Three Patterns Tested

Once this sparkly and heathered ITY knit from Fabric Mart showed up, I questioned what caused me to choose it. Could it be the $1.00/yard price? Well, yes, price indeed was the factor that compelled me to purchase 10 yards. Based on other ITY knits I've sewn, I was expecting more stretch, but at $1.00/yard, I've nothing ugly to say. Not perfect, but plenty good enough for assessing new patterns. By the way, this purple above is more indicative of the fabric color than the other photos.

I've had the Style Arc Creative Cate pattern for awhile and had hopes that it would be wonderful. It almost is. Notice the horizontal line at the bust point. I believe that means more fabric is needed there. I never ever need a FBA (full bust adjustment). Ever.

Though the bust measurement of the dress form is the same as mine, the horizontal line doesn't show up when I'm wearing the top. So, if I use a stretchier knit, will the top then be too loose? Looks like I'll be digging another knit out of the stack to find out...I like this style. A lot. The horizontal line? Not so much.

Next, I tweaked the measurements on the Bernina My Label t-shirt. I serged one shoulder (with clear elastic, of course) and switched to the coverstitch. The self-fabric strip refused to cooperate with the binder despite given several opportunities. Eventually, it was replaced with a cotton knit from the scrap box. Can't say that this is my favorite combination, but I was able to finish the project.

This version is too wide across the upper front and there is something odd with the bust at the side seams. While wearing this top, I notice that the fabric wants to make a bust dart - see the wrinkles on the right. On me, I get one large fold. There is too much fabric, but I don't know what measurement/s to change to make it go away. Do you? I suppose I should compare the measurements to my original pattern and that would tell the story. No matter; I'll revert to my older BML t-shirt pattern.

Even if this one isn't a great fit and is a bit strange, I'm gonna wear it anyway. Yep, I am...

The third pattern sampled is this oldie but goodie Burda 1-2006-131. Burda being Burda, I knew better and yet didn't bother to raise the neckline. However, I did skip the center back seam. To avoid using the binder for the neck finish, I added 1/4" seam allowance and serged the self-fabric strip, right sides together, to the top. Then, I folded the strip up and over the seam allowance and coverstitched to secure the back side of the strip to the top. I prefer to use the binder, but I sure did not want another purple top with peachy/orange binding. One is quite enough, thank you.

I chose ivory thread for the contrast top-stitching (coverstitched) as the purple blended with the fabric and the seams disappeared. This pattern will be better once the neckline has been adjusted to a Tammyriffic level (I'm guessing about an inch to an inch and a half).

Burda 1-2006-131

Okay, of the three, the Creative Cate is my favorite. I'm gonna pass on the BML tweaked version as the older one is better. The Burda pick is worth fine-tuning the neckline.

There are still yards of this fabric left...

Uh, Catching Up is Hard to Do...

So, I'm talking with DD#2 and she mentions my blog. She said it had been awhile since I had posted and I should get back to it...Yes, I'm feeling a bit guilty and I do miss it. However, in my defense, my solo workshop has been producing, I've merely skipped the documenting part.

I've yet to show you what I had sewn for the wedding, which by now seems so very long ago. I enjoyed sewing with silk, beaded lace, pretty linings and learned that installing an invisible zipper is much easier than a lapped one.

If your guess for the wedding venue was the front porch of The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island you would be correct. What a beautiful place to have a wedding! If you ever have a chance to visit – do it!

A few details regarding my dress: I overestimated the size needed for the McCall’s jacket. Therefore, the first muslin was a fail. Besides being excessively big, it was also shapeless. I pinned a few other jacket patterns together on the dress form and was not any happier. Finally, because I knew it fit, I pulled out my BML classic shirt pattern and, using the front and back pieces, blended the front and hem of the McCall’s pattern. The muslin looked good and I went with it.

The dress was colorful, comfortable and perfect for the occasion. For the most part, the pictures were professionally done (copyrighted) and those that weren't included folks that might not appreciate being splattered across the web. So, sorry - I'm not going to post pictures.

Once back home and settled, I took the dress to be cleaned. The Bah! Humbug! dry-cleaner refused to clean the dress. Why? It lacked tags stating the fiber content and how it should be cleaned. No matter the sign stating they did fiber testing before cleaning. I was sent next door to a bridal gown cleaning/preserving shop and the young woman there told me that their fees started at $60, but my dress would certainly be beyond that. I haven't had anything dry-cleaned in years and that seemed a bit high. Is it? Months later, the dress still hasn’t made a journey through the chemicals...

Besides the wedding on Mackinac Island, there was also a Texas reception at the Welfare Café in Welfare, Texas. I sewed the bride's dress for the reception from an ivory beaded lace and silk dupioni.  Lovely. But once again, no pictures...

Since the wedding, I've been sewing everyday things, just no blogging. I had to make a choice. Either I could sew or I could blog. Due to a diminishing wardrobe, it was indeed an easy choice. I sewed mostly TNT's: t-shirts, simple dresses and even a skirt, along with a few pairs of pants. Not many pants as all of the jeans, shorts and pants I sewed last year are still going strong, though I admit that my favorites are fading.

So, see, you didn't miss much. I'll be back. Promise.

MOB Dress In Action

Details to come...

Muslin for MOB Dress

Bodice: Bernina My Label princess seam dress

• Bodice shortened to fit midriff
• Neckline lowered (may be lowered 1/2" more)
• Outer shoulder narrowed by 5/8"
• Gathers added to center front

Midriff: Butterick 4510 Maggy London, from 2005 (OOP)

• Pin-tucks, pleats, ruching or alternative will be included to add interest (lining pieces were used for this muslin)

Skirt: Burda Plus Autumn/Winter 2011 425A

• Skirt height trimmed to meet midriff at waist

Jacket:

• To be determined...

The Beginning of the MOB Dress

With some decisions made, the process has begun. I have been shopping for months, trying to find an appropriate dress to wear at my daughter’s upcoming wedding. MOB dresses seem to fall into the following categories:

• Las Vegas showgirl
• Muddy colored polyester knits incorporating sequins and geriatric styling
• Cringe-worthy MOB regulation uniform 

 

Well, that just isn’t going to work. I ended up at Sew Elegant, a little shop on West Avenue, in San Antonio. They have lovely formal wear fabrics. My first visit was several months ago during lunch hour. This time, DD#1 accompanied me and when she saw this fabric, we were done shopping!

 

Now I have to decide on which patterns to use. I’ve looked at every pattern website I can think of along with searches through my own pattern collection. All I know right now is that there will be an unlined jacket from the embroidered silk organza and a simple, full-length dress sewn from the silk dupioni. The lining is rayon - Ambiance Bemberg. I’m thinking there should be an underlined bodice, but don’t really want to underline the whole dress as drapey is preferred for the skirt.

The lines need to be clean. That means no fancy pleating, ruffles, etc. to compete with the embroidery. The purple of the flowers matches the purple of the bridesmaid dresses and the mother of the groom’s dress is a creamy beige lace, so these fabrics will certainly coordinate. Tell me though - does that even matter?

For the dress, I’m considering 425A from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Burda Plus.

And, for the jacket, McCall’s 9700 (OOP from 1998), view A with the short sleeves from view B. View A lacks the front princess seams of view B. No side seams either, but the center back seam, which gives shaping, needs to go as it would be a shame to break up the flowers. Frankenpattern? Likely...

And, yes, a muslin will be happening very soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Enjoy your week!

Style Arc Anita Peasant Blouse

My new blouse is made from a teal rayon challis print purchased from Fabric.com nearly a year ago. I love it! The cropped pants, Burda Style 02-2011-123A, were sewn last April and have become a favorite.

I have been sewing other garments, too. I put together a pair of the Style Arc Peta cropped pants and another pair of the Ottobre Every-Woman’s Pant (05-2008-16). And, waiting their turn by the Bernina, are the cut pieces for the Style Arc Katherine pants. I’ll get you some pictures soon. By the way, the Style Arc Susan t-shirts fit well and are comfortable. I’ve retraced the pattern with the changes and am ready to make more.

BIG NEWS: DD#1 is getting married! I am making my dress for the wedding and I need to finalize the design and get busy. So far, I have a beautiful turquoise/Capri blue embroidered silk organza that I want to use for a shrug/little jacket thingy. There are also several yards of matching silk dupioni on order for the dress. It will be floor length and fully lined. 

I’ll definitely be stitching a muslin first. Now, the dress should be underlined, right? With silk organza? Bodice only? What is typical? I suppose I’ll need to figure out how to do an invisible zipper/lining combination…

Ah, a learning opportunity…

Style Arc Susan Top

I keep reading good things about Style Arc patterns. Enough, that I finally placed an order. I went with my measurements for choosing a size and once my patterns arrived, I knew I wanted to start with the Susan Top. After all, you really can’t get more basic than a t-shirt. I traced the pattern and compared it to my Bernina My Label t-shirt. Of course, the sleeve piece was too long. The rest, however, wasn’t too far off and curiosity dictated that I sew it up without any other changes. I pulled a leftover stretch jersey ITY to do the experiment. Yes, you have seen this fabric before.

I put clear elastic into the shoulders only because it took such a small amount and hoping I might actually want to wear the muslin.

The instructions have you turn under the neck edge and top stitch. Instead, I cut a strip two inches wide and did the usual neckband and coverstitched around the outside of the seam once it was sewn on. It helped to fill in the neck area.

I didn’t have enough fabric for long sleeves, so ¾ length for this one.

The resulting t-shirt fits me really well, yet could be a tad shorter. I pulled another less-than-wonderful leftover fabric, a matte jersey, made a few changes and made another muslin. I took an inch off the hem and morphed a new sleeve hem using the cap sleeve from view C (the pink one on the upper right) of Simplicity 5502. Yeah, long OOP, but in the pattern file and handy.

I kept the 2” neck band because I was lazy.  I didn’t steam the fabric this time; I merely pressed with a warm, dry iron. Remember - this was the fabric that grew.

I am going wear both of these t-shirts before making any more from the pattern. I have to tell you, so far I’m pleased, and the sting from the postage is quickly fading!