Asymmetric Stripey Vest - Vogue 8954

Happy Friday!

I actually completed this piece last Sunday night, but am just now getting around to blogging it. We've (finally) had some rainy weather this week, and it gets dark so early, and it's so cold, that I haven't been as gung-ho about taking selfies.

I was eager to try Marcy's new vest pattern, Vogue 8954, but it took me awhile to settle on a fabric for its maiden voyage. Marcy had mentioned, in her blog post about this vest, that she had made a striped version out of a rayon lycra fabric, so I decided to give that a try. This rayon lycra has been in my stash for awhile and I believe it was purchased locally. It features a very uneven stripe pattern. To be honest, I haven't been in the mood to sew droopy rayon lycra knits lately, and this one is droopy, so I thought it might be a good way to use a fabric that might otherwise languish.

Marcy recommends that, if you want the vest to be less loose, to go down one size, but no more than that. I went down one size and made the Small. It is plenty roomy in the bust, so I did not do an FBA.

I made no alterations to the pattern.

You cut each pattern piece out once, alternating the direction of the stripe, and there are quite a few pattern pieces. For example, there are four pattern pieces on the left and right fronts (which are different from each other). Some of the seams are sewn conventionally, and some of the seams are sewn with reverse French seams, with the seam allowance to the outside. On each front, the top and bottom pieced seam is sewn with a French seam, but the middle seam is sewn conventionally. I serged the raw edges of all "conventional" seams.

This fabric is very lightweight, very unstable, and prone to rippling. Marcy recommended a Sulky product on her blog called Totally Stable Iron-On Tear-Away Stabilizer Roll.

I ordered some Totally Stable, and proceeded to cut many, many 1" strips with my rotary cutter, using the instructions that Marcy posted. I sewed most every seam and hem with this stabilizer, and it worked like a charm. You might be able to achieve the same results with regular paper, but I will definitely be ordering more of this product for my stash.

My little garbage can was full of used-up Totally Stable

Once the vest was finished, I decided that I liked it better open, so I did not use any closures. It has such an interesting front when worn open, with the different angled pieces that hang down, at least in this fabric.

I like this vest, and I was happy with sizing down one size, but there are a couple things I would do differently next time:

• If I were to make it again in a droopy fabric, I would eliminate the collar. It's difficult to get the collar to lay nicely in a droopy fabric. I think that the collar would be great in a more substantial fabric. (It would be extremely easy to leave off the collar._
• Given that I wear this open, the one serged seam on each front shows, which I don't love. Next time, I would sew all three pieced seams on each front with a reverse French seam.

And, by the way, did you SEE the entries in Marcy's recent jacket/coat competition???!!!

Ay Carumba, they were FABULOUS! Go and enjoy the visual feast...

I have another garment to show you, but no pics yet. I hope you have a great weekend!

Red Alligator Anne Klein Jacket - Vogue 1293

It's done at last!

This jacket has been a long time coming:

• I bought the fabric in May, both for myself and for Margy.
• I started sewing it in early June.
• I then realized that I needed the correct interfacing and a custom zipper. In mid June, I ordered the zipper from Zipperstop and the interfacing from Pam Erny (Fashion Sewing Supply).
• I had to wait for the things I ordered, so I had to put the project aside. (Never a good thing, since I am then very likely to get distracted.)
• The interfacings and zipper arrived, but there was a slight problem. I ordered the zipper by phone. I ordered the zipper to be 19.5" long and a donut-shaped zipper pull, to match the 4" zippers I purchased locally that also came with donut-shaped zipper pulls. I am pretty sure that I asked them to put the zipper pull ON the zipper, but the order was not in writing, so I couldn't verify. The zipper pull was not on the zipper.
• Rats. This meant that I had to change out the zipper pull and I was not eager to do it, though I ordered some zipper stops from ZipperStop, so that I could do so. They arrived some time later, but the project continued to sit.
• Sometime in July (maybe late July), I sent Margy her piece of the same fabric. My project continued to sit.
• A couple weeks ago, Margy told me she had cut out her fabric and had started a jacket.
• OH! OH! This was the excuse I needed to get mine back out and finish it up. I suggested to Margy that we do another of our little mini challenges and she readily agreed.
• I searched and was lucky to find all the bits and pieces and supplies, which were kind of all over the place. Phew.
• I started by changing the zipper pull. I had not done this before. It's not technically difficult to do, but it requires some brute strength and some care so as not to shred the zipper tape.
• Finally, I was back on track with the jacket, but Margy was having some technical difficulties. She had ordered some special zippers and then realized she did not have the quantity she had ordered. She ordered more, but there was a delay of about a week getting them shipped.
• I didn't mind the delay, since work has also been rather demanding lately. But I finally finished my jacket last Wednesday night and was not in a rush to take pics and blog it.
• Margy received her zippers on Friday and hit the sewing room hard. She finished sewing the jacket Saturday - yesterday.
• Phew!

The pattern I used for this jacket is Vogue 1293 - an Anne Klein design with some very nice vertical seaming. The jacket front consists of three vertical pieces and the jacket back consists of three vertical pieces and then there is a shoulder yoke. The collar is also very nice. It folds back and there is a separate pattern piece for the collar stand, but it doesn't extend to the CF - it's just in the back and it's very much a RTW collar style. The jacket is not lined, but I drafted a lining pattern. The jacket features a hidden button closure, but I switched it to a zippered closure. I also added three zippered pockets and zippers on the sleeve hems, for a total of six zippers in the jacket.

Collar stand with contrasting top stitching

Supplies:

• The fabric is a very interesting polyester (I believe) that is crinkled and embossed with a mock croco texture.
• The lining is a very cool fabric I purchased over two years ago. I used it to line another garment, a Sandra Betzina jacket, but I had some of this fabric left over and I was able to squeeze out this jacket. This fabric was designed to be sewn up as scarves.
• I used scraps of black silk organza to make the windows for the zippers.
• The 19.5" separating zipper and donut-shaped zipper pull were from ZipperStop.
• The five 4" zippers with donut-shaped pulls were from Fabrix.
• I used scraps of solid black lining for the zipper gussets on the sleeve hems.
• I top-stitched the entire jacket with contrasting black Gutterman top-stitching thread.

Sleeve unzipped

Alterations and Modifications:

• This is a rather fitted jacket. I started with a size 14.
• A standard princess-seam FBA, adding 1" in width.
• Converted the hidden button closure to a zipper closure. I extended the zipper all the way to the tip of the collar and ended it where the jacket angles outward at the hem.
• I drafted a lining pattern.
• I replaced the pockets with three angled zipper pockets, two on the left and one on the right. The one on the right is positioned vertically between the two on the left.
• I drafted a center back facing piece. (I hate it when patterns, even unlined patterns, don't include this.)
• I narrowed the shoulder by 1".

The Jacket Lining

Notice the lining?

If you look at the scarf fabric pic, you'll see that there is a red stripe separating each scarf.

When I drafted the lining, I added a pleat for wearing ease at CB.

And, of course, I placed the red stripe at CB to maintain maximum symmetry.

The consequence of this was rather... interesting. I can't help it, but it reminds me of the female anatomy.

I am too genteel to be more explicit, at least in writing, where it can be used against me.

Sorry I brought it up. :)

The Result

Both Margy and I experienced some difficulties sewing this fabric, though we are not sure why. The fabric itself was pretty easy to sew and easy to iron, but each of us experienced some fitting weirdness. Margy thinks the fabric might be at fault, especially since she made her jacket pattern before with a more challenging fabric, and did not have such problems.

I don't know... it's a mystery.

I am pretty happy with the jacket. It replaces the red jacket I made two years ago that no longer fits and I'm glad that I was able to use the last of this great lining, which makes me very happy. I will admit that, when I first put the jacket on with the sleeves in place, I looked in the mirror, and watched all of my dangling zipper pulls. I was wearing a very funky pair of wide-legged pants (that are really too big for me, but I enjoy wearing them at home), and my first thought was that I looked like circus ringleader.

But the next day, I tried the jacket on again, in better lighting and with different pants. I decided it would be ok. So if you do think I look like a circus ringleader, be kind and do not tell me. ;)

Make sure to check out Margy's jacket, made with the same fabric!

Collar up
Collar down and zipped. I couldn't bear to cut the bougainvillaea out of the pic!
Worn open
So.Many.Dangly.Zippers.

Hat Attack Addendum

I only own one summer hat! (I'll have to rectify that.) I love this straw hat, which I purchased second hand. The label says Laurel Fenenga, San Francisco. When I bought the hat a year ago, I googled this name. She is, apparently, out of business. This hat folds up to be perfectly flat. I love that!

It was sunny today (eventually) but not warm. Please check out Style Crone's Hat Attack #2!

New Marcy Pants! - Vogue 8929

I was very excited to see Marcy Tilton's pants pattern, 8929, in the recent Fall offerings from Vogue. Unfortunately the smallest size that this pattern comes in is a size 8, which is too large, as I like my pants to be close fitting.

So I took my well fitting Style Arc Barb pants and laid the pattern on top of the size 8 Marcy pant pattern, view B. I removed a large amount from both the front and back crotch. I also removed quite a bit from the front side seam.

I am a butt-less wonder and the crotch curve that fits me is shaped like this, narrow and deep. (The pants front is the left side.)

My alterations did not affect the pants length. My horizontal alterations ended above the knee, so the pants are designed as you see them at the knee and below.

I love the front pocket!

I used a wonderful stretch woven to make these up. In fact, it's the same fabric I used to test the Barb pants. This fabric is an anthracite color (which goes equally well with blacks or browns) and it washes and wears beautifully.

I apologize that it's a bit hard to see the detail on these pants in the pics on me. We are having a rare gorgeous day, so that makes it harder to see the subtle detail. I don't have a striped bottom-weight fabric, but these would be great in stripes, as you can see on the pattern envelope. The front features a great pocket and the front and back feature a giant oval inset, once the side seams are sewn. I love this detail!

I LOVE these pants! The length is perfect, so if you are taller than 5'5", you may need to lengthen. They taper at the ankle, but are not super tight - they lightly skim the body. It's a wonderful pattern and I will be making them again, especially when I find the right fabric!

I include this pic only because a) it shows that I am still quite busty as a DD, though maybe not uber busty as when I was a G, and b) I am still plagued by a tummy I have not been able to get rid of.
On Thursday it was a typical summer day in San Francisco: cold and foggy. I ran some errands and wore my NYDJ jeans (cheetah print), and my new-ish Sandra Betzina coat. Fall in San Francisco often has gorgeous weather, and we are starting to have some, as you can see in today's photos where I am wearing my Marcy pants and Burberry-inspired shirt!

I have started my next project. It's a top and I have spent hours altering the pattern, as I want to retain elements of the pattern, but I want a different shape, not unlike the changes I made to the recent Mizono top. I was recently musing to some friends, wondering if my extensive changes affect the integrity of the design, and one (highly creative) friend said she changes every pattern she makes; she sees the commercial pattern as a starting point, only. I like that interpretation!

Today I wore this outfit to my wonderfully funky church and then to a blogger meetup. I am also entering it into Visible Monday, so no sewing for me today. Have a great week, everyone!

Swamp Green Mizono Top - Vogue 1246

It's not a coat!

I had an interesting double-sided fabric in a murky green color (swamp green!) that is, roughly, the color of my eyes. It features thin blue and burgundy ribbons inserted in rows. On one side of the fabric, the ribbons appear inside the circles; on the other side of the fabric, the ribbons appear in the background. I'm not sure which side is intended to be the right side and I can't figure out how this fabric was made. It was a fairly crisp fabric, until I washed and dried it, when it became wrinkled and gauze-like. It's a fairly fragile fabric and, I think that it is all (or mostly) costton.

Closeup of both sides of the fabric

It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do with it, but I finally decided to make it into this Lynn Mizono pattern, Vogue 1246, view A. Views A and B are quite different. View A has a modified-mandarin neckline that appealed to me, and sleeves have a very cool hem detail where there is a slit and one pointy corner is pulled up and over the other and fastened with a button and buttonhole. It is designed to be a wrap top with ties and it has an A-line shape that is quite wide through waist and even wider through the hips and hem. There are deep, asymmetric slits in both side seams. There are 8 mitered corners - four at the side seam hems and 2 on each sleeve hem.

Because I am busty, I find wrap tops annoying to wear, so I decided to convert the pattern to a button front. The size 8 (the smallest size) has a finished bust measurement of 44", so I cut out a size 8 (smaller than my usual size 10) and did a vertical-only FBA of 1-1/4", as I didn't need additional width.

Before removing 8" through the waist and 12" through the hips. (I am also wearing some older Style Arc pants that are now too big, but are sooo comfy that I kept them for knocking around.)

Once the top was mostly constructed, I decided I didn't like how loose it was through the torso, so I cut it down. From the side seams, I removed 8" at the waist and 12" at the hips which results, I think, in a more flattering look on me. Other than that, I didn't make any changes.

I also had an issue with the collar. The collar didn't lay as well on my neck as I would like. It needed to flare out a tad, but I would have had to deconstruct the top to replace the collar, so I decided to play with the styling. It lays well when folded down. It also lays better when the top is worn open, over a shell. If I make this pattern again (and I may) I will tweak the shape of the collar.

The pattern did not call for any interfacing, but I interfaced the collar and front facings. Another feature of this pattern is that all raw edges are finished. The shoulder seams are sewn with French seams. The side seams are folded under and stitched down, which I did by hand. The neckline and armscye seams are covered with self made bias binding. It makes for a very nice finish.

The top closes with 7 chunky, burgundy-colored buttons from Britex - 5 down the front, and one on each sleeve.

I like this top! I especially like the fit through the upper chest, which required almost no tweaking. I narrowed the shoulders by 5/8" which is far less than usual for a Vogue pattern. And I didn't shorten the sleeves at all, and they are perfect, also unusual for a Vogue. I wonder if it's because I made a size 8 and I am usually making a larger size...

I also love the sleeves with the unusual hem. The pattern is worth buying for the sleeve alone.

Here's a question for you. I have styled it differently in the next three photos. Which do you think is the best way for me to wear it?

Worn open over a shell Worn closed, collar up Worn closed, collar folded down. (It was breezy and foggy!)

Thanks for all of your feedback on my old, but classic, Montana jacket! I can't say what I will be making next, because I often change my mind at the last minute, but maybe a skirt or pants!