Pattern Giveaway in Honor of Fred Bloebaum

On September 4th, the world lost a bright light when Fred Bloebaum passed away after a short, but valiant, struggle with pancreatic cancer. I have a few memories of Fred from twenty years ago when Sewing Workshop was my second home. I took many classes there from Marcy Tilton, Sandra Betzina, Kenneth King, and Candace Kling (to name a few), and I remember Fred as one of the teachers there, always dressed immaculately in the most gorgeous self-made clothing, though I never took a class from her. I remember coveting a cropped jacket she had made, a Vogue pattern it was, in rust. It was to. die. for. I also remember an Issey Miyake jacket she made that I covet to this day - I can still picture it. Her workmanship and taste were impeccable. We spoke once or twice at Sewing Workshop functions, and I remember her as a thoughtful, well spoken, focused, and elegant woman.

I stopped sewing garments for many years and turned my attention to other things. When I returned to sewing, I was delighted to see that, in the intervening years, she had launched a serious sewing business, with her own pattern line, and was traveling the country teaching. Touching so many lives.

I was even more delighted, on returning to my old sewing group, to see that she was now a member. She immediately approached me to introduce herself at the first meeting we both attended - I am a bit shy when it comes to these things, so it would have taken me awhile to approach her. She had that way of really looking at you as she spoke, really giving you her full attention. (Those of you who know me can stop snorting. I was feeling shy that day. :) )

Yesterday I attended Fred's memorial service. It was the most moving service I have ever attended. Fred was so loved and the memorial really captured who she was. It was touching to hear many friends and family speak. Many of her friends had been friends for decades, and most of them highlighted how she valued relationships, how she built and fostered relationships. It was especially touching when her husband and son spoke. It was funny too, for example, when her husband, in an effort to give "balance" to all the praises being sung, said that she had flaws too. For example, "she criticized my driving."

I am so sorry I will not have the chance to get to know her better, but I'm glad that my life intersected with hers, even briefly.

I recently bought a few of her patterns. (I have made a couple of her patterns in the last year, but there were many I hadn't yet purchased.) I thought I had purchased two of them already, but I couldn't find them, so thought I must have been mistaken. And, then I found them. I now have duplicates of two of her patterns.

In honor of Fred (which, by the way, is not short for anything, it's a nickname given to her by a college boyfriend when he wanted to call her Red and she objected to anything so prosaic, so he dubbed her Fred and it stuck), I would like to give these patterns away. One is the Daphne pant, which many sewists I know claim to be one of the best fitting pants ever. The other is the Maia jacket, which I just love. Both patterns run from size 6 to 26. This giveaway is open to international folks, because Fred's designs should be enjoyed everywhere.

If you are a follower of my blog, and would like a chance to own either of these patterns (I will give them away separately), leave a comment on this post telling me which pattern you would like and I will do the random number generator thing. You have until next Saturday, September 25th, otherwise known as Artistry in Fashion Day, to enter (by noon PT). It was at the last Artistry in Fashion day that I first saw Fred after 20 years, so this seems apropos. At last year's AIF, she gave a fashion show featuring her designs and a presentation on her line. I bought a couple patterns from her that day, both of which I have sewn up.

By the way, Fred's patterns are still available from several sources, including sewingpatterns.com. I have not heard if they will be reprinted, but I would not count on it.

Welcome, Marcy Tilton Fans!

I returned from the service yesterday and had received a couple emails telling me that Marcy had featured my blog in her most recent newsletter. What a nice surprise! I love Marcy's designs, and I've been a Marcy fan since she opened the Sewing Workshop, many years ago. And if anyone recognizes me at Artistry in Fashion, please say "hi!"

Finally, I have been quiet on the blog, but I have been participating in Self Stitched September, where I wear clothing I made every day for the month of September. I will post an analysis at the month's end, but you can see my progress on my SSS 2010 Flickr set, which is part of the Self Stitched September 2010 Flick group. I pretty much wear self-made clothing anyway, but for this challenge I have been mixing it up more, wearing clothes that don't often see the light of day, all of which I've made in the last 13 months. It has been a very educational experience.

La Fred - Olympia Coat

This is the second of two LaFred patterns I purchased at Artistry in Fashion last month. I had some striped novelty corduroy fabric that, once washed, "puckered" up along those stripes. Yep, a novelty corduroy seersucker. Fabrics are so interesting these days.

The corduroy sat around while I contemplated what to do with it. I am not a huge corduroy fan in general, but this one was so interesting. I knew I wanted a jacket with it, but nothing was grabbing me. I finally decided to use it to sew up the car length coat from this LaFred pattern. Because I was matching stripes and observing the nap, and this has some pretty large pattern pieces, I was grateful to have enough fabric. While this pattern may look pretty traditional, it has some interesting features:

• The body of the jacket and the sleeve are cut in one piece. This means that the sleeves are on the bias. Because I was using a stripe, this caused the chevron pattern along the top of the sleeve.
  
• There is another under sleeve piece cut on the straight of grain. This is attached to a triangular gusset. I found this to be a pretty easy gusset experience and is designed to give a wider range of movement to the shoulders/arms.
  
• The pattern features two pocket styles. I opted for the interesting "window pane" pocket which is very easy to make, but looks very "high end." To reduce bulk, I lined the pocket with the lining fabric, but you could also use the fashion fabric.
  
• There are two neck styles available - a round neckline and a petal collar. I opted for the round neckline which I wear folded back.
  

This straight jacket doesn't have a lot of shaping. Based on my high bust measurement, I cut an XL, which had enough ease so I didn't need an FBA. Once I had the outer shell constructed, I decided to remove about 3" from the CB at the hem, tapered to nothing – if I hadn't already constructed the pockets, I would have probably removed it from the side seams. I also shortened the sleeves about 1.5" and I inserted some smallish petal shoulder pads.

(The chevron design is caused by the stripes and bias cut sleeves.)

(I love these chunky black buttons, which I bought at Artistry in Fashion and intended them for another project. The lining is optional, but I lined it with a dark brown crinkled polka dot polyester.)

DD1 feels that this coat is a little oversized and underfitted. It might seem so, given the current more fitted styles, but it's a good use of this interesting fabric and I expect to get a lot of wear from this coat in my chilly, foggy climate.

I think I have now used everything I bought at Artistry in Fashion -- two LaFred patterns and 6 chunky black buttons. This might be a first! :)

LaFred - Athena Blouse

You know how all fashion experts say you absolutely, positively, must own a white blouse? Every season we are urged to buy the ultimate white blouse for that particular season because it is updated and, horror of horrors, you don't want to be seen walking around in last season's blouse?

How did I make it to the wizened age of fifty without owning a white blouse? I must have owned one at some point, probably in my more fashionable twenties, but I sure can't remember it. White is not a great color next to my face and I am all-too-prone to clothing stains that occur while eating over my natural "shelf" (and I don't mean my fluffy tummy). :)

Well, the time had finally arrived. I recently made some full skirts that screamed for a short white blouse. As I reported, I went to the Artistry in Fashion event last Saturday, and I bought my first LaFred patterns. I decided that the Athena blouse would be just the thing to become my white top. I liked the wing collar and the square armhole. My fabric would be a lightweight embroidered cotton with some added synthetic that gives the fabric a sheen. This fabric is very lightweight — almost a tissue weight. I had only two yards, so I had to make short sleeves, though I wanted longer sleeves. I cut the top in between the two offered lengths, though I ended up cutting it to be shorter than the short length. (I would have had enough for longer sleeves if I'd known!)

I cut a size Large, based on the 6" to 8" design ease in the pattern. Rather than my traditional 3" FBA, I made a more modest 1 1/2" FBA. When I was trying to decide where to angle the dart, I decided it might be interesting to make it parallel to the bottom of the square armhole to emphasize that design line. I also took out the waist shaping at the side seams. All my usual alterations.

Fred was an English major in college and it shows in her pattern instructions. They are clear, full of informative tips, and well illustrated. However, as the top came together (and it came together very well), I became concerned. The square armhole is deep and falls on the fullness my bust and I'm not sure I like that look. The top was fairly shapeless (I had removed the waist shaping, so no surprise there) and it was too long. The overall effect was dumpy. This pretty much happens with every top and make and it's why I have to spend so much time playing with the fit.

Since this is a fairly sheer fabric, I decided to try one of the seam finishes that Fred recommends in her instructions and it's a new one for me: A mock French seam. You sew the standard 5/8" seam, iron the seam open, fold the raw edges to the inside, and topstitch them together. I really liked this easy technique for this fabric.

Other changes:

• I made the front a bit shorter than the back and there are slits in the side seams that begin at my waist.
  
  
• The sleeve hem. In the pattern, the sleeves feature a "pinched cuff" hem treatment (optional on the shorter sleeve) where you pinch the fabric, pull the fold over and fasten it on a button. You can make two separate buttonholes (in thicker fabrics) or put a single buttonhole through both pinched layers (in thinner fabrics). I did neither, I just sewed the button through the layers. I don't see myself needing to button/unbutton the short sleeves. The resulting shaping at the hem makes the sleeve much more flattering.
  
  
• The buttons. I arranged the buttons in pairs. Three pairs, to be precise. Just 'cause. :) (You might have noticed I have used these mother-of-pearl buttons before. My fabric store had them 12 for $1, so I stocked up. You will see them again, and soon. :)
  

I bought the pattern Saturday and had the top done on Sunday, so it really does come together very quickly as it has only four pattern pieces (front, back, facing and sleeve). Once I achieved the right length and took out some of the fullness, I decided that I love this top! The white is a soft white color, which helps. Over time, I will decide how I feel about the square armhole seam falling on the fullness of the bust, but the neckline is very flattering and the top will be very easy to wear.

Blame DD#2 for this pose. She was my photographer and she egged me on. :) You can clearly see the square armhole, at least.

I just hope I can remember not to wear it on pasta-with-red-sauce day. :)