Part 2: Denim Peak Lapel Blazer, Burda Feb 2020 #102

A nice surprise, who knew that quite a few of you are interested in this pattern, based on the comments and messages I've received. To review, this is from the February 2020 Burda Magazine, pattern # 102 . I notice that on the US website they seem to put up the patterns very quickly so you can purchase them individually for print at home PDF instantaneous gratification. Also I think I will start a pinterest board with my picks from each month's issue, so I can glance through that to recall my favs (instead of my usual method of leafing through each magazine until I find what I'm looking for).

Let's get to the most important feature of this jacket, that pointed lapel. Time to confess that I actually was quite concerned with how it would look. Sometimes turning a crisp corner is an elusive goal but whew! this turned out great. Very happy with that pointy edge. Also I'm kind of getting into doing  the old-school type of blog posts filled with sewing details and close up views. As long as we are stuck at home I will try to continue - it's nice to think about what I might do on autopilot but might be very interesting to people who are ready to try some of these techniques or garments.



Of course working with denim is a plus in this case, it does press well and is not quite a thick as perhaps a wool might be. Although I have definite plans to make this pattern again in the fall in a wool. You know me, once I get a jacket pattern I like I will repeat in a different fabric for a new look.

So how to get that crisp corner?  Planning and preparation, leaving nothing to chance. First up, I had marked the roll line and the dart with the wax tracing paper. Note that this pattern has the lapel roll line marked on the pattern piece, can I say hurrah! I get so annoyed with a lot of modern patterns that don't include this detail. The line is indicated, so I stitched some cotton stay tape along the line, tightening it up ever so slightly. To do that I place it, mark the ends and then shift the bottom about 1/4" and then distribute that ease along the whole length. You can see my little red pencil marks at the bottom where I've shifted it. The top red mark intersects with the 5/8" stitch line.



Next, in order to incorporate that skinny dart that hides below the lapel, first the under collar and the collar stand need to be stitched together. I find it such a time saver to draw my stitch lines in, then I can match the intersection points for the seam lines and everything goes together perfectly. That is the beauty of having interfacing on it - you can draw with pencil right on it and it will never be seen. Another thing to note is that I always mark the center of each pattern piece and use those as an extra little match position, I do this on everything. Dresses, shirts, jackets, tops. If it has a center I mark it.
It makes pinning on facings or collars that much easier.  You can see I don't mark the entire stitch line, just the edges where there are corners or pivots.




Here's how the collar and jacket body match up. The  intersection marked at the lower corner of the collar stand matches up to the two dots on the dart which are brought together. On looking at this photo I though they were sewn continuously but in fact not, below this is the dart pinned together.






So the collar is sewn on, then the dart is sewn up. Lastly the remaining edge of the collar is attached.
The image on the left is a bit of repeat, but it's interesting to see it side by side with the collar and lapel completely stitched. And you can see that all my stitch lines are penciled on which makes sewing it so much easier. I do shorten the stitch length quite a bit for that peak lapel which makes it easier to turn that small sharp corner.



Once it is all sewn then the trimming commences. The ONLY way to get a nice crisp lapel is to seriously trim the seam allowances and press. Looking through my photos I didn't take pictures at that stage but you can look at this previous blog post and see some good details on this step.

Here's one more thing I took a few photos of, and it's actually a step that precedes the collar. Before the collar you much stitch the front and back together at the shoulder seams. There is a bit of ease built in to that seam with the back being larger than the front. I find in my classes that this always stumps people and they want to trim it off, but no! it's there on purpose to give extra room and shaping across the back.

My photo cut off the outer edge but they are lined up (where the armhole is) so that means there is a scant 1/4" of differential at the inner neck. They need to be matched up there - at the stitching line as indicated in this photo. Which makes the back longer but that is eased to match the front.


I find the easiest way to match is to bend the sides toward the front, it makes them marry up well and then I pin to distribute the ease. Jacket patterns usually tell you to add some stay tape on this seam but I like to use the selvedge of bemberg or silk as it is quite stable but adds no bulk, plus presses perfectly. So save your selvedges to use for ultra thin stay tape. The photo on the right shows it stitched and the jacket back curve which will match the body and shoulder area.



For the under collar I used a scrap of some solid denim from my stash, it added some visual interest to the jacket and as I was also cutting out jeans from this print denim I was really short on fabric. In fact I think I would have had to piece the under collar with a seam had I not used the contrast fabric.




That's how the finished collar plus dart looks, this is before pressing. But it is a nicely designed pattern and that dart points right into the seam of the collar stand.

Just as a reminder, here is the drawing for this pattern. My previous post is about doing the muslin and checking the fit before I started sewing.




Another sneak peek and getting ahead of myself, this is what lockdown lining looks like.
Who am I kidding? I can't attribute that to staying in and not shopping - that is my standard modus operandi for linings. Raid the lining bin and come up with something that is reasonably coordinating. More than one color, sure. A print, almost never! Anyway I had an idea of rolling up the sleeves on this jacket which called for a nice scarlett lining.




Last look at my finished collar and lapel. I put a piece of printer paper under it so that it could be seen. I do love this wacky fabric but the details disappear.




Next up, I will show you the finished jacket and then put it away until probably late September - it's far too hot for jacket wearing around here now.

In other sewing, I've finished a dress from a DKNY pattern that I was a bit lukewarm on while sewing, despite loving the pattern and the style, the I finished it, put it on and I love it! Thankfully I have way more sewing successes than fails, but I do have a couple of fails to show you as well. Mostly due to choosing pattern styles that I just don't think suit me at all. Next up I'm sewing a sundress as it is definitely sundress weather around here, and a jumpsuit.

This morning I helped my mom make plum jam, and we had to laugh as it never fails that the jam making day is over 100℉. Very hot work! Of course around here the plums are ripe in July so of course it will be in the 100's. Anyway - I always have more respect for those pioneer women who did all these things in long dresses, wood stoves and of course no air conditioning!

Happy Summer Sewing,  Beth

Today's garden photo, this gorgeous gardenia. Every year I get worried about the gardenias which have probably been here maybe a few decades? I don't like to prune them because I don't want to lose even one of these fragrant blooms. They are putting on a show right now and the fragrance is beautiful.

Denim Peak Lapel Blazer: Burda Feb 2020 # 102

After my recent posts I'm now sure that there are plenty of you that sew from the various pattern magazines. Thank you so much for all the kind comments about my posts and the useful info in your comments. Including the suggestion to try the Spanish sewing magazine Patrones, it has a really clever app which I immediately downloaded and bought 2 issues. They are quite a bargain at
$ 3.99 each and I've started on a dress to try them out. That blog post will be forthcoming but I have a lot of already sewn stuff to catch up with here.

And who who wants to raise their hand and say they feel kind of weird about sewing new clothes right now? Although if you are in Europe or other parts of the world perhaps things are getting a lot better and you resuming some semblance of normal life. Here in California it's a roller coaster ride of ups and downs with the corona virus, from having good stats to spikes in cases, with businesses opening up and then putting the brakes on. It is beyond annoying that we in the US can't get it together to defeat this thing and I could rant endlessly about politics but I will still recommend votesaveamerica.com and their effort to win swing states and defeat Republican office holders.

Back to sewing, just to keep myself busy during these times I have concluded that I might as well sew things that are fun or interesting or just plain pretty, whether or not I have a possibility to wear them anytime soon. If I have to stay mostly home, not be traveling or doing the usual fun summer things then I will indulge my sewing habit and try out some new, shall we say "experimental" items.
This project doesn't really qualify as experimental (more on those in future posts) but I did wrestle with the idea of another blazer jacket. However I've always wanted to try one with peak lapels, they look a bit tricky to sew and possibly a nice challenge.

Cut to the chase - I'm really happy with how it turned out although due to my fabric choice it's almost impossible to see the details! Thus the turned up lapel here so you can see the lapel detail.

I have lots of sewing details so this post will be about the pattern and checking out the fit, with final photos to follow in a subsequent post.


Here's the technical drawing from the Feb. 2020 Burda magazine. I had an idea floating in my head to try this style of lapel and had been looking around for a pattern when this arrived with perfect timing.
It is double-breasted which is not my favorite although it suits this style - perhaps it's the tradition and I decided to give it a try. Also it's a bit of a longer blazer which is nice for a change.





Those are the photos from the magazine. How I wish that all patterns and magazines would just show the garment clearly instead of people goofing around, looking like they have a headache or hiding behind their hat. In any case - the technical drawing is how I decide so I guess I can ignore the styling (which never makes me like a pattern more - usually the opposite).

I decided to make a muslin to see about the fit, and if I even liked the pattern. Also I was concerned it might be too long.



Being that I have plenty of time on my hands these days 😒 I made a very thorough test garment, with pocket welts and flaps. Some things that I actually do for all test garments are to press under the seam allowance on edges such as collar, press up the hem, etc. This is so that I can see what the proportions of the actual garment look like. I think if you leave the seam allowances and try to evaluate the fit and proportion it will look off and you can't evaluate properly. Also I wanted to see exactly how close that lapel notch was. I used size 38 for neck, shoulders, bust, graded out to about 42 at hip level and then did a little fine tuning at the back hip area.

Real me in the sewing room here. I don't know how so many sewing bloggers take reasonably good mirror selfies, I find the fact that you have to hold the phone up to take the picture immediately creates all kinds of wrinkles and drag lines in the garment.



Note that I marked the center front line on the muslin. This is SO important when you make a muslin or in fact make anything that closes in the front and want to check the fit. It's a must to match that center front line and go from there otherwise the impression of the fit is all wrong.



These photos show marking the darts and other lines on the inside of the interfaced jacket, but I use the same method when I make the muslin, I mark all the lines, darts, dots etc using this wax tracing paper. I think for the jacket proper I do one piece at a time, whereas for the muslin I sandwich the tracing paper inside the two muslin layer, with the red wax paper folded to have two surfaces of it touching the muslin fabric.




Back view of muslin, the center back was definitely sticking out a bit and the hem was a bit lower in the back which tells me that it needed shortening in the back length. Many people want to call this a swayback adjustment but my perception of it is a length adjustment. I pinched out about 3/8" wide fold so that adds up to a 3/4" length shortening, which I tapered to zero at the back princess seam,
You can see it's also a bit wide at the hem edge.



Making this muslin showed that I might have overshot the mark at the hip area and I ended up taking it in just a little bit around the hem in the princess seams. But I think I saved that for when I sewed it in the real fabric as muslin just doesn't behave the same and I like to do these small circumference adjustments in the real fabric. But that hem looks level in the back and I think the back waist shortening did the trick.

Another thing to note when I make the jacket muslin is to pin in shoulder pads. The fit and hang of the jacket really depend on them. In the final version I may use slightly different ones but the muslin is such a limp fabric as compared to most jacket fabrics that they are really needed to get the right impression of fit and shape.

Construction: this jacket starts with the pockets, as most jackets I make seem to. The front must be all prepared with the interfacing, markings etc and then the side panels sewn to the front jacket pieces.

Here's the cutting lines for the welt pocket, similar to other jackets I've made (like this one), you have to slice across the markings, just up to the dart leg, and sew the dart, which makes the upper part swing into being level with the rest of the pocket. I find the pocket works better if there is that angle that is taken up by the dart, and if you look at my post where I compare blazer patterns  I noticed that the Jasika blazer didn't have that same angle and I found it a bit troublesome to sew.



Once the dart and then the princess seams are sewn, then I can make the welt pockets.  Here's a composite of some of the steps for making the pocket flaps and welts.



I like to use lining fabric as the back side of my pocket flaps, it is less bulky and presses well.
I tend to use 1/4" wide welts and I make them quite a bit longer than the pocket, and then trim when I've pinned or stitched on. I never use any pattern piece that comes with a jacket for the welts. Making pocket welts is one of the few times I use a rotary cutter!

Finished pockets. The details just disappear on this fabric - you can be sure I will make this pattern again come autumn in a solid color. Somehow I feel the need for a burgundy or perhaps even purple blazer. I like to use scraps for the pocket linings which will never show so in this case I used up some pieces of pink bemberg.


This is a serious stash project, as fabric, linings and buttons all came from stuff I already had. Which is how things are these days during stay-at-home sewing, right?  Here's another small peek at this jacket, and in my next post I'll cover lapel sewing and lining. Plus bonus jeans! Yes, I said I would and I did,  it's full pantsuit time. Definitely a slightly wacky one but I'm pretty happy with it.





That's part one of this denim jacket, and then I have a few dress projects on the table. Plus a Random Threads post this month.

What else have I been up to? Some socializing at a safe distance - very grateful for the lovely weather and outdoor space. Plenty of gardening, and trying to incorporate some new workouts via YouTube which are actually more fun than I expected.

Stay well everyone and happy sewing,
Beth

Today's garden photo, it's a hydrangea bonanza in my front and back yard right now. Purple, pink, blue, and these lovely white ones which I think are called shooting star hydrangeas? or at least that's what I call them. I was watering in the front the other day and a woman who was walking by stopped to ask how I controlled the color of the various hydrangeas. Which made me laugh and I told her that it was survival of the fittest in my garden - the color is what it is, and plants that don't thrive are moved or sent packing. But this one is thriving - so it will stay 😀

Fitting and seams, Part 2 of how to use Burda Magazine patterns

There must be plenty of interest or at least curiosity in using Burda magazine patterns as my previous post had more comments than almost any other in the last few years. Or perhaps people have more time to stay in and read sewing blogs these days :)  Probably a bit of both. If you didn't catch that one, my blog post at the end of May was titled "What I've learned: how to use Burda Magazine patterns". I think quite a few of the things I mentioned probably apply to all the sewing magazine patterns so it might be helpful to check out. I was just reminded this morning by Tany that the Spanish sewing magazine Patrones has an app now, where you can see the issue and then purchase individual patterns, so that is next on my to-do list of things. By the way - Fibre Mood magazine certainly is getting popular, and the photos are very pretty. If someone from Europe wants to send me a copy I would love to look at it. Perhaps we can do an exchange for a US pattern that's difficult to find over there?

OK, back to Burda. In the first part of this topic, I showed how I deal with the pattern sheets, find all the pattern pieces and trace out the pattern. Today I'll show how I do the next steps, which are to adjust the pattern for fit and then add seam allowances.  Everyone has their own method for fitting and I am constantly learning new tips from everyone who posts. Plus I think seeing sewing patterns on the variety of shapes and measurements is so helpful.

For this post I decided to use a different pattern than the one that I showed previously. I chose a dress pattern that has a fitted bodice and skirt, since it will give the opportunity to show how those are adjusted and joined at the waist. Also these are just very basic adjustments and I often do way more fitting on the fly, taking in seams a 1/4" here or there and raising or lowering the waist seam.

I chose a dress from the January 2019 Burda which is really similar to a dress I made in 2018. Here is that one, which was a Burda envelope pattern 6385. This might be one of my best fitting dresses, which I give credit to several things, to a good pattern, choosing the right size to begin with, and to my own fussing with it for several evenings until I was satisfied.



So I looked through my Burda magazines to find something similar, a classic sheath dress with bodice darts, and a waist seam. I found this Jan 2019 # 121 dress which is quite similar and good for showing the adjustments.



As in my previous post, I have traced my Burda size which is 38, and then in addition I have traced the sides in two more sizes, 40 and 42 (dotted blue lines on side seams).  I find this is useful if I am just going to blend between sizes, since I need the size 42 for bottom half. In garments that are not very fitted but I want to retain the ease of the original design, that's how I do it. But for this dress which is supposed to be quite close fitting I will be more exact.  For now ignore those red lines of the side seams as I will discuss further down.




First step is to note if the shoulder seam is at the top of the shoulder, which it is. (as opposed to a drop shoulder or some other shift). Then I measure the distance from shoulder seam to bust point. On this one it looks to be about 10 inches which is fine for me. If it were in the 8 to 9 inch range I would lower the bust dart.



Next I measure the circumference at the bustline. It took me all my sewing life but I can now see the advantage of working with sewing patterns that don't have seam allowances :) it is far easier to measure these things, adjust and then add the seam allowance after that. Anyway - I measure the width of the front and back, usually jot it right on the pattern as otherwise I measure, repeat the number in my head, move on to the other piece, measure, and realize the first number has vanished from my brain. So I write it down and then I can add up and do some math. At this point I just write the measurements and move on to measuring the waist. I will adjust the entire bodice at once so now I'm just seeing what the circumferences are on the size 38.



Up next is the waist circumference. I tend to place the measuring tape down and "jump" over the darts, i.e. move the tape as I go across the pattern, but is is probably a good idea to pin the darts closed so you don't forget any. Here the darts are pinned closed which gives an accurate width at the waist. Another couple of measurements that I write down somewhere on the paper.



After I took the bust and waist measurements I decided to compare with the pattern pieces for the red plaid dress shown above. The reason for this is that this new one seemed a bit short.  The neckline and shoulders are almost identical (remember that the one on the left has the seam allowances already on it). That Burda 6385 has only one dart, a vertical dart from the waist to the bust point. For interest I compared the width of that dart to the sum of the two dart amounts on the bodice on the right - and they were almost identical. Interesting and/or predictable.

However the thing to note is the length I have added to the Burda 6385. It seemed too short in front so I did lengthen the front about 1/2". For this reason I decided to add length to the bodice on the new pattern. If I add length at the waist of a bodice pattern I can always remove it later when I baste on the skirt and check the placement of the waist seam. My sewing/fitting is all about fit insurance. Adding to the seam allowances so that I have some wiggle room when I get to sewing the actual garment together. It is definitely more time consuming but for me the result is more satisfying.



For sake of being complete, here is the same comparison of the back pattern pieces. I lengthened the back bodice of the envelope pattern the same as the front, and looking at this I think the magazine pattern needs that length as well.



Sometimes if a pattern is quite similar it's helpful to overlay the new one on top of something previously adjusted, as here. It's not an exact comparison but I find it useful to get an overall impression of the shape of the pattern pieces, to see where the darts are and mostly for length. These are all secondary checks, the measuring of the pattern is the primary method and then the comparison is just to evaluate proportions.



Here are my bodice pieces with final adjustments added. I've added 1/2 inch of length across the bottom of both pieces, and then used the size 42 at the waist plus another 1/2" for fit insurance. I am sure I would take that in when I sew it up, but I like to have extra there so that I can fit it in the fabric and see how it feels once the zipper is in. Remember this is all before the seam allowances for sewing have been added.



Now for the skirt pieces. Same method, I trace the pattern piece in size 38, plus the dotted lines on the side seams for the size 40 and 42.  Size 42 (or 44) is closer to correct for my hip measurement, but I like to be able to see the relationship to the upper part of the garment so I put all the sizes on the side seam. Same process with measuring the circumference at the hip of the pattern pieces. Note on the skirt I'm measuring the circumference for the size 42, as that is nearer what the size chart tells me to use. I could actually go with 44 but I wanted to show the blending of sizes, or how I adjust when out of the size range.
A really important thing to note is how far down to measure. I call this hip depth, as is noted in some books. There are probably other names for this as well. But it is the distance from the waist to the fullest part of the hip. Mine is quite long for a person who is not tall, so 10" down from the waist is where I need to make sure to have the widest part of the skirt pattern.



Next is to measure the circumference of the skirt pattern pieces. I jotted the measurement of the pattern pieces on the scrap of paper. The pattern circumference for size 42 happens to be 42 inches which is my hip measurement. But of course a skirt needs ease so I need to add. I sometimes check the size chart to see how much ease over the body measurement the pattern is adding, and in this case it's 3 inches. So that means we need to add 3 inches total (divided over the 2 seams, which comprise of 4 edges...math and sewing right?)  Anyway - who needs to divide 3 inches by 4 when I could just add 4 total inches and make life easier, plus I am probably adding more than necessary and will adjust during fitting. So I will add 1 inch per seam and blend that to the waist. The top of the skirt pieces already have their 1/2" added in red, so the skirt waist edge matches the bodice edge.



And here's the 1 inch added to the front skirt pattern piece.



How do I decide how to create that hip curve? I have a couple of different rulers that I use for this. I used the metal ruler to draw in the curve, I like this ruler as it is longer, it tapers in towards the hem of the skirt so it creates a nice flowing line. Also you can shift it up or down to get the right curve shape. However, I've found that it creates too much width at the high hip  - the area between the waist and the full hip, so I go back and shave off about 1/4 inch in that area, and the plastic design ruler has a nice curve for this purpose. Really it's just trial and error and knowing what shape you like in a finished item. I've learned this through doing fit adjustments as I sew the pattern pieces together, pinning and then going back to the worktable and seeing how the curves look.



Once I have the front skirt piece adjusted to my liking, I draw it in solidly and then overlay the back pattern piece, matching up the size lines and trace the same hip curve. This way the front and back pattern pieces match.



Almost finished - time to add the seam allowances to the pattern pieces. I have a special ruler that is 5/8" wide but I find it just as easy to use the regular ruler. Somehow my eye is drawn to the 5/8" line on that ruler and I can go pretty fast with it. For the curve areas I do dashed lines, just shifting the ruler as I go and then connect the dots later. You can see my love of using various colored pencils - the little kid in me takes great pleasure in choosing a color to use from my box of Prismacolor pencils.



I know in the previous post someone asked about 5/8 inch seam allowance. I learned to sew using American sewing patterns which have traditionally used the 5/8" seam allowance and by this time in life I can see that distance without even measuring. I am so used to it that I basically have trouble using other amounts - in fact I have to remind myself if working with a pattern that is different. But you can add whatever you find helpful. Another commonly expressed idea is that the 5/8 inch is not very accurate and the 3/8 or 1/4 inch are more accurate for sewing and minimal trimming. This is also true but at this point when I sew I am matching stitching lines and the seam allowance doesn't matter for assembling the item. I think in couture the seam allowance is often more like 1 inch and I like that as well, it gives so much more leeway for fit adjustments as you go.

Below is the front bodice piece with seam allowance added. I always add some dots to the dart so I can mark with tailor's tacks and then accurately stitch. Some people might finish their pattern adjustment and then add the seam allowance on the actual fabric, but I like to have the cutting be complete foolproof, and also I want the pattern piece to be something I can use again so having all the seam allowances on the paper makes it easy to cut out for me. Also if you have a printed fabric I think marking the seam allowance in chalk or something like that would be hard to see.



If I were to sew this up then I would do some fit adjustments in the final fabric, I'm sure the waist will need some refining, often I need to narrow the center back at the neckline so I would do that as I baste and try on the dress. It might seem like a lot of fussing, basting, trying on, etc but I find it worthwhile for a fitted dress like this. And if I'm feeling organized I will immediately make notes and adjustments on the pattern pieces so I can refine it for another version. If there is another version. As I  wrote this post I was realizing that I can use that envelope pattern as a starting point for a dress idea I have.

So that's the scoop on how I do the fit adjustments and seam allowances on these Burda magazine patterns. If the style is quite loose or has a lot of ease, I just measure the circumferences on my starting size of 38 and sometimes do no changes at all. It just depends on the style.

In fact some things you just can't get to the final good fit by adjusting the pattern and I think it all comes down to choosing the best size for the neck and shoulders, having fit insurance in the body of the dress and then adjusting in the final fabric. For a good example here is an older post for a dress I sewed for my friend Heather. This Burda magazine pattern was so complex there was no way I could perfectly adjust the paper pattern and it just had to be tried on and pin fitted to refine. That dress is so beautiful that I insisted we repeat it again in a summer casual version blogged here. 

Up next, not sure. I have my crazy denim pantsuit to show you which deserves a post or two. I've sewn a few other tops, nothing exciting. I made a pattern yesterday from a pair of ready to wear shorts that are getting worn out but I love them so figured I would try to recreate. Plus making shorts is a good way to use up small remainders of denim that I have hanging around. And I started on this Vogue pattern, and in red. I want to sew all the Donna Karan Vogue patterns! they are all so nice and such variety. thank you eBay! I seem to have good luck with sewing things that are red, and my personal sewjo is a bit lacking these days of not going anywhere so I decided to sew up this from a red cotton sateen in my stash. Of course I'm making View B on the right - with my favorite armhole shape. No rush to finish so it's about half done and perhaps not quite the right fabric but a good test.




Stay well everybody and happy sewing.
Beth

today's garden photo - there is so much to choose from now, May and June are the best times for blooms in our soon to be very dry N. California gardens.  Most years I buy a bag of dahlia tubers and I didn't really pay attention to the description, so now I have plenty of these tiny but oh so perfect little flowers. They are getting tall and have lots of blooms so even though they are small (about 1 to 2 inches across) they add a beautiful color.

Pattern making, Tops for summer, and bonus shorts

This past week I've seen so many posts that touched me, and helped me better understand the daily struggle to just live a peaceful, safe and happy life as a black person in our society. Other people have expressed far better than I can the extent of racial injustice and the steps we can all take to move forward.
The fall election is a crucial step in solidifying change, police reform and racial justice. I will post more on this on my Instagram stories but just let me say that I am 100% committed to electing Democrats in the House, Senate, governorships, and the presidency. Being in a solidly blue state of California my votes don't necessarily have as much impact as I would like (although I appreciate the political climate here, it's not perfect but it's not some other places I could mention...Kentucky) Here are two organizations that I'm supporting:  swingleft.org and votesaveamerica.com  Contests in these swing states can be won and they are working to that end.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next posts from @blkmakersmatter on IG which will highlight black makers in the sewing community. Today's post highlighted a historic maker - really interesting and I love seeing fashion history from a new perspective.

As for sewing, I've been working on a few different things. Before I forget I must mention that the number of comments on my "how to use Burda magazine" post really surprised me. There is a lot of interest in using the magazine patterns and I'm glad the information was helpful. A few people asked about the next steps. i.e. adding seam allowances and fitting the pattern. Stay tuned - I just worked on that part of the process and took all the photos so I think that will be my next post.  Here's a sneak peek with more to come next week.



For June I was sewing with an eye to joining in the 2020 #FayesTopsThatPop Summer Sewalong and started on a couple of tops for that. Plus having cute tops is ever more important in the summer of Zoom and FaceTime, right? Reviving this sew along was the brainchild of Dressmaking Debacles, she wrote a post recalling Faye, who was a wonderful sewing blogger no longer with us. Understandably she's decided to postpone it for a while so we all have more time to sew some great tops.

My first top might seem a little underwhelming - but it's based on a ready to wear t-shirt that I have had for quite a few years and really like. I would say this one is more of a proof of concept, as I made the pattern from the existing top. I always use this pink top in my classes to show how to do it, but have never gone ahead and finished the pattern, so now seemed like a good time. Also it was around 100℉ here last week so sleeveless tops are necessary.





I made in in some rayon jersey remnant from my stash, perhaps a bit lighter in weight than the cotton knit of the original but it worked fine. It's not really visible but the top has an inset neckband and then a small gather at the center front.  Here's the original top.




Here are the pattern pieces for this simple top. I think in my next version I will take some width out of the keyhole opening as the new version doesn't lay as flat as I would like right there. I think this will be ideal for some embellishment or fabric mixing. In the original the neckband is in knit, and then embroidered. I really dislike doing decorative machine stitching but perhaps some beading would be pretty? lots of possibilities and it uses about 7/8 of a yard of knit fabric.



Next up, this one is a bit more interesting, and had a pattern feature I've never seen before.




Also I'm wearing the Megan Nielsen Flint pattern, which has two views, trousers or shorts. Mine are not really either, I wanted something like culottes but I'm not sure I've achieved it. They fit fine but I used some cotton sateen from the stash that is perhaps too stiff. I think in a softer fabric they would be just right.

Here's a look a the top. I ordered this pattern recently when scrolling through eBay. I had in mind to make the dress but now that I've made the top I've lost interest in that idea. However it might appear as a top again in a different fabric. This was a mystery polyester from the stash, another sort of test garment that is a nice color but yucky fabric. Not yet hemmed.



Here's how you get to that pleated neckline.



The pattern has the pleats which you sew up, then place the template for your neck size over it and trim away the center portion, resulting in a round neckline with the pleats going into the seam of the facing. Clever, I thought.



I had to do quite a bit of adjustment to get the armholes to fit right, they were way too high which almost never happens. I think in the right fabric it would be really pretty. What do you think? should I try it again in a nice silk?






Yeah, that shorts fabric is definitely not right. But they are super quick to sew!




So that's the sewing scoop for now. I hope everyone is well and getting out to enjoy some summer weather.

Take care and stay well, Beth

today's garden picture - well you can see the hydrangeas are going wild and I'm happy about that but this just delighted me when I was out walking last week. It seemed like it was posing for the camera. Since then I've seen a few in my yard but so far no Monarch butterflies yet despite planting plenty of milkweed. I think this is a Swallowtail butterfly?