleeve is sewn in

The second project used an expensive wool knit I had mail ordered. For that project I had the idea of taking the Teagarden Tee pattern that I loved and to convert it to a jacket.

I paired that fabric with a fuzzy black synthetic knit for the underarm gusset and a contrasting strip down the side seam to make it more roomy. This idea was a bust - the jacket was a disaster, partly because the print was just too much.

Failed Teagarden jacket. Only the right sleeve/side seam was sewn. You can't see it, but this jacket was still full of my sewing pins, which I happily retrieved.
Auditioning fabrics and patterns

Oh for two.

I decided to mix the fabrics together, along with some leftover fabrics from several other projects. I used 8 fabrics in all:

1. A solid black boiled wool/rayon from the failed black-and-white coat.
2. A black-and-cream Narcisco Rodruigez wool coating from the failed black-and-white coat. This was purchased from FabricMart.
3. A wool knit with red medallions from the failed Teagarden Tee jacket.
4. Leftover red boiled wool/rayon from the Sewing Workshop Opal jacket.
5. A (different) solid black wool left over from the Style Arc Grace coat.
6. A wild black-and-white lining left over from the Style Arc Grace coat.
7. A black-with-white polka dot lining left over from a Sandra Betzina coat.
8. Solid black lining left over from another project - I can't remember which one, but it was in my bag of lining scraps.

Pattern Modifications and Alterations

The pattern, from my pattern stash, is now out of print - McCalls 6293. This jacket features princess seams, an asymmetric closure, and a collar. It is unlined. I made the following changes:

• A 2" princess seam FBA. Side front after FBA
• As you can see in the pattern photo, the neckline, as designed, is rather wide. I changed the shape of the neckline, bringing it closer to the neck by 1" on each side.
• Omitted the collar.
• Narrowed the shoulder by 1-1/8".
• At first I wanted to use welt pockets, but they would have crossed the front princess seam and the different fabrics. I decided I didn't want to break up the lines this way, so I added in-seam pockets. (The pattern has no pockets.)
• I did quite a bit of fitting in the side seam - taking in about 1" under the arm and many inches at the hip.
• Added a strip of the wool knit to the front edge of the jacket; this mimics the belt in the back (which uses the same fabric).
• At first I planned to use the medallion knit for the sleeves, but it was just too busy. Instead I pieced sleeves from leftover red wool scraps.
• Drafted a lining.

Constructing the Shell

Cutting the center back from the original coat

Originally, the red wool knit was going to feature more prominently in the design, but in the end I just used two strips of it. One on the center back, and one on the front.

The side back was cut from the black boiled wool sleeves of the black and white coat. But there was not enough fabric to cut out the side front. For this, I used leftover black fabric from the Grace coat. As you can see in the following picture, they are not the same, but they are the same shade of black, at least.

Constructing the Sleeves

Originally I was planning on using the red wool knit with medallions for the sleeves. But when I auditioned the fabric on the jacket, I felt it was too much. This fabric can only be used in small doses. I didn't have enough of the red wool fabric for the sleeves, unless I pieced them. I wanted the piecing to show, so I made piping using 1-1/8" bias strips of lining fabric and some thin rattail cord. I inserted the piping between the fabric joins.

Once the fabric was pieced together, I cut out the sleeves, which are not identical to each other.

I decided to make the sleeves 3/4 length, partly because it requires less fabric, but also because it lets me wear some of the bracelets I've collected.

I am still without a steam iron and am using my dry iron. For some reason, the dry iron just didn't work well on the boiled wool. I pressed and pressed and still there were wrinkles.

Constructing the Lining

The pattern was unlined. I decided to line it to the edge. I did not want to use the wool on the front or neck facing, as it is rather scratchy and thick. I had less than a yard left of the wild print lining fabric. In order to cut out the body, I had to turn the side back pattern piece on the cross grain. I did not have enough to cut out the sleeves, so I used the leftover polka dot fabric from the Sandra Betzina jacket for the sleeves.

Inside of jacket, showing the lining fabrics.

Closure

The jacket closes with 4 jumbo snaps which you may (or may not) be able to make out in the following pic.

Necklace

Part of the challenge was to "utilize unconventional items to add accessories and embellishments". For this part of the challenge, I made a necklace.

Last April when I made the Sewing Workshop Opal jacket, I chose to leave the edges of the jacket raw. The boiled wool fabric did not require hemming. After I'd finished the jacket, I then cut off the hem allowance around the entire jacket, resulting in one long, continuous strip. I just eyeballed the amount that I cut off, which measured from 7/8" to 5/8" wide, but was mostly around 3/4". Afterwards, I had a little pile of a long red strip of fabric. I couldn't bear to throw away the lovely wool, so it's been sitting on a little table adjacent to my sewing machine for months. As I was finishing up the jacket and piecing the leftovers of the red wool, I was looking at the long red strip, wondering if I could use it somehow.

I finally got the idea of using it to make a necklace. I got the idea for the construction of the necklace from a necklace I'd seen in a boutique. My twist on the original idea was to use the boiled wool, with the raw edges exposed. In fact, the long wool strip included seams, even flat felled seams, as the original jacket had several seams. I decided to leave the seams and to let them fall where they may. My other change from the inspiration necklace was in the shape of my necklace, which has a Y-drop shape.

Essentially, I sewed a long narrow tube using the strip of red wool. I inserted a length of electrical wire (14 gauge), and made what is, in effect, a fabric-covered pipe cleaner.

One of my covered wires, similar to a "pipe cleaner".

I rolled each one into a ball and joined them using ponytail holders (hair elastics).

Voilà. Necklace completed.

Conclusion

Nothing's ever perfect, but I'm pretty happy with both the jacket and the necklace. I wore both to church this morning, after the photo shoot, and it's pretty comfy.

In the next day or so, the voting will be open on the FabricMart blog, so stay tuned!

This has been a pretty busy week, with all the sewing. I had to skip two events I would have liked to attend, but I had sewing to do. Next, I'm taking a nap, and then I begin on challenge #2, which will be quite a challenge for me! :)

More Pics

A little scrap cleanup

What happened?!?

Yup, it's the same blog! I have been working on the FabricMart challenge, but I needed a little break, so I changed up the blog a bit. A bit of de-cluttering was in order.

The break is over now. Back to the machine!

It's a Contest!

More than a week ago I tentatively entered a sewing contest. I entered the FabricMart Fabricista Fashion Challenge. I did not know if I would be selected, so I kept mum about it.

I just learned that I am one of the ten sewists selected to compete.

This could be a little intense, especially given my work schedule.

They chose the following picture (off my blog) for their post. It was taken before my weight loss.

I assume they chose this picture because it uses a gorgeous Armani fabric that I purchased from FabricMart.

But this project features two gorgeous coatings from FM:

And this is a wool I also bought from them:

And I think I like either of those selfies a bit better. lol. (If you are new to the term "selfie", it is a picture of oneself.)

The first challenge, which begins today (though it will have to begin after work for me), is the following:

First Challenge: Recycled Challenge

You have one week to complete this challenge.

The challenge: Make a garment out of recycled materials or materials that would have otherwise been thrown away, such as scraps from your sewing room or grocery bags. You can reconstruct a garment to make it more fashion forward and utilize unconventional items to add accessories and embellishments. Be creative!

This challenge will be judged first by the Fabricistas on creativity, functionality, personality, and fit.

Then our readers will get a chance to vote for their favorite design.

This is particularly ironic, as just yesterday I was reading Marcy Tilton's blog post about the fall cleanup of her studio. I asked her, in the comments, what she does with scraps, as I could be buried alive under mine. (And I just now see that she answered me!) I am too embarrassed to even take a picture of my scrap stash, but it consists of many bags under my kitchen table.

And then some.

So this challenge is quite exciting, as I first get to do some excavating. I hope it doesn't trigger any allergies. :)

By the way, I am very excited that my friend, Peggy, is also participating in this challenge. I admire her work and her free spirited style. We met through my blog (I don't believe that she was blogging at the time) a couple years ago and then she invited me out to Pennsylvania for a road trip. Our entire itinerary was planned around a pilgrimage to Fabric Mart! (I also extended invitations to Carolyn and Noile, which is how we met in person! All four of us had so much fun shopping at FabricMart.)

How fitting. :)

So stay tuned. I will be posting the projects I make for this competition. When it's time to vote, I hope you participate!

Road Testing the Coverstitch Machine - Butterick 5954

This pattern came out in the recent batch of Butterick patterns, on August 23rd. I liked this top very much, but I knew I'd have to customize it a bit for my aesthetic. I particularly liked views C and D, which feature an overlapped front that is attached only at the shoulder.

Another reason this was a great pattern to use is, with that long hem, it gave me a great chance to use my new coverstitch machine!

I haven't been sewing a lot of knits of late, but I have quite a healthy stash of knit fabrics, so it was easy to grab this red and black stripe knit. I can't remember where I purchased this fabric, as it was more than a year ago, but it was (I think) at the brick and mortar Harts Fabrics in Santa Cruz. Maybe. It also might have been Stone Mountain and Daughter.

This fabric features textural stripes in addition to the color stripes. Some stripes are created with a rib knit. And then, sprinkled over the entire fabric are small (seemingly) randomly placed tucks. This texture makes it a bit difficult to hem evenly, as the ribbed stripes cause the plain knit stripes to "blouse" out. I like textured fabrics and this has a great texture, but also present a bit of a challenge.

The pattern features a huge swing hem, which begins just below the bust. The swing emanates from the side seams and the back seam - there is no swing at center front, which is good, because it would otherwise have a maternity effect. You can see what I mean by looking at the pattern pieces:

Front
Back

I removed all of the swing. My bust is bigger than my hips, so a straight column is enough swing for me.

The top is designed to be close-fitted at the bust. A medium (the size I sewed up) is designed for a 34"-36" bust. The finished top measures 35-1/2" at the bust, so this is designed to have (close to) zero ease. My bust is 40" and my upper bust is 36" - I always choose a pattern size based on my upper bust measurement and then I alter from there. I like my knit tops to gently hug the bust, so I like negative ease. This knit is quite stretchy, so the only FBA I did was to add 1" to the vertical at the bust line. (I really could have skipped it, since the hemline is uneven, but I do like putting a little extra fabric at the bust to go up and over the fullness.

(For more information on this subject, see my posts on FBAs in Knits - Advice for the Uber Busty and Vertical Only FBA.)

Here are the pattern pieces after my alterations. (Yes, I should have used a dry iron on these to flatten them out).

Front, with 1" vertical-only FBA
Back

Other alterations:

Besides removing the swing hem and doing a vertical-only FBA, I made a few other modifications:

• When sewing up the top, I removed 1" from the waist at the side seams, tapering to the bust and hips, for a total reduction of 4" at the waist. I like a bit of shaping in my columns. ;)
• Since I removed the shaping from CB, I cut the back piece on the fold.
• This is a droopy knit fabric. (I love Margy's explanation of droopy vs drapey.) I did not want a limp, lifeless collar, which can be a Sad Thing, so I used a technique that Marcy Tilton introduced in a pattern she released several years back, Vogue 8582. The pattern piece for the cowl is rather generous and looks like this: To construct, you first sew the side seams together to form a tube.
  
  You then fold the collar, wrong sides together, so that the CF mark on the top layer meets the CF mark on the bottom layer, and the seam allowance (S/A) on the top layer meets the S/A on the bottom layer. (Sorry if this is as clear as mud, but if you've ever made a cowl neck, or a turtleneck, it's quite straightforward.)
  
  What I did differently was to introduce a twist. So, after folding the collar so that the upper CF mark met the lower CF mark, I then moved the top mark over by 3". You then continue to pin the edges together so that there is a 3" offset between the layers. This introduces a twist in the collar. It gives the collar a bit more body and causes it to lay nicely on the neck, especially in a limp fabric. Here is what the collar looked like after it was pinned:
• I also wanted to cut the collar so that the stripes were vertical. The conventional way to cut it (and the way the pattern layout suggests) would have put the stripes on the horizontal. This would be nice, too, but wasn't what I wanted.
• I did not narrow the shoulder, which suggests that they might be on the narrow side. I would have narrowed them by 1/2" or so, but I forgot that to do this, I should also narrow the shoulder on the side of the front that has the drape. In the end, I decided it was fine, but it's something to think about. (I usually narrow the shoulders in the construction phase, but this would have been easiest to do at the pattern stage.)
• Finally, if I had followed the suggested layout for cutting, it would have placed the stripe horizontally on the sleeves. I definitely didn't want to continue the horizontal line on the sleeves, which would have the effect of making me look wider, so I cut them with the stripe going vertically up and down the sleeve. If I had cut them the suggested way, I could have made full length sleeves, but I only had enough fabric for 3/4 length sleeves (from view A) in the vertical direction. I wanted 3/4 length sleeves anyway, so I didn't mind.

The Hem:

The entire hem is sewn in one fell swoop (from shoulder to shoulder) and it's quite long. As I mentioned, this fabric is rather challenging to hem evenly, with it's different knitted textures, but the coverstitch machine handled it like a champ! I didn't even have to change the black thread to another color. ;)

Thanks, again, Susanne!!

Closeup of collar and coverstitched hems.

Conclusion:

I like this top! We've had some wonderfully warm San Francisco weather the last few days (usually September is one of the very nicest months in SF) but today cooled off a tad, so I decided to wear my new top. I met up with my eldest daughter and we went to church. I can tell you that this top holds up well to active dancing, clapping, and drumming. It did not open up to display the goods. Later, when I was walking outside, a gust of wind caught the flap and just a tiny triangle of belly showed, but it wasn't bad. If you are concerned, you can tack it, or pin it, but I don't think I will bother.

If Burberry Made Sarongs

• Sarongs
• New Sewing Machine!
• Leaving

Sarongs

My daughter, the 18-year-old who is traveling the globe this year, asked me to make her a sarong - something that could be worn but also be used as a towel. She has to fit all of her gear into a small-ish backpack and it has to work for multiple countries with a variety of climates, so things have to be multipurpose.

Stoked

She asked me to do this about five days before she was slated to get on a plane.

At first I was excited by the idea of using one of two patterns suggested by sewing pal Karla Kizer: the Style Arc Fabulous Freda, or Burda 7207.

However, my daughter really wanted a simple rectangle, so I had to simplify.

I didn't have time to shop for fabric (I've been swamped at work), which meant that I had to use my stash. Most sarongs I've seen are made from fun floral prints. I do not own floral print fabrics. After puzzling it over, I did some stash diving and came up with two fabrics that would work.

One fabric is (I believe) a cotton rayon blend. It has a nice drape and is reversible. The other is a cotton double gauze. I love double gauze fabrics, which are also reversible. The best quality double gauze fabrics are from Japan, but I own several pieces made in China that, while not the same quality as the Japanese double gauze fabrics, have a soft drape. I sacrificed a fuchsia double gauze fabric to the cause.

Both fabrics are plaid on one side. The double gauze has a check on the reverse side. The light blue fabric is striped on the reverse side.

My friend Heather told me that she likes her sarongs made with the dimensions of 1-5/8 yards by 45".

I hemmed three rectangles in all. I made the first from double gauze and, once it was completed, I realized I had cut it out to the wrong dimensions - it was 1-5/8 yards by 36". Luckily, I had enough fabric to make another. In the end, I was glad to keep the smaller one. I've been wearing it around the house as a skirt and it's so soft and comfy!

It amuses me to think that my daughter may be the only person circumnavigating the globe sporting a plaid sarong. ;)

New Sewing Machine!

A week ago I received an email from a local sewist who reads my blog. She was cleaning out her sewing room and offered me a cover stitch machine that she no longer needed. Was I interested?

Was I!!!

Susanne J and I planned to meet at the fabric store over Labor Day weekend. We had so much fun chatting and enriching our already-bloated stashes. (We definitely enabled each other.) She gifted me with a Bernette 009DCC. It's a beauty!

This machine does both a cover stitch and a chain stitch. I didn't want to un-thread the black thread from my serger, so I ordered several cones of black Maxilock thread from Wawak. I was impressed by how quickly my order arrived - my Tuesday order arrived on Thursday, using regular shipping.

On Thursday night I spent some time figuring out how to thread the machine for the cover stitch. My first project was to hem some RTW yoga pants that DD2 wanted to take on her trip.

My next project (already completed) is a knit top. I was excited to road test this baby!

I usually hem knits by hand, but this is going to be fun! Thanks so much, Susanne!!

Leaving

DD2 and I spent some time playing on Friday afternoon into the evening. She got on a plane early this morning. I am not sure when I will be able to speak to her next, as the students leave their cell phones behind once they leave the U.S. I am going to miss the rascal!

Here are a few pics from our Friday outing.