#2: Salme Challenge - From Dress to Duster

Welcome to Challenge #2 in the FabricMart Fabricista Fashion Challenge!

Challenge #1 was so much fun! Challenge #2 was a bit more... challenging, at least for me! Here are the rules:

Using the pattern that we have selected for you, create a unique garment that reflects your personality. You can alter the pattern or add to the patterns to make it more you. Think of one or two words that describe you to inspire your look. You will be judged on creativity, craftsmanship, fit, how well represented your description words are in your design, and difficulty.

The Pattern: The Salme Yoke Dress.

This is a long post, so let me start with a summary. The words I chose for this challenge were ARTSY CASUAL. I converted the pattern from a dress to a sleeveless duster, which is something I can wear every day but still has the artsy vibe that I like. I made the denim lace (which I call 'thread lace') featured on the duster. I also made the earrings.

TOC:

• Pattern Alterations and Modifications
• Materials Used
• Thread Lace
• Earrings
• More Pictures

Pattern Alterations and Modifications

While it might seem like I used a completely different pattern, the changes I made were fewer than you might think. I first purchased the pattern, printed it, cut off two edges from each piece of paper, and taped them together in a grid. I then traced off the largest size, a size 16, which is my size based on my upper bust - before an FBA. I traced off everything except for the skirt, which I did not use.

I traced the front as a single pattern piece and the same with the back. It's much easier to do an FBA that way, as well as other alterations. Once I completed the alterations, and had traced off the armhole and neckline shape for the facings, I then separated the front and back yokes from the front and back pattern pieces.

Separating the yoke after all alterations.

The fact that this pattern does not include seam allowances made all of these alterations much easier. I actually like working this way. I have sewed long enough that I eyeball the 5/8" seam allowance when I do the cutting and it comes out accurately.

After I traced the pattern, I noticed an error. The front and back shoulders had different slopes.

In the picture above, you can see that the front and back shoulder lines have a different slope. I adjusted them so they would be the same, favoring the slope that most closely matched my actual shoulder.

Here are the other alterations I made:

• I did a 2" FBA.
• I lengthened the front and back bodice to make them knee length. I omitted the waistline darts.
• I feel that a sweetheart neckline is incongruous on an older, busty silhouette like mine. (As Margy said, "I am nobody's sweetheart!") I straightened the line on the front so that the front yoke had a shape similar to the back yoke. The dotted line shows the original sweetheart yoke shape. The bold line is the new yoke shape.
• I split the front to make it a front-opening duster, held closed by a button tab. I also reshaped the neckline slightly to have more of a v-shape.
• I split the back to make a button closure. This was to break up the expanse of denim on the back.
• I drafted facings for the front/back neck and for the armholes.
• When sewing up the side seams, I left side slits that were approximately 10" long.
• I drafted patch pockets. I copied the curve of the yoke, which curves down at the outside edge, and echoed the shape at the top of the patch pockets. The patch pockets are self lined.

I did not make a muslin. I tested the fit in paper.

I did not look at the instructions for the dress and made up my own. I finished all inside seams. I lined the yoke. I turned the raw edges under on the side seams and sewed them down by hand. I used bias binding on the hem and the other exposed seams.

Inside finishing.

Materials Used

• Tencel denim. I had 3 yards and it was just enough - I had only small bits left over.
• I lined the yoke using blue Vera Wang pebbled silk from FabricMart. It was leftover from my Sandra Betzina jacket.
• Vintage German plastic buttons from Britex in two sizes. One large one for the front tab and 5 smaller ones for the back. (I brought a chunk of the denim and the denim lace yoke with me to Britex to purchase the buttons. I was at the button counter, receiving some excellent help, when the owner of Britex, Sharman, saw the denim lace yoke on the counter and came up to study it more closely. She really liked it, and it was fun to chat about the process I used to make it.)
• One sew-on snap, size 10. This is what actually holds the front tab closed. (To avoid a giant buttonhole.)
• Denim threads left over from the Denim Rag Rug I made last year.
• These vintage buttons have huge buttonholes. I sewed them on using Finca No 8 thread in navy, which is similar to pearl cotton. (I bought it at Britex.)
• ProWoven Shirt Crisp interfacing from Pam Erny at Fashion Sewing Supply. I love this stuff and need to order more! I interfaced the front and back facings, the armhole facings, the front button tab, and the back button band.

Thread Lace

One year ago, when I decided to make a denim rag rug, I started collecting jeans from my friends and their husbands. I ended up with quite a few pairs of jeans in various shades of blue, grey, and black. I started ripping the jeans into narrow strips for the rug. This generated a lot of denim threads. As I sewed the strips to the base fabric, I raveled the edges. This generated a lot more denim threads.

I was throwing the threads away into a plastic bucket that I keep in my sewing room, along with other detrius such as bent pins and broken needles. As the bucket started to fill up, it bothered me to throw away the jumble of pretty threads. I finally scooped the entire bucket of threads into a gallon ziplock baggy. I just *had* to use these for something, but I didn't know what.

I even took the bag of threads to Design Outside the Lines, thinking I might get some inspiration.

Last April, my friend JillyBe took a workshop called "Wabi Sabi Scarves" from Brecia Kralovic-Logan at PenWAG. I was lucky to see JillyBe's wonderful scarves in person, but she did blog about the workshop.

Inspired Jillian's work, last April I ordered some Water Soluble Bags (Melt-A-Way bags) from Mountainside Medical Equipment. I paid $16.95 (plus shipping) for a box of 25 bags, which is much cheaper than an equivalent amount of Solvy!

The bags arrived and I didn't even open the box, but shoved it into a corner. Until this week.

Testing how hot the water needs to be to melt the bags. Hot tap water is hot enough.

The technique Jillian learned in the workshop involved dyeing silk strips, weaving them, and stitching them together in straight rows, sandwiched in the dissolvable bags. I decided to go a different route. (In fact, based on Tanya's first project, it sounds like a recent issue of Threads shows this technique, but I haven't read the article as I don't subscribe to Threads Magazine and am not a Threads Insider.)

I traced off the front and back yokes, creating a single pattern piece, with no shoulder seam. I wanted to avoid bulk as much as possible. I cut the seams off of one of the melt-away bags creating two layers of plastic. I laid down the tracing, put one piece of plastic on top, and then started distributing the denim threads. It felt like sprinkling cheese on top of pizza, back when I used to do such a thing. :)

The second piece of plastic is laid on top, creating a sandwich.

The whole shebang is pinned thoroughly.

I dropped the feed dogs on my sewing machine and stipple quilted the layers, which is a type of free form embroidery. (During my early motherhood years, I took up quilting. In fact, when I was 11 my mother signed me up for a machine embroidery class at the Stretch and Sew store in Santa Rosa where I grew up, so this technique goes waaaaay back to the 1970s, but I hadn't used it since the 90s.)

I had major problems with the stippling. The thread kept fraying and, a couple times, the needle broke or bent. The thread would often fray after I'd sewn just a few inches.

This happened over and over and over.

I switched from my classic Bernina 930 to my Janome Gem. The problem continued to happen, over and over and over. It was driving me batty.

I asked my friends for advice. They told me that I should change the type of thread and maybe the needle. I was using Guterman thread, which I thought was good quality. I eventually changed to Metrosene, which worked MUCH better. (I was already using a large-sized Microtex needle.) Both Metrosene and Mettler threads are more slick than the Guterman and are better for this sort of work, as they are less likely to fray through the eye of the needle. Now I know. (And thanks to Heather, Sue, Margy, and Luanne for advising me!)

Eventually I got the quilting finished.

I then dunked the piece in hot water, dissolved the plastic, and laid it out to dry overnight.

Thanks to the quilting and the hot water bath, the yoke had shrunk and was now far too small.

I had to start over, this time making a much larger piece, which took much longer to quilt. I hadn't yet switched to different thread, so it broke many more times.

Pinned and ready to quilt
Partly quilted Washed and drying
Back yoke
Front yoke

But it was ok, as I used the too-small yoke on the pockets.

Lace pinned. Pockets completed.

Earrings

This is the same technique I used to make the beads for the necklace I made last week. Except this time I used a 1" strip from the tencel denim selvedge and raveled the non-selvedge edge to make a fringe. I made two balls and turned them into earrings.

More Pictures

Trying to twirl, but tripping. The End

P.S. I am also linking up to Visible Monday! Thanks, Patti!

The Next Challenge!

I want to thank everyone who voted for me in the first challenge! I truly appreciate your support.

I made it through to week 2! Several of my fellow contestants have already posted details about our second challenge, but in case you haven't seen it: We are to purchase and sew the Salme Yoke Dress, which is a digital download:

While I am sure that there are mothers in their mid 50s out there that could rock this dress, I am not one of them! I can see this dress on one of my daughters (ages 18 and 20), but I would never wear it as designed. Even if I could wear that silhouette, there is no activity in my life that requires that style of dress.

Thankfully, we have been given permission to modify the pattern so that it reflects our personality.

I hope to make this pattern into a garment that I will love and wear!

However, this has been a crazy busy week for me, mostly with extra responsibilities at work, but also with some activities outside of work. For example, DD1 leaves for university on Saturday morning and needed some "mom" time. How could I possibly say no to that? As a result, I now have to play catch up!

I am pretty excited about this challenge. So far, at least, this competition has been stimulating my creative juices, though it is sad to lose fellow contestants.

I don't like to leave you empty handed so, until I post my entry in challenge #2 on Sunday or Monday, enjoy this bit of eye candy!

Please Vote!

Thanks so much for all of your kind feedback on my jacket!

The poll is up. Please VOTE for your favorite look!

Voting ends at midnight on Wednesday.

There are some very creative entries!

On another topic, can I ask you a question?

I've been asked if I would be willing to give a talk to some creatives. I certainly like to talk, but that's not quite the same thing as giving a talk. ;) Last spring I gave a talk to the Designer Details class at Cañada College, but that was mostly a garment show and tell following by a lengthy Q&A.

Given what you know about me from my blogging, what would you want to hear me talk about?

I'm just curious. Thanks!

#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!