Pattern Giveaway and Miscellaneous

I want to thank all of you for your comments on my purse and the dress from my last post. I really I appreciate all of your points of view, though the dress certainly had folks on both side of the fence. :)

I had 35 comments on the Hobo Bag post, so I plugged in 1-35 into the random number generator. I figured if the chosen number belonged to someone who did not want the pattern, I would just try again. The number 7 came up, which is Martha from SG! Martha, it was not clear from your comment if you wanted the pattern. If not, let me know and I'll generate a new number.

Last week was another very intense work week, including a couple of 12-hour days. It was draining and no sewing happened, but I did sew this weekend. I just finished a top and will blog about it shortly. Lately I have been rather unfocused, and my sewing has suffered for it. This top is no exception, I think. Oh well, at least it fits well. ;)

Oh, the picture up top is from Me-Made-June. I missed photographing a number of days during the week, but was wearing (self made) jammies on those days anyway and was glued to the sofa, working. The challenge is to wear self made every day for the month of June, which I have done. Luckily the challenge does not include taking a picture every day - that is optional. :) This picture is from Friday, when we were challenged to take a pic with a loved one. I was home alone, but went to the mall at 9am to get a picture with my daughter's poster. Sheesh, the embarrassment, me and my tripod. I had to take a lot of pictures to get one that was halfway decent. :)

Off to write another post!

Vogue 8726 - Mother-of-the-Graduate Dress

I am not a dress girl. Let's establish that fact up front. :)

I made a dress last October. It was a black and white Sandra Betzina dress. I have never worn it once, though I do like it. A week ago I asked my daughter, who graduated from high school today, if it would be a good dress to wear for her graduation. She replied that she'd rather see me in something with color.

Rats. Why did I ask her, anyway? :)

I took this as a challenge. I decided to make a dress with some color. I quickly went through the Vogue, Butterick, and McCalls offerings. I clicked on parts of the pattern catalog that were totally unfamiliar to me.

Dresses.

I came up with this Vogue pattern. I liked the side panels, but there was much I knew I would have to alter.

I bought the pattern and fabric on sale at JoAnns. I rarely go to JoAnns, but I was under a time crunch. Did you know that, according to the unfriendly sales associates at this particular JoAnns, that they have removed all mirrors from all JoAnns? It is (so they told me) a corporate-wide edict. If true, that tells me that JoAnns has really decided they are done with garment sewists.

But I did buy a colorful, wild print, even though I was unable to hold it against my body to see if I liked the print/color on me.

Materials:

• Sweater knit from JoAnns.
  
• Black poly/lycra knit used for contrast bindings.
  

Alterations and Modifications:

• The pattern drawing is misleading.
  

  

  Note how it shows that the insets land on the waistline. This is not accurate. It's hard to see the details of the finished dress on the envelope, because it's black, but the insets actually land on the model above the waist.
  

  

  I lightened these photos and added arrows pointing to the top of the inset seam. It is definitely above the model's waist, not at her waist.

  

  When I held the pattern tissue to my body, the insets landed on my bust, not below it. This is not a good look for me. The first alteration I made was to slash the pattern, both front and back, between the armscye and bust dart (about an inch below the armscye) and added 2". This lowered the inset and the bust dart.
  

  

  The back bodice, lowered, and the back neck, raised.

• After lowering the entire bodice, I sliced the front pattern horizontally, about an inch above the inset. I then did the FBA just on the upper portion, as I did not want to add width to the lower portion. I then merged the upper and lower portions together.
  

  

  The pattern piece is upside down, but the bodice has been lowered, then the lower part has been sliced off and the FBA added. Finally, the upper and lower portions were merged back together. This is how I do an FBA without adding width to the part of the garment where I don't need it.
  

• The pattern is designed for wovens, but I made it out of a knit. I eliminated the back zipper.
  
• The pattern has no pieces for facings, as it is intended to be completely lined. I omitted the lining and finished the neckline with a narrow contrast knit binding in black. I didn't follow this technique exactly, but here is an excellent video on a neckline binding by Threads magazine, featuring Sarah Veblen.
  
• To echo the neckline binding, I put flat piping on the side panel seams.
  
• I lengthened the cap sleeves to below elbow length. I finished them with the contrast binding.
  
• I topstitched all seams.
  
• At the end, during the fitting, I raised the bodice by re-sewing the shoulder seams one inch further down. I think that my original alterations were fine, per se, but the knit was stretchy and a bit heavy, so it hung lower.
  
• I sewed the bust darts and upper side seams towards the very end, so I could pin them right on the body.
  
• I narrowed the shoulder about 3/4".
  
• I made the longer length on the pattern and just did a 1" hem. It's pretty long, and I'm not sure if it's the most flattering length. If I wear this dress again, I can always shorten it further.
  

Notice how I show the dress with a wrap. This is because I do not think it is a flattering dress on me, even though it fits me pretty well. Is this because of the wild print? The silhouette? The fabric? I'm not sure, but I did wear it, with the wrap. Later today, when the same daughter had a ballet performance, I wore my black and white Sandra Betzina dress. I just think it's a more flattering dress, though I wore the same wrap with it.

Ready for the ballet, though I should have photographed it with the same wrap.

The best shot I could get of the dress, sans wrap.

Pic taken when I got home from the graduation.

Vogue 8741 - Marcy Tilton Hobo Bag & Pattern Giveaway!

More pictures

Pattern Giveaway!

I rarely sew purses. I always think I will, but I don't.

I purchased this fabric a couple years ago from Fabrix. I love this fabric and would have bought yards of it (at $3 a yard), but only one yard remained. It is a woven rayon blend (I think) that has been embossed with a leather texture. It is very easy to cut out and sew - it's nothing like a pleather - and it has a great look and feel.

I decided it should be a purse and, finally, it is.

The pattern calls for a fashion fabric and two contrast fabrics. The difference between View C and View D is in how the contrast fabrics are used. This bag is reversible. This fact is not made obvious on the website or on the pattern - you would only know this when reading the instructions. I think this is unfortunate and it's a side effect of the minimal description Vogue now provides for each pattern.

The purse is reversible, but it's wonderfulness doesn't stop there. It features compartments and a zippered pocket. If you like purses with lots of different places to put things, this one is for you. I used one contrast fabric, not two. If you choose to use different fabrics for contrast 1 and contrast 2, it would be much easier to find things in your purse, based on the different fabrics/colors, but I am happy with my single contrast. :)

This purse is, essentially, a purse within a purse. It has four layers: the outside, the lining, the inset, and the inset lining. Sometimes the bag is sewn to the lining, and sometimes the lining is sewn to the inset lining. This creates the inner compartments that makes this bag so useful.

My inside fabric is a waterproof print that I purchased long ago at Fabrix. I bought this fabric to use as bias trim on another project, but I ended up not using it and it sat in my "donate" pile (because I had no real use for one yard of a waterproof fabric) until I realized that it matched the outside fabric perfectly. I used it for both contrast 1 and contrast 2.

By the way, I don't plan to use this purse as a reversible purse, but if it were pouring rain, I might!

Materials & Notions:

• Textured (embossed) brandy-colored rayon blend, from Fabrix.
  
• Pellon fleece, to underline the outside fabric. This is optional, but it made my fabric look even more like leather. I did not use fusible fleece, but I don't see why that would not work.
  
• Dritz Spray adhesive, for adhering the fleece to the outer fabric. (Or a similar brand, but this is what I had in my sewing closet.)
  
• Waterproof chartreuse fabric, with a monochromatic tropical print, from Fabrix.
  
• 7" zipper. I used a decorative zipper.
  
• Thread. I purchased regular thread to match the outside fabric, and the lining fabric, and top-stitching thread for the outside fabric. Or so I thought. When I got home, the "top-stitching" thread was 100% cotton thread (oops), so I used regular thread for the top-stitching. But top-stitching thread would have been nice. :)
  
• A tool for turning a narrow bias tube. I used my favorite technique which requires a bobby pin.
  
• Fray Block. This is optional, but I used it on the end of each knotted, bias fabric tie.
  
• A Dritz tool for making 1" bias tape and a safety pin to pin the tape to the ironing board as you create it. You can make the bias tape in any method you prefer, but this tool worked well for all the yards of bias that this purse requires.
  
• Sewing pins!! I mention this only because I bent many pins on this project. When pinning the final layer onto the base layer, there are 16 layers of fabric, including the pleats on four layers, the two base layers, and the fleece layer throughout. Many of my glass head silk pins bit the dust during this process.
  
• Sewing machine needles! For most of this project I used a single MicroTek needle (by Schmetz). This worked well, until near the end when it was trying to go through many layers and it shattered. I finished the project with a jeans needle.
  

Construction Notes:

• This pattern uses 1/2" seam allowances. It is easy to miss this fact.
  
• This purse confused me at first, so let me explain how it works. It is made from 4 layers: the outer layer, the lining, the inset, and the inset lining. The inset and the inset lining are used to create compartments, so the purse has the inside bucket, and two compartments on either side. In the innermost layer (called the inset), there is a zippered pocket. There are self ties to keep it closed and the purse is reversible; if you turn it inside out the zippered pocket will be on the outside. This is a large purse.
  
• I made the 1/2" opening for the zipper in the inset as directed. At first I planned to use a standard zipper. But after the opening was completed, I noticed a decorative zipper in my stash and decided to use that.
  

  
  

  The standard zipper opening is too wide for the decorative zipper, which was an afterthought.

  The 1/2" opening was too wide for this zipper, so I added a strip to narrow the opening - I could have added a strip to each side of the opening, but decided to put it on the top only, so the raw edges would be absorbed into the top of the pocket. When applying the zipper, I folded the ends under, at both ends of the zipper, and top-stitched it to the pocket. The rest of the pocket was constructed normally.
  

  

  The narrow strip added to the top of the pocket.

  

  The completed zipper. This is the first time I remembered to use one of my new fabric labels!

• In step 8 of the pattern instructions, you put the lining layer together with the inset lining layer, right sides together, and baste the lower edges together. From here until step 20, these are treated as a single layer. In step 9, you stitch them together, in the ditch of the lining seams, to form a pocket. It was not clear from the directions whether you should do this on both sides of the purse. In the end, I did do it on both sides, because I decided that the compartment would be very large if I didn't. But I don't think it matters that much, so do what you think is best.
  
• I found some of the construction steps confusing. Therefore, I took pictures as I went. Hopefully these pics will help clarify the steps for anyone else who might also find them confusing. The numbers of the steps correlate to the numbers on the pattern instructions.
  
  • Step 16: The bag has been pleated and pinned to the base. I was concerned that the pleating would be difficult, but the instructions recommend that you not obsess over this and I agree. It's actually fun. Also, the instructions state that the size and spacing of the pleats will depend on the fabric. I found this to be very true, as the outer layer/batting pleats were a very different size than the pleats in the lining fabric.
    

    

  • Step 17: The bag lining/inset lining (the two layers are basted together at the hem as one layer) have been pleated and pinned to the base, on top of the outside layer.
    

    

  • Step 18: The lining for the base has been pinned, wrong sides together, to the base. After each step, I machine stitch that layer.
    

    

  • Step 19: The inset, which contains the zippered pocket, has been pinned to the base. After this is sewn, the inset is pulled up over the rest of the purse and all four layers are now attached.
    

    

• A pattern piece is included to create the ties that can be used to hold the purse closed. At first I followed the directions to turn the raw edges under to make the ties. But this created very chunky (approx 1/2" wide) ties. I hate chunky ties, so instead I created a 1/4" tube from each piece of bias. I trimmed the edge of the sewn seam and used a bobby pin to turn the tubes inside out. I tied a knot in the end of each tie, as directed, and finished with a dot of Fray Block. This isn't strictly necessary, since the tie was bias, but I prefer to use a dot of Fray Block.
  
• I found an error in the pattern. A pattern piece is included to create a continuous bias strip. You cut one of this pattern piece. However, it does not create nearly enough bias. Bias trim is attached to the top of the purse, which has 4 edges. There are another 4 edges on the inside layer, for a total of 8 edges. Finally, you cut four 10.5" strips from the same bias strip for the purse handles. There was only enough bias to finish 7 edges of the purse plus one 10.5" purse handle. I had to create another 40" or so of bias to complete the purse.
  

Conclusion: I really like this purse! The only disadvantage is that it is quite large. I didn't realize from the photo on the envelope that it would be this large. I will save it for those occasions when one needs an extra large bag. With all of the compartments, it would make a good travel bag.

More pictures:

Because this pattern hasn't yet been reviewed, and because there is a lot going on in the purse, I attempted to document it fairly thoroughly.

Hanging on a hook. See the lovely texture of the fabric.

If you look carefully, you can see the tie closure.

Reversed. I don't plan to use it this way.

The ties, up close. You can also see the various compartments.

Inside

The straps, up close.

It's big!

The End. ;)

Pattern Giveaway!

I was given a copy of this pattern, but had already purchased it, so I have an extra. If you would like it, please leave a comment. I sympathize with folks outside of the country who can only purchase these patterns at full price, or with extreme shipping, so this is definitely open to you, too. I will draw names in a week or so.

I'm Alive! Status Upate

Channeling Judy Jetson

I have received a few emails asking if I'm ok. It's so nice that there is concern about me, but I am ok! I have not been blogging as much, because I have not been sewing as much. Partly because I was traveling and returned home to drama. Though things have settled down in that department, my work continues to be very intense.

But here is what I am up to (sewing wise, at least mostly):

• I have a Marcy Tilton purse almost finished. Truly, I should have finished it last night, but instead I worked on a long blog entry about it. I just need to finish a tiny bit of hand sewing and then take a few more pictures. Look for that in the next day or two. I'm also doing a related pattern giveaway. :)
  

• I have made several pair of pj bottoms! OK, not exciting stuff, hence no blogging. But I may do a mass blog when I finish a few more pair. ;)
  

• I took my friend Renee out for some snoop shopping for her birthday last month. I got very inspired and I copied a pocket onto a Marcy Tilton pant. The pocket was great, but the pant wasn't the perfect pattern for it. I want to try again, but haven't gotten back to it.
  

• I am participating in Me-Made-June! I don't generally post the outfits I wear daily to my blog, but you can follow my Me-Made-June 2011 Flickr Set and the Group Flickr Set. The picture above was from last Friday. Claudine had the fun idea of doing a common pose each Friday for the month of June. Last Friday's pose was twirling - one of my favorites. She is taking votes for this coming Friday's pose, but I do hope it is NOT in a grocery store as I don't think they'd welcome my tripod in there. :)
  

• DD1's high school graduation is this coming Saturday at 11am. I was thinking I'd go outside my comfort zone and wear a dress. I only have one dress and it's black and white. When I asked her opinion (oh, why did I ask? :) ) she expressed the thought that I should wear something more colorful. Hmmm.... So, I bought a dress pattern and some fabric. Not sure I can get it made by Saturday morning, but stay tuned.
  

• I attended a BABES meeting. BABES is the local group that was organized originally through Pattern Review. It was an excellent meeting, full of laughs, food, and fabric swapping. I took my Chado Ralph Rucci duster/dress, which I said I wouldn't bring to a sewing meeting, but everyone was very tolerant of the wonky inside and many people enjoyed trying it on. What a great group!
  

• I attended the amazing Pulp Fashion show at the Legion of Honor. Wow, what an amazing exhibit. I enjoyed it even more than the Balenciaga exhibit at the De Young. I went with three sewing friends and we were dressed to the nines (seriously, I was the schlumpadinka next to these ladies.) Afterwards we had a great Burmese lunch and I ran an errand while they went shopping at Fabrix and Satin Moon. I was heading home after my errand, and I sideswiped a parked, brand new Porche SUV. sigh
  

• Last week had some big events for work, including an all hands meeting that required commuting. Commuting is so tiring! I do not know how people do that every day. Then, last Thursday, we had a very fun team building event in the north beach neighborhood of San Francisco. It was a high-tech scavenger hunt run by TheGoGame.com. It was fun, but so tiring! :)
  

• I haven't been feeling great lately, so I joined Weight Watchers. I know a bit of healthy living is the antidote.
  

So, that's what I've been up to! Thanks so much for your comments, feedback, and concern. I really appreciate all of you!

Vogue 8709 - Marcy Tilton Swing Top

When this pattern came out, last fall I think it was, I thought it was interesting, but it wasn't near the top of my todo list. I wasn't quite sure about the trapeze shape for my body. Then Peggy made it and I just loved hers. I loved it so much that even though we have very different figures, I thought it might work for me, and it zipped to the top of the list.

I altered and cut out this top for a sewing retreat I went on in March. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to it on the retreat, as I was overly ambitious, but I started it when I returned home. As with the Katherine Tilton tee that I finished a couple days ago, I had to put it aside to prepare for my trip back east.

But I finished it this weekend! And, while my version of the top isn't perfect, I really like it. (This fabric's tendency to wrinkle may drive me crazy.) And, while I know it's not the the most flattering top on my body that I own, I think it works. (Neither of the Tilton sisters has my shape, so not every top they design works on me. Heck, I don't know of a single pattern designer who has my shape. :) )

Materials:

• A greenish cross-woven fabric - black threads in the warp and green in the weft. It seems to be largely cotton, with a bit of lycra, and it may contain another fiber, such as silk or rayon. It wrinkles like crazy, unfortunately, but had the kinda-soft-but-with-some-body quality that this project seems to call for. I bought it from Fabrix.
  
• 3 buttons from Stone Mountain and Daughter - I bought five, as specified by the pattern, but they were fairly large, so I used only three.
  
• Fusible tricot interfacing.
  

Alterations and Construction Notes:

• I made View A and cut out a size 22. After studying the pattern tissue and ease at the bust, I decided not to increase the dart, but I did lower it about 2".
  

• I flat felled the CB seam, the shoulder seams, and the side seams.
  

• There seems to be a problem with the pattern draft. I was very careful to mark the notches and other symbols and, yet, when it came time to attach the peplum to the bodice, it would not fit properly. I asked Peggy and she told me she had similar problems, but she fiddled until it worked, so I don't think it was just me.

  I solved it by adding a 3/4" pleat in the bodice back, corresponding to the pleat on the peplum (for a total reduction of 1.5"). This worked well, though if I'd realized this might happen, I might have taken it in at the side seams. Since I had flat felled the side seams, I didn't want to bother taking those in. Another option would have been to fiddle with the peplum pleat, but I had sewn that down as well.
  

  

• Note: when pinning the peplum and the bodice together, it's tempting to snip to the corners, but the pattern does not tell you to do that and I don't think you should. It's this funky seam that gives the peplum such a wonderful shape at the pockets. I love the result!
  

• The collar is asymmetric. Despite my marking and attempts to be careful, my fabric was the same on both sides and I made the collar backwards. I could have cut a new collar, but I was optimistic and hoped that it didn't matter. The front bands are also not symmetric and I put those on correctly.
  

  Unfortunately I realized, at the very end, that it does matter. So, I had to button the band incorrectly. If you look at the pattern and my finished top, you'll see what I mean. Luckily, I don't mind this at all. :) But my advice to you is to be careful (at least more careful than I was) about the collar being consistent with the front bands. If you reverse one, reverse them both. :)
  

• In the end, I realized that the darts are a bit too low and too long. Next time I would shorten the darts by an inch or so. And maybe raise them about 3/4", though I really hate to move darts around. :)
  

I think this is a very cute top! And, apparently, fairly forgiving for different body types. The back peplum is so fun and interesting, and the bias cut of the peplum is flattering. I love, love the soft pockets. This is a very high-end boutique sort of top and I definitely want to make it again in a more wearable fabric.

Vogue 8710 - Katherine Tilton t-shirt

I started this t-shirt before my trip back east, but I put it aside to finish some pieces for the trip. My local ASG chapter featured a "perfect t-shirt" theme this month, so I was happy to have an excuse to finish this top. If you look at view B, you will see that it flares at the hips. I knew I wouldn't like this look for me, so I did some altering to remove the flare without compromising the integrity of the side inset. I didn't want to take all of the fullness from the side seam and end up chopping the inset so that it lost its length. (If that makes any sense...)

Materials

• Heathered grey ponte from FabricMart. This soft ponte has a very subtle stripe. I also used this fabric for a pair of Marcy Tilton pants. I have enough for one more garment. :)
  

Alterations and Construction Notes

• I started with a size 22. Based on the finished bust measurement, I decided not to do an FBA.
  
• Rather than follow directions and cut the inset so that the stripe is horizontal, I cut it so that the stripe (which is very subtle) is on the bias. I did this because I felt that a horizontal stripe makes the bust larger - it's like a giant arrow. :)
  

  

• I shortened the sleeves by 3", but they were still a bit long.
  
• I narrowed the shoulder about 3/4".
  
• I removed fullness at the underarm from both the sleeve and the side seam.
  
• I did quite a bit of fitting in the "princess" seam and in the side seam. I removed as much as possible from the front piece, and as little as possible from the inset to preserve its length as much as possible. That length helps the top look more slim.
  

  

• By the time i got to the hem, I was in a hurry and I knew the top wasn't perfect to begin with, so I just slapped the hem allowance up and stitched. This is why it's a bit rippled. Had I wanted a nice flat hem, I would have used Steam a Seam Lite. I can always re-hem it later if it bothers me too much. :)
  

I transferred all shaping back to the tissue pattern, so that I can make this again. It's not quite perfect, but I like the fit overall. I removed perhaps a bit too much from the front so the side seam is a bit unbalanced. I'm not sure yet whether I want to play with the fit more and balance the side seam - it's non-trivial since I don't want to affect the front inset too much.

Anyway, I think this is a nice pattern, with good potential for the busty. It requires a bit of fitting for the hip-less, however, unless you like a flared hem. :)

I wore this tee all day yesterday and popped it on again this morning for a photo. So it looks a bit rumpled, aside from the hem. :)

Me-Made-June 2011

Me-Made-June is coming up very soon. I thought long and hard about whether or not to participate this time. I got a bit bored by Me-Made-March, even though I had a lot of new self made clothes to wear since Self Stitched September 2010. I realized that it really bothers me to limit myself to *all* handmade clothing, which is what I chose to do for the last two challenge months.

I pretty much wear all hand made clothing anyway, and I have some nice clothing in my closet that rarely sees the light of day. Some of it is handmade by others, some of it is boutique clothing. None of it is mass produced ready-to-wear. Most of it is neglected, because I seem to have this thing about wearing my own clothing.

So, this time, I decided I want to incorporate these pieces into my daily wardrobe. I was just staring at my closet and there are some nice pieces that I didn't make, but deserve to see the light of day.

Just say "no" to fashion orphans. :)

So, without further ado:

I, Shams of http://communingwithfabric.blogspot.com/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-June '11. I endeavor to wear something hand made each day for the duration of June 2011. At least one of garment will be made by me, but some might be made by others or be boutique pieces.