Cocoon Sweater and Proportion Proportion Proportion

A shortcut to Proportion Proportion Proportion.

Last night I attended an annual party featuring the greedy gift grab game. This year I decided to make a cocoon sweater.

A cocoon sweater is super easy to make - it only requires 48", or 1-1/3 yd, of a knit fabric. You can use any knit, so long as it has a nice drape. I used a periwinkle blue sweater knit. I used the full width of the fabric, from selvedge to selvedge, which is about 62". A narrower fabric results in shorter sleeves, and also works quite well.

The following diagram shows how this is constructed.

With the fabric folded "the short way", the piece is cut to 24" long, which happens to (conveniently) be the length of my Olfa ruler. The cut edge becomes both the hem and the neckline.

Sew the side seams, leaving about 10" unsewn down from the folded edge. These openings become the armholes.

Finish the seams, hem, edges, as you like. In my case, I sewed the seams by hand and finished all edges, including the selvedges, by turning the under twice and hand stitching. The stitches were pretty much lost in the lofty knit.

That's it. Voila. Fini.

I also attached an antiqued kilt pin that I purchased on Etsy - the recipient can use it to hold the sweater closed.

I always angst about wrapping the gift as I am quite gift-wrap impaired. Then, yesterday, Rhonda Buss posted a fortuitous post on how to make tissue paper flowers to decorate a gift box.

I raided my pattern box for a pattern I had made that was a wadder. The instructions became the wrapping paper and the pattern tissue became the bow. The ribbon came from a huge roll of cotton twill tape. I don't think I made the bow correctly, but it worked well enough. Thanks for this cute idea, Rhonda!

Here is the same garment in a black slinky.

Now, what did I receive in this game? I received a Sewing Workshop Tamari apron made by Rita. I have always wanted to make one of these aprons, but wasn't sure if it would work on my shape.

I LOVE it!!

Proportion Proportion Proportion

I had fun getting dressed for the event last night.

After much thought, I decided to wear a duster I purchased a long time ago, which is made from a combination of black organza and a black cotton jersey knit. I wore it over a black t-shirt and my black Au Bonheir capri length pants that I often wear for evening events. For some color I added a short scarf with red fur flowers. The outfit was completed with my black Trippen boots.

I thought it looked quite cute in the mirror.

I took a few quick pictures and realized that the outfit wasn't quite working. One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to take pictures of yourself in an outfit.

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Looking at a photo shows proportion in a way that you just can't see in a mirror.

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I quickly swapped out the pants for a slim legged pant. I couldn't find my Katherine Tilton black skinny pant that I made recently (it's probably hiding in the laundry), so I wore my Style Arc heathered grey Cassie pant. I also swapped out the short scarf for a long red scarf that I purchased last August at the ACC Craft Fair. I have worn this scarf more than anything else I've bought in the last year.

I took a few more pictures and could see that this version of the outfit worked much better.

If I could convince sewists to do just one thing, it would be to make use of a camera, remote with 2-second timer, and tripod. Even if you don't share them anywhere, you will learn *so* much from the exercise. I find it's much better to take my own photos because I'm less self conscious and can take as many as I need. I can then upload them to my laptop to get a closer look. Sometimes I will notice something is off - is that tree growing out of my head? I can then re-take them with no one growling about the inconvenience.

Since I starting taking pictures of myself wearing my clothing, I have completely changed what I sew for myself and how I fit it. Looking in the mirror just does not convey the same information about proportion.

I'm still working on my coat. Unfortunately, I've hit a snag and have to see what I can do to remediate the situation.

I hope you all have a nice weekend!

Vogue 8854 - Two Tunics

This is another pattern that came out in the last batch of Vogues and I thought it had potential. Now that I have made it twice, I can say I love this pattern. I'm sure I will be making it many more times in future.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This pullover tunic has an asymmetric opening and a simple collar that can be worn up, folded down, or half up and half down. As designed, it features snaps that extend into the collar, but I left those off as I will wear the collar with one or both sides folded down. There is a view with a hood but, while I like the look of a hood, I don't really like wearing a hood, at least not on a top. It tends to pull and I'm constantly readjusting my garment.

The fabric for the first version, the polka dotted tunic, has been aging in my stash a year or two and is from Fashion Fabrics Club, I think. The black and grey fabric from the second version, from Emma One Sock, is a poly/rayon/lycra and is wonderfully lofty and super soft. Margy recently used the same fabric to make a tunic. This was one of those times we discovered we both bought the same fabric after the fact.

I used a scrap of black rayon lycra jersey to make the button loops for both versions. The button for the polka dot top came from grandma's button box (I had to cut the ancient threads off) and the button for the second top is from Stone Mountain & Daughter. Finally, each top uses one jumbo snap on the placket. I did not use the 3 or 4 snaps recommended by the pattern. The pocket for the polka dot version used another remnant of black rayon lycra jersey. The pocket for the black and grey version used a remnant of a black woven lining. Basically, I grabbed what was at hand.

Alterations:

• I started with a size large (16-18). It has a finished bust measurement of 47", so I did an FBA to add a couple inches in width and 1.5" in length.
• Both fabrics are 2-way stretch with minimal vertical stretch, so I sewed in the darts.
• Tapered the hips down, which is typical.
• Narrowed the shoulder by 1.5". Fairly typical.
• Shortened the sleeves on the first one by 2". It was still a bit long, so I shortened the second one by 2-1/2". This is more than normal for me, so the sleeves run long.
• During construction, I tapered the waist on the polka dot version by 1/2" (2" total). When making the second one, I accidentally tapered the waist in by 1" (4" total). At first I thought it was a huge blunder, but I rather like the effect.
• Omitted the front patch pocket and, instead, used a side seam pocket.
• Omitted the vertical top stitching on the placket that extends into the collar.

The pattern sews together pretty easily. The most fussy part, for me, were the side seams, as I first have to position and sew the dart, then taper the waist, then add the inseam pocket, which I quickly drew out on a piece of printer paper.

I am wearing my new Katherine Tilton skinny pant in these pics. I am loving all of my new skinny pants, which are super comfy.

I've started my next garment, which is a coat. We've had lots of rain the last few days and it's been on the chilly side. It will be nice to sew a garment where I'm not half naked most of the time. I've been enjoying the rain as I have a big pot of soup, and am well stocked with tea and cocoa. Add in a good sewing project and no reason to leave the house = a perfect weekend! I hope yours has been equally serene.

And now, the pics.

Collar half up. Collar folded down The fabric is washed out in this pic.

Vogue 8859 - Two Pair of Marcy Tilton Pants

Dressed for Union Square with DD1

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Note that, as of Monday evening 11/26, all Vogue patterns are marked down 75% on their website. According to the email I received, the sale ends Friday, Nov 30th.

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Vogue caused some confusion when they released the holiday patterns on October 25th. You may recall that they identified this skirt as a Marcy pattern:

As pretty as that skirt is, it sure didn't read as a Marcy pattern. Sure enough, by the next day, Vogue quietly corrected their error. They had mislabeled the skirt and had neglected to label Vogue 8859 as Marcy's pant. I almost mentioned it on the blog, but I figured people would quickly notice and my original post calls out this pant as an interesting pattern.

What?! You don't haunt the Vogue website like I do?

So on Thanksgiving weekend, I made two pair of Marcy's pants. I might have stopped at one, but I made two pair of Katherine's and, as a mother of two girls, it's best when things are "even". ;)

This pattern calls for either a double knit, such as ponte, or a stretch woven. I seem to have a collected plethora of stretch wovens, so that is what I used. This pattern features tucks at the front knee and the instructions provide three possible ways of handling these tucks. I used a different variation in each of my pants. The pattern also includes back pockets, which I omitted from both pair.

The back of this pant requires three pattern pieces: a yoke, the upper back (ends at the knee), and the lower back. The yoke and lower back are cut on a normal grain, but the upper back is cut off grain. It is cut on the bias, though not on a true bias. This is very interesting and, I imagine, affects how the pant fits in back. Surprisingly, the pattern does not include the finished measurement for the hip/waist on the pattern tissue, but it's not difficult to measure it yourself.

I cut a size 16 in front and a size 14 in back, which is equivalent to the same size I used for the Katherine pants, though the size range of her pant is small-medium-large.

Pair #1

For the first version I chose a rather wild flocked stretch denim I purchased on sale from Marcy's site. Since the print is busy, I chose to use variation #1 for the tucks, which is to merely fold them at the side seam. I like this effect but some might find it a bit sloppy - I realize this pair of pants won't be to everyone's taste. I top-stitched this pair using black Guterman top-stitching thread, which is rather hard to see against the flocking. I finished this pair on Saturday morning and wore them out with DD1. They are wild and fun.

Pair #2

I wanted a more sedate fabric for pair #2, to better showcase the knee detail. For this pair, I used a lightweight stretch woven in a brown/grey color that is sometimes called anthracite. For this pair, I used version two for the tucks, which is basically sewn across and then edge-stitched. However, I think I found an error in the instructions, which tell you to sew the tuck with the fabric right sides together and I believe they meant wrong sides together, or it makes no sense to me. The version three tucks are similar to version two, but edge stitched on both the inside and the outside of the tuck.

Conclusion

I love both pairs of pants! I finished the second pair Sunday evening, but I've already worn the denim pair twice.

How do these pants compare to Katherine's? Aside from the obvious seaming/tuck differences, it seems that the Marcy pant is slightly more fitted through the thigh to the knee, but only slightly, and the Katherine pant seems a bit more pegged at the ankle. I laid the patterns on top of each other and the shape of the fronts and backs are different. Both pair are pull-on and can be made from double knit or stretch woven fabrics. I didn't shorten the Katherine pant (unusual for me) so they must run on the short side. I shortened the Marcy pant by about 3/4", so they are a bit longer.

I like both patterns.

Do you realize that I have five new pair of skinny pants? Two Marcy pants, two Katherine pants, and the Style Arc Cassie pant. I'm in skinny pant heaven! But my next project will not be pants. In fact, I made another garment over Thanksgiving weekend, but haven't photographed it yet and it's not pants, either.

Flocked Denim Pair Knee tucks Flocked Denim Pair

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Anthracite Pair

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Vogue 8837 - Two pair of Katherine Tilton pants

Uch. Where did these weeds come from?

More skinny pants! I am feeling skinny pants right now. This Katherine Tilton pattern came out in the fall Vogue collection. It has some nice seam details. I'm a sucker for cool seaming.

The pattern calls for ponte, or a similar knit, but I used stretch woven and it worked great. I made a pair, tweaked the pattern, and made a second pair. Both pairs are black, but use very different fabrications and the second pair has contrast topstitching. The pattern features a cuff and some gathering in the back hem, but I omitted both.

Pair #1

For the first pair I used a stash fabric – a black poly/rayon/spandex pebbled crepe fabric called Crepe Couture suiting. This fabric has wonderful drape and might have been a better choice for a more trouser-like pant, but I think it worked quite well. Based on the finished hip measurement, I cut out a medium and sewed it up. However, I felt that there was too much fullness in the back of the pant, and then I remembered that in Vogue I usually cut a size smaller in back. Oops. The pants are still very wearable, mostly thanks to the drape of the fabric.

Pant #2

I re-cut the back pattern to a size small, traced off the back crotch curve from my Style Arc Cassie pants, and cut out a second pair, this time using s beefy black stretch denim. For this pair I topstitched the seams using white Guterman topstitching thread.

I really like these pants! Both pair are so comfy!

I hope those of you who celebrate had a great Thanksgiving! I had a nice quiet day this year. I am looking forward to spending tomorrow with DD1, who flew home from university. We'll be in downtown SF, shopping and eating and then I take her back to the airport at 2am. I am loving the long weekend.

Denim Pair Denim Pair

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Crepe Pair

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Style Arc Cassie Pants

When I saw the Cassie Pant on Style Arc's website, I knew it was time for another order, and pronto. I love the unusual styling of this slim pant. The interesting knee pieces reminded me of my favorite Au Bonheur pants pattern that I've made three times.

I added a bit to the side seam at the waistline, swapped out my own waistband, and otherwise sewed these up out of the envelope in my usual size 10. I used a fabric I found locally – a heathered charcoal grey stretch woven. I think it's a wool/poly/lycra blend; it's machine washable and looks and behaves like wool. A really nice fabric. Once the pants were finished, I shortened them 1-1/2", which is also pretty typical for me. I love the consistency of Style Arc's fit.

A Margy-inspired-Shams-inspired Pose.

I love these pants! The fit is soooo comfy. However, I found it hard to get a good picture of them. They don't look brown in person, but I do think there is brown in there and the camera picked it up in the hangar shots. I took a series of pictures, uploaded them, changed the rest of the outfit and tried again.

Hey, I just noticed an error in the illustration. The seam above the knee piece angles up towards the inner leg. It's drawn correctly in the diagram on the right, but incorrectly in both illustrations on the left. We had some torrential rain yesterday. (I love fall weather!) This easement, just around the corner from my house and where I went to take the hangar photos, suffered storm damage from the fallen branch of a huge pine tree. I was still able to use the fence for my photos but the alley will be closed to through traffic until this is removed.

Mini Sew-along - Cosy Cardi

It just so happened, once again, that Margy and I bought the same fabric from Marcy Tilton – an interesting doubleknit. One side features a black/cream tie dye print and the other side is solid black. So we decided to do another little sew along using the fabric.

After washing, this fabric became incredibly soft. It has 2-way stretch and is very stable – it was a delight to sew. Each of us bought 2 yards and each of us was sorry we didn't get more. This fabric screams "cut me on the bias" but it's pretty hard to do much on the bias with only 2 yards.

I decided to make a cardi, similar to the one Ruth made at the beginning of the year. I liked the peplum detail she used. In Ruthie's case, she used New Look 6735, but I decided to use Style Arc's Cosy Cardi, which I believe I received free with an order some months ago.

I did my usual fit alterations for Style Arc:

• FBA, a large-ish dart.
• Narrowed shoulder by 3/4".
• Nipped in the waist a couple inches.
• Shortened the sleeves by 1/2". (I should have shortened by 1", which is typical for me.)

The other changes to achieve the look were:

• Shortened to waist length.
• Added a rectangular "peplum".
• Added a selvedge strip to the bottom of the bodice. (Using the solid black side of the knit.)
• Added a rectangular front band, cut so the stretch goes along the band. Also used the solid black side.
• Cut the sleeves on the bias.
• I finished all of the seams with narrow twill tape.

The result? It's ok. The cardi fits, but it doesn't excite me. The front band is a bit wonky which is, I believe, the result of careless pressing. I will see how much I wear it. I feel like I let the fabric down a bit.

Be sure to check out Margy's beautiful jacket!