New Year, New Look

New Look, but not the pattern company. I'm working on a new look for my blog to coordinate with my new website.

I teach sewing to individuals looking to expand their skills and I am always asked if I have a website. Now I can say yes!

sunnygalstudio.com

This excerpt from the site states my philosophy "My goal is to teach as the student requires – covering topics of interest, skills you want to develop or garments you may be hesitant to try. Private lessons allow you to really focus on your own skills and cover what you need to get better."  

Pattern fitting, sewing techniques, time saving methods - we can cover whatever you need. There are so many options available for sewing information from books to blogs to on-line classes but I know that some focused time with me will jump-start your sewing or move your skills and confidence to the next level. 

From beginners to someone who is returning to sewing after a hiatus I find there are so many topics to consider and ways to take your sewing from frustrating to fun. 

Please take a look at the site and then email me to schedule. I look forward to meeting you!

Beth

any questions email me:    sunnygalstudio (at) gmail (dot) com

Edit: 1/9/13 4:30 pm.  OK, people who read sewing blogs are the best. I put out a request here for some help on adding this info to the sidebar, and had some quick replies. So if you see those references in the comments that is why. I will be doing some edits to an image and then adding that HTML soon.   Thank you ! 

Burda Jacket 08/2013 #106 Finished

Another Burda completed, now I have made two! This jacket made it under the wire as completed in 2013 with a day to spare. Based on the comments left for the previous post a lot of Burda subscribers noticed this jacket pattern and possibly were waiting to see it sewn up. I am giving this pattern a big thumbs up with a few cautions. Did I mention it is short?  Or maybe it is me, I am lengthening everything lately, jacket-wise.

Not a very exciting project for a New Year's eve post, not a sparkle to be seen. Truth be told this jacket is a bit dull to me, and once completed I really struggled to see what I can wear under it. I must have  color !  I think a new silk top is needed and I have some fabric website gift certificates burning a hole in my virtual pocket.  Raspberry silk, don't you think?

Edit: 1/5/14  This pattern is the one used for the jacket on the latest issue of Threads magazine, in a bright blue with some textural embellishments. 

Onward with the details.  Lots of details. You asked for them so here we go.  

I am totally enamored with this closure - designs that use seaming to create buttonholes always attract me. The pattern shows just one button but that seemed lopsided so I added a second one. 

The inside. I used my remaining scrap of black silk charmeuse for  the front facing pieces which ordinarily would cut from the wool fabric. While part of the reason was not enough wool remaining the main motivation was to cut down the itch factor. Can you imagine how itchy that wool tweed would be around the neckline? Soooo much better with the silk charmeuse. The pattern provides a facing piece that runs the length of the front but I changed that into two pieces as I thought it would work better for those in-seam buttonholes. The rest of the lining is Ambience rayon.

Here is a little thing that I do for lined jackets. Maybe not easy to see here, at the outer top of the shoulder seam I do a little hand stitched X to secure the lining to whatever is underneath, seam allowances or shoulder pad.  Not too tight, just a loose tack but it really helps the sleeve lining stay where it should and not want to pull when you remove your arm. 

I made the full lining and then sewed it in by machine - a nice change from my usual hand sewn in lining. Once I had that long front seam done I double check it to make sure the line is very smooth and even on the 5/8" line. I saw a few bobbles here and so I use a Frixon pen to draw where I want to go over the stitching to fix any wiggles. It might seem excessive but if you have a little wiggle in a long seam it can show and cause a bump or dent. Easy to fix and I love to use these pens so I look for opportunities. (Childhood fixation with colored pens continuing into adulthood...who doesn't love an array of colored pens?)
   
For the center back lining I cut on the fold and added a 3 inch pleat which adds a lot of comfort to any jacket. There is a center back shaped seam in the jacket which you can see in the side view. I am not happy with the look of the sleeves on the dress form as viewed from the back. Perhaps I should have tilted them forward just a bit at the top to make them hang differently but as it looks OK from the side what is really impotant is how it looks when worn.
                      
Last detail is the hem, I always use a good 3 inches of fusible interfacing at the fold of the hem and then  hand stitch to that. With a jacket edge that flares out a bit the hem edge is wider so I steam and kind of shrink it to fit. I think I also did some sewing to take out width - that would made a good blog post - note to self for future:)


Lastly I pressed the lining and then pulled it up a bit to sew away from the edge, leaving that little bit of ease at the lining for movement. It drives me crazy when I see a jacket with the lining pulling at the inside. If anything - make the lining a bit bigger than the jacket and that won't be an issue.

A pop of color in front of my sad looking yard. The apple tree is bare but the bees are still there and if the temperature warms above around 55 degrees F then I see them buzzing out in search of the few flowers that are blooming.
.

A big thank you to everyone who reads this blog and welcome to so many new readers. Which I attribute to some very nice words from Carolyn who writes Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. I look forward to more of her creativity, spirit and very warm authentic voice on her blog next year. 

Now to steal a quote from another wonderful Carolyn, who writes Handmade by Carolyn. This morning I read "We who sew tend to do so on our own, so the big ol' fantabulous internets has been pretty good for our socialising, yes? ;)"  I could not agree more. Socializing, trading patterns, advice, making new friends and generally getting out of the sewing room to meet more people who are as crazy about sewing as I am has been the very best part of this blog. 

Happy New Year and I hope to meet more of you in 2014!   

Beth

Burda Jacket 08/2013 # 106 in wool tweed

There is just enough time remaining in 2013 to finish sewing one last item and post about it. Changing from my usual habits I actually bought a downloadable pattern from the BurdaStyle website. I did ask a friend if she had this issue of the magazine, and was thinking about tracing it but luckily she didn't! So once again I escape the tedium of tracing from those confusing pattern sheets. 
Long Sleeve Blazer 08/2013 # 106.  I made this composite image from their website photos so we can look at the jacket drawing, on the form and as worn. The first thing that jumps out at me is the jacket on the model is too small, or at least the fit is really odd. Skipping ahead I can say that the fit is beautiful so they really should have done better. I think it looks way too short on her, and maybe not even able to button. But the shape of the jacket on the dress form looks great, and I really like the raised neckline effect.



The subtitle of this blog post should be something like "A series of unfortunate events". OK, maybe that is a bit overdramatic but I figured after all the lovely comments recently on my skill and expertise it would be helpful to show my mistakes as well. Nothing tragic on this project, just a few times when I wanted to kick myself.
For starters I decided to make a muslin since I am still so new with Burda patterns having only made one before, the coat from the BurdaStyle Book. For that I used size 40 so I made a muslin with that size  and it was huge! But also way too short for my taste. That I could anticipate by looking at their photos plus just eyeing the pattern pieces but the size 40 was really big in the shoulders so I made a new one in size 38 and it seemed perfect. I did lengthen it by 3 inches plus a 2 inch hem allowance and added a bit of width at each of the princess seams at the hip which I figured I could taper out when I stitched the seams (and for the record I ended up adding about 2" total circumference at the hip, partly because I need the inches on their size 38 and partly because of the lengthening).
When I finished the muslin the long curved seam edge seemed a bit gappy across the chest so I pinched out the excess and transfered that to my pattern piece.
OR DID I?
Spot the error?



eeeek! talk about annoying. And I didn't even realize it until after the jacket front was all sewn together. Thus the magic of wool! You can ease just about anything. When I was assembling the front pieces I thought "oh these are not drafted quite right and good thing I am working with this nice soft tweed." Then a day or so later I was sitting at the sewing machine and happened to look right at the muslin on the dress form. Suddenly it hit me that I had adjusted the wrong pattern piece. The triangular wedge should be on the other pattern piece. I blame late night sewing combined with watching some Sherlock previews on my Ipad mini. (you can find them on the pbs.org website if you are a Sherlock fan as well).
Despite this little bobble the jacket sewed together beautifully and the front edge is not too long as it was on the muslin. Maybe the muslin was a very loose weave and that edge stretched out despite the staystitching. For the jacket front pieces I did carefully mark and then apply Pro-Weft Supreme Medium Fusible interfacing to keep the edges in shape.

Now some technique talk. On my recent post when I asked what topics I should write about, fitting was by far the number one but technique was a close second. These two items actually intertwine here:

Sewing Accuracy

Precision, correctness, exactitude - whatever you call it sewing accuracy can make a big difference in fit. Next time I make a shirt I will show this on a lighter color fabric but here is a very quick example on a muslin sleeve. Suppose you have spent lots of time on a pattern, created adjustments and added an inch here, took away an inch there, sewed up your muslin and felt ok about it. Then you sewed the garment and it was not fitting as you wished. If the stitching together of two pieces does not follow the correct seam allowance you have just nullified some of your pattern size adjustments. In this photo the blue stitching is on the 5/8" seam allowance line and the red is the wobbly one that would need to be fixed. Granted this is quite an exaggeration of the wobbling stitch but I often find that when making the turn of the sleeve seam at the underarm it is easy to go wide and make the seam allowance at least 3/4".

If left as it is, and it was sewed similarly on the other sleeve,  then in this example the width across the back has been reduced by 1/4" x 2 plus the sleeve circumference reduced by 1/4" x 2 so there is a total of 1 inch less for movement at the bicep/back. May seem like nothing but to me it would be the noticeable difference between nice fit and uncomfortable in a close fitting jacket. Suppose there was another bobble in the front, with maybe another 1/4 to 1/2" gone across the chest. A pattern with hard-fought adjustments now doesn't fit because of the wiggly sewing. 

Here is my example on this wool tweed jacket. I sew in the sleeves using long basting stitches and then measure around it with a seam guage to check the accuracy. Then I go back and restitch, sometimes even using a chalk pen to mark the correct 5/8" seam line. I missed it on the first pass but fixed it and so didn't give up that 1/8". When I am happy with the sleeve then I go back around the sleeve again 1/8" inside. Why a second row of stitching? Because the movement of your arms cause a lot of strain on the fabric and that seam needs the extra help. 

Below is another spot where I am super fussy, when there is reinforcing stitching as in this inside corner. Note that I used grey thread, I have realized that thread does not have to match - in fact it is better for the seamstress if it does not. So grey shows up very nicely on this fabric instead of black and I can remove the threads without too much trouble. Another tip:  use black thread on navy blue and deep blue thread on black (exception: topstitching and hems I use the matching thread). 

I will be interested to hear if you find this post interesting or does it sound like a lecture from a cranky professor? Sewing, like many other craft or artistic endeavors, is a combination of creativity and imagination but also engineering, geometry, material sciences and no getting around the fact that precision has its place in sewing. 

Here is a small peek at the finished jacket, I really like this new to me neckline shape.

As for the garden, it is a scene of drab colors and frost bitten shrubbery. I spied a gorgeous red camelia and a few tulips poking out the ground yesterday so spring is waiting in the wings. However we have not had any substantial rain for weeks and there is none in the forecast so without a doubt this spring and summer are going to be garden triage and the very real possibility of water rationing. Possibly saving shower water in buckets to pour on the plants. We have done it before in California but it has been a long time. Let's hope it rains! Meanwhile my hibiscus that survived the melting temps of August and September is now adding some holiday color by blooming in a corner of the kitchen. 

Happy end of year sewing, Beth

Top 5 of 2013

This time of year I really like seeing all the year in review posts so I have decided to join in.  Mostly just the 5 favorite things I made with a few inspirations and goals thrown in.

I had a lot of favorite creations this year so it is difficult to narrow it down to just five. I have decided to go with the items that suprised me, things that I made which I anticipated to be nothing special but ended up loving and wearing a lot.

Reaching all the way back to my first blog post of 2013 is this New Look knit long sleeve top. I love this top and wear it all the time. Of course it is my favorite color but the shape and style suit me perfectly. Just the thing to wear instead of a plain t-shirt. I made 2 for myself, and 2 for gifts. 

    

My next favorite has to be this corduroy jacket which was a complete suprise. Not really my color at all however it caused me to rethink my color palette a bit. I think this was the # 1 item in terms of repeat wear for 2013. A perfect jacket to pair with jeans, most any color top and the contrast sleeves are always something that people notice and think is a sweater knit. The details are in this blog post.

For my third item we jump to the 4th of July and this knit top I made using fabric from Girl Charlee. A super simple top but this fabric has the perfect weight and I love the color pattern. I am now a big fan of Girl Charlee fabrics.

For number four I was completely suprised by my affection for the Jacket Express, which I made while viewing the Craftsy class of the same name. I signed up for this in order to get the pattern which I planned to make for my mom.  I detoured by making this test version for myself and ended up with another of those items I never expected to wear much that jumped into heavy rotation during the late summer and early fall. Perhaps it is the soft red denim that is the star but this jacket is oh so wearable. And I don't even mind that the sleeves are too long (I just fold them up). Also you can see I am wearing  it with my trusty Vogue 1247 denim skirt - the most worn item from the previous year.

So I have made it through the year choosing favorites and not a dress among them. Perhaps a lesson to be learned?  I did make a few dresses but my favorite is a rather simple one I made at the end of summer in the pre-vacation sewing frenzy. New Look 6184 is just about perfect, the fabric and color are my dream combination. The Marfy pattern dress I made got a LOT of comments and I do love it but this one will get more wear when the hot weather returns.

It is difficult to whittle the list of fav's down to just five so I will throw in a couple of close contenders. The bright blue coat I made from the Burda Style Book and the purple knit Vogue 1351 dress are winners as well however I have not worn them as much.

                            

As for the rest of the Top 5 categories, I am not much for introspection and reflection when it comes to sewing (or anything else for that matter).  Items that were not so succesful were thankfully few and I really had nothing that I didn't wear at least once or twice. In pursuit of a black denim jacket I made one that didn't work out for me style-wise but I passed it on to my friend Alice.  I do see that making separates is certainly practical, in particular tops and jackets that can be mixed and matched get a lot of wearings.
Inspiration - I find that everywhere. Goals for next year - stretch a little with my color choices, perhaps even a few neutrals (but beige...never). Fine tune fitting on shorts and pants, maybe even a swimsuit. Attack my fabric stash of wools before our warm weather arrives. Revamp my sewing room (in progress) and reorganize my pattern files.

Or more likely, be distracted by a new pattern and forget all these ideas. Either way I will enjoy the time spent with needle and thread.

Today after a bit of house cleaning and organization I plan to spend the afternoon sewing. There is that unfinished Burda jacket on my dress form and some pre-shrunk plaid flannel for a shirt. The more time I spend sewing today the less I spend on-line ordering more stuff :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and still have more fun/family/vacation time in the week ahead.

Happy year end sewing, Beth

Giveaway winner and a big Thank You

Due to the usual pre-holiday hectic pace, plus some serious plumbing issues here at Casa SunnyGal, it has taken me a week to get back to you with the winner of the Claire Sheaffer Couture Sewing Techniques Book. So taking into account those who left comments but said they already had the book, it is comment # 14 from Jolsen.  If you would email me and let me know your mailing address I will send the book off to you.   sunnygalstudio (at) gmail dot com

If I was short on topics to write about before I will not be going forward! and I can't even express how much I appreciate your kind words about my sewing and my posts here. Positive reinforcement works so I am already planning out how to get incorporate these ideas in the new year. Plus Ngoc mentioned my Random Threads posts - I really like writing those and have a page in my notebook where I write little snippets of an idea so there are definitely more of those to come soon.

Fitting, Fitting, Fitting, this is SO the #1 issue with everyone who sews clothes. Sewing techniques ran a close second, and a number of other interesting suggestions such as fabric choice (pairing the right fabric with the pattern), interfacings, hemming, and how to sew efficiently. That last one is a great suggestion that had not occurred to me before but something I always try to emphasize with students.

It is a bit early for resolutions, we still have more than a week until the new year, but for your entertainment I will tell you that I am trying to learn to knit. Why? I don't really know other than I see so many cute sweaters and want to be able to make them. This is the 2nd (3rd?) time I have tried to learn so maybe by March the weather will be warming and the garden calling so who knows if I will persevere. But this time I am going to get some help from my friend Jean (check out her handknits gallery) - who is unbelievably great so I have high hopes!

My grandmother was a great knitter, as well as needlepoint, crochet and almost anything else stitch related - although not so much with the garment sewing. I will leave you with a close up look at a tablecloth that she made, one of many treasures we have. Here is another view of the whole tablecloth, it has Christmas trees done around the hem and then this large motif in the center, using green, white and gold threads. So pretty when the table is set and can you imagine the patience to complete this? !

Merry Christmas to all,

Beth

A giveaway and a question

Recently I have seen some interesting topics on sewing blogs.  The one that caught my attention was the discussion about whether home sewers are cheap.

I probably fall into the cheap category but the very first commenter was Karen who said "Here is the thing with garment sewing, you can't try it on before you sew. We do pin fittings, we make muslins, but still, we have to buy fabric and patterns and notions and hope that the end result is wearable. The less I put into materials, the less I lose when the garment doesn't work. It's a constant balance of time and money versus result."  I could not have said it better. Probably everyone has had the experience of knowing that some costly fabric and time have gone down the drain along with the hope for a great garment. So yeah, if we are cheap there is a valid reason. Definitely a balancing act, and if I can make one thing for a pittance then I feel better about splurging on something else.

However the very best bargain is free, right?  With that in mind I am giving away this book which I recently found at a sale. I already have a copy and it is very useful - not to mention inspiring. Plenty of diagrams and tips on how to sew all parts of a garment plus photos of the inside of vintage couture items.

To be entered in the giveaway leave a comment suggesting a specific topic you would like me to write about in the new year. As anyone who writes a blog knows, sometimes you have plenty of items to talk about and sometimes the mind goes blank. It is always interesting to see what blog posts get the most views, so far the most "Pinterest-ed" is this post on hemming sleeves. Something I keep meaning to write about is bodice length - this seems to be the most overlooked pattern adjustment and it can really make or break the fit of anything. 

Up next I am sewing a Burda jacket (yes, gasp a Burda, which I downloaded from the website, no tracing required :). A totally unnecessary wardrobe item and yet the fabric was in my stash, crying "pick me, pick me" so I did. 

Happy weekend sewing, Beth

p.s I will send this book anywhere, so if you are outside the US please comment. 

A big thank you to everyone who reads and/or comments. It's that time of year to take stock and be thankful for things and that includes connections. Writing a blog has opened up a whole new world of sewing friendships and I appreciate being part of the mix.

A simple silk jacket and pants - Vogue 8089 completed

The holidays are getting nearer and I am crossing things off my "must sew, need to sew, want to sew" list. This one was a must, as the lovely Anne was flying off to Seattle for long holiday visit so I was able to finish it prior to departure. She is the one who chose all these beautiful and interesting fabrics that I have been making my way through.
The embroidered silk organza was a fabric I have never worked with before. While sewing I was imagining using this for the very full overskirt on a vintage style party dress, wouldn't that be pretty? Luckily she had already decided on something a bit more practical, although maybe only a little more!

Here is the finished jacket, it is Vogue 8089 with quite a few adjustments for fit which you can read about in the previous post . As I wrote in that post, for a very simple style it had a suprisingly large number of adjustments and I think if I were a beginner I would have been very frustrated.

In person I think this looks a lot better, you see the shimmery quality of the embroidery threads and the paisley pattern on the silk.

   

One thing I do like about this pattern is the neck band, the front pieces are cut on the straight of grain but the back neck piece is cut on the bias, so it fits nicely and hugs the neckline perfectly. Clever!

I also made pants from a matching grey silk charmeuse. Just a straight leg pull on pant with an elastic waist. The pants are pinned on my dress form, over a simple black tee shirt just to show the outfit but Anne has a purple sleeveless top she will wear over the pants and it complemented the other colors well. Looking at this photo I can see a few wrinkles. Charmeuse is maddening, sometimes I seem to accidentally press in few extra creases when I am trying to take them out. 

The pants are simple and so not much to tell about, I used this old Butterick pattern which is one of my favorites (I have made this dress maybe 4 times) made the pants full length and fully lined them with Ambiance rayon. Whenever I make pull-on or elastic waist pants I put some stitching in a contrast color in the back so I know which is which.  Kind of silly but who wants to put their clothes on backwards, no matter what age? (I even mark some of my turtlenecks...maybe this is my issue, backwards dressing.)

       
Here is a closer look at the jacket fabric. I did french seams throughout and since this fabric pressed like a dream they were very little extra work. You can really see the purple embroidery thread accent here.

Anne has an eye for fabric (as I have already documented) but she is happy to have me sew up her garments. When she came to pick up her silk outfit she brought the fantastic project that she had been working on and I had to take a photo since the color complemented this blog post so well. It is a Hawaiian style quilt for her daughter and son-in-law.  (another one of my not so great photos). The border is muted blue-grey batik. So pretty, I love Hawaiian style quilts, in fact I bought a pattern book on my last trip. Haven't made anything yet although perhaps I should start small, with a pillow :)

Happy pre-holiday mad rush sewing,  

Beth