Blanca Jumpsuit in Floral Corduroy

Sometimes I come across a piece of fabric and instantly know what I want to sew with it. There are several textile and sewing groups in my area that have periodic fundraising sales of fabrics, supplies and patterns where I've found some real gems. I snagged this piece of floral corduroy earlier this year and thought it would be great for another Blanca flight suit for my friend Halnya. It's rare to find a nice floral corduroy, it must be a few years old as it has no stretch and was 45" wide but the piece was around 4 yards so enough to fit the jumpsuit with a bit of pattern puzzling. I made this pattern last spring when I taught an online class and it's fun to put together. More details below but FYI I'm doing this class again starting Feb 1, here's the link. 

She is a fashion risk taker so was very happy to wear this jumpsuit which I think has a 70's look about it. Here's a better look at this fabric. I think it actually looks better with a leather belt rather than the fabric belt. I really like corduroy and unlike other fabrics that I am fine with ordering online, for corduroy I want to feel it and see the weight and the color in person. Lately I've been looking for stretch corduroys in interesting colors, it's always on my list and if I see some I will buy for the stash. I guess it's out there but I find that the price seems too high for my liking. For some reason I would pay a fortune for a imported wool but I feel like corduroy should be in the $10-$15/yard range which is probably unrealistic. 

Anyway - this was a bargain of a few dollars, and then I ordered a zipper from Wawak, their selection and shipping speed is amazing. 

If you note in this photo above I made a change to the sleeve design. On the pattern the long sleeve has a seam down the center and then no cuff, just a snap to make it smaller at the wrist. Which is feature that I didn't really care for so I extended the short sleeve pattern piece into a long sleeve and added a cuff with snaps. 

For cuffs I just decide how wide I want them, how much overlap, measure the finished sleeve opening (where I added a small pleat) and then draw up the cuff piece right on the fabric. And then use that one to cut out the second.

For the opening into the cuff I just used the continuous bound placket and then let the underlap of the cuff be about one inch longer so that the cuff would overlap.

Since the zipper was metal I thought that snaps would look good on the cuffs instead of buttons so that gave me an opportunity to get out my snap tools. Which consist of a bunch of snap kits that I keep in an old metal cookie tin. So many sewing supplies in old metal cookie tins, right? Another one is full of buttons. 

I've found that these Dritz snap kits actually work very well. The key to using these is to follow the diagram on the package exactly. Also not lose any of the little pieces! Now I just buy replacement snaps as I have the snap setting components that came in the kit. Also when I apply the snaps I put the rubber disc on a piece of wood and then the snap holder plus snaps/garment on that, and then hammer on that. The block of wood gives a firm surface to hammer onto and also kind of absorbs the hammer blow so the snap doesn't smash but locks into place. 

Here's a look at this pattern and the technical drawing.

When I first made this I was a bit cautious as I really don't like sewing bulky zippers but it came out fine. In my class I have some further details but here are a couple of tips for getting this zipper in just right. 

When it comes to zippers I work from the top down, as this type of zipper is very visible on the garment and the opening is the most important. It has to be even at each side of the collar.  I mark the stitch line where the collar will attach and then placed the top of the zipper in relation to that line. Then I pin the zipper down to the zipper stop. As it happened this zipper was a bit too long so I cut off the bottom, hand sewed a new zipper stop and then covered the bottom with lining. I did remove the teeth from the zipper tape below the new stop. 

After fixing the bottom of the zipper I hand basted the whole thing and then it was ready to stitch in. I find it takes a few minutes to hand baste in something like a 22 inch zipper but the time is so well worth it as you can then sew it in by machine, with no pins and be sure that it's in just the right location, and centered. 

So that's a second go round with this pattern and I think another friend wants one so it may again be on my to-do list. Meanwhile I might also make up another Merchant and Miller Boiler Suit for Stacey as she wears her first one constantly. I made both of these pattern back in April when I did my online class for Jumpsuit/Boilersuit and that will start again in February, here's the listing on the Hello Stitch website.  I'm happy to say that Hello Stitch will continue as an online entity and continue to offer classes in sewing and quilting so I will be teaching more online classes this year. 

I'm turning into a jumpsuit fan, maybe I will even make one for myself!

Up next, more completed things to post here, and on my calendar next weekend a trip to Britex with my friend Heather. I want a tweedy wool in tones of burgundy for a jacket, and she wants some camel color wool for a coat. That's the plan but who knows what we will come home with!

Happy winter sewing,

Beth

Today's garden photo, a flower from the mallow bush that I got a few years ago at the local community college horticultural department sale. The flowers are so pretty and this thing is incredibly hardy, I think it's about 6 ft x 6ft now and that's with a periodic chop. 

Jacket Sewing Class completed and a Jasika Blazer for a friend

Perhaps it's the year we've all had or the fact that I have enough jackets to last me a good long while, but as I started to prepare to teach my Blazer Jacket class in October I looked around for someone else to be the recipient of a new jacket. My next door neighbor Marissa was happy to oblige - and it's very convenient to have such a nearby fit model! Plus she got this blazer out of it. I have to say that this is one of the best things I have made in a while - due to being meticulous with every step in order to show details to the class via photos and video. Also I decided to up the degree of difficulty with plaid fabric, but I think it's ideal for this jacket and I'm so happy with the result.

I also note that this is one of those items that doesn't photograph all that well, it might look a bit drab but I think that up close it looks so nice and it can be worn with so many different looks.  Here's Marissa wearing her new jacket. It's the Closet Core Jasika Blazer. About half the people in the class made this pattern and the rest made others. I like to have my classes be very general purpose so you can learn basic techniques which apply to any pattern. 

I made a size 8 for her with just some small adjustments in the hip area and lengthening the sleeves. She's tall but the hem was at a good spot so I didn't adjust the length.  

My online class started in October and went for 6 weeks, with Tuesday evenings for instruction and Thursday evenings for sewing time, questions and discussion. That was longer than any other online class I've done but it worked out well since a blazer has a lot more steps than other projects. I really enjoyed it and plan to repeat it again in a couple of months. I've done this class both in person and now online and while they are different both are a lot of fun and have different pros and cons. Here's a quick video with some snippets from the class - I'm learning to use iMovie and now you can't stop me :)   If it doesn't have the play button if you click on it, then you will go to the Flickr page where you can view. 

You can see she is a bit taller than I am, maybe 4 inches? I'm wearing my Pauline Alice Saler blazer which is one of my most frequently worn jackets, that color is my favorite.

Here's a look on the dress form. 

This fabric is 100% wool and I think it's been in my stash for more than 20 years?  Is that even possible? I know I bought it way back when I was working in the corporate world and we wore suits a lot, but I just never sewed it up so it stayed with me - across a couple of moves and occasionally I would pull it out to make sure it didn't have any moth holes. I am 95% sure I bought it at Stone Mountain and I used about half of what there was to make this jacket so I still have a piece remaining. I just might make this same jacket for myself. It's really lightweight and not at all itchy, yet has the perfect press ability and non-wrinkle tendency of a high quality wool. 

For the class I also made another blazer from a new Butterick pattern, which made me long for my Burda jacket patterns - more to come when I post about the Butterick. Although with that project I did  try out VikiSews patterns to make pants to go with it and they were great so it was a productive project in the end. 

I hope the video is entertaining - let me know what you think and also if you are interested in joining in a blazer class in the next couple of months. It's been a happy side effect of this pandemic that I've started these online classes and had the chance to meet and interact with people who I might have known as names in a comment here or in IG. 

This has definitely been a year of making some fun things for friends - I plan to do a year-end post so I will mention all those then. Meanwhile I'm so happy to be wearing a few of the coats I made last year as things here in N. California are very good (fingers crossed it stays that way) and we are mostly out and about with precautions. 

I've made a few holiday-ish items for the season including what I think will be the Burda top of the winter, so I'll post those next week.  

Until then, Happy Holidays and take care,

Beth

Back to School: Cielo top and dress for my new class

Why am I standing there in my garden, holding something cool and fizzy, wearing my latest sewing which is the Cielo Dress from Closet Core Patterns?

Now that summer is coming to an end we are starting a new season of virtual classes, The Hello Stitch Sewing Club. We hope to do something a little bit different with this, so this class will be part formal instruction and part social sewing time. Here's the link to register.



We plan to do a different pattern each month and I chose this pattern for our first one because it has a lot of options for making a dress or a top and looks good in a lot of different fabrics.


Here's the info from the Hello Stitch website class page: 

We're kicking off the club by doing a Cielo Sew Along! For the month of September, we will meet each Tuesday as I introduce new topic or skill that will be related to the project. Choose to meet for "Happy Hour" between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm, or join us for us "After Dinner" from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Then meet up again on Thursdays from 6-8pm for Social Sewing. For those who need a little more help with their machines, we'll also hold Office Hours to help troubleshoot any issues that may arise.  All these times are Pacific Standard Time - so if you are another part of the country perhaps you can join in! 

Hello Stitch has also put together a complete kit you can order with pattern and choice of fabric, plus thread and interfacing. Fabrics are pictured above. If you already have the pattern then you are all set or you can buy the pattern as a PDF immediately from Closet Core or other pattern shops.

The lockdown and restrictions to opening have been really tough on the studio, and so many small businesses in the bay area. I really want them to survive and they are getting by for now. They do longarm quilting and have other aspects of their business that continue but not holding in person classes is a real challenge. So I hope you continue to support small sewing businesses in this difficult time if you can. I know everyone is dealing with challenges - doing school at home for children sounds exhausting to me :)

As is my habit lately - this is more lockdown sewing so I rummaged in my stash and found this cotton pique fabric.  I opted not to put the bands on the sleeves, as it's a slightly thick fabric and with the temp around 105℉ on the day I was sewing I felt it didn't need any more fabric! I put some darts in the center back - more just to see how it looks and I like it. So another option for this pattern which I will talk about in the class.





I was actually going to make it sleeveless however since it is designed for sleeves the armholes were too low. I will also go over how to make that adjustment so it can be sleeveless or have a cute ruffle sleeve. I think I like it belted on me but I made this a bit big in the hip and hem width, I will probably go back and take it in (when the weather cools off!)

So are you getting interested in some social sewing?  I hope so as I really miss teaching classes at Hello Stitch and getting to know so many new stitchers. Here in the bay area we are heading into the 6th month of social distancing which means very few in-person interactions that are not absolutely necessary. I've spent this time mostly with my family and seeing some friends in very careful outdoor sessions but now that summer is coming to a close I think life might be a bit dreary. But we can sew socially and make some new connections along the way.

Once I had the pattern out I decided to make the top version, this time in a cotton voile from my stash.  This one is all about the sleeves and I have some ideas on how to do a little pattern hacking here as well, if you wanted to add button cuffs or even reduce some of the fullness.



This pattern has two options for neckline finishing, either an interfaced facing or bias binding. Both have some pros and cons so in the class I will go over my tips for neat neckline finishes.




This piece of fabric sat neglected in my stack for ages and now that I've sewn it up I think it will be quite versatile in my wardrobe and go with other things I have like this wool blazer.
OK - now that I've mentioned blazers what might you be interested in for subsequent classes in our Hello Stitch Sewing Club? I haven't decided on the October item but I think we will be leaning towards cozy stay-at-home separates. But maybe after that we could do a jacket class? I was supposed to travel to the east coast to do my jacket class this Oct. 2020 but that is sadly postponed to who knows when. In the meantime we have to be creative and stay connected as we can.
In any case I would love to hear what you might be interested in doing in a virtual class. We are also open to doing a weekend class as well which might work better if you are in a different time zone.
Lots of options.

So that's the scoop on our upcoming Hello Stitch Sewing Club class. Here's the link to register or see more information. 

Just to review, it's starting Tues. Sept 8, option of either 5-6pm or 7-8pm and then Thursdays Sewcial Sewing 6-8pm when we will catch up on your progress, answer any questions, discuss anything you are working on and just stay in touch over a topic that brings us all together. (no need to participate in the whole time on Thursdays - you can drop in for some quick answers or stay the whole time as we sew together).  Class will be held on Zoom.




I hope to see you (virtually) in September!  let me know if you have any questions about this class or ideas for our upcoming sessions.

Happy Sewing, and stay well,
Beth

Today's garden picture is the humble geranium. Except I don't think they are so humble - I think they are gorgeous. In fact I've turned into geranium collector. They are such hardy plants and ridiculously easy to propagate. The plant that keeps on giving! I've started to buy some of the more exotic ones, bicolors and with interesting foliage. They are a great plant for our hot and dry weather - when the rain comes they always seem to spring back up. Plus they remind me of Italian travels and the lovely window boxes of bright geraniums everywhere. Tornerò lì un giorno! Speriamo di sì.