Silk charmeuse in pink for SewHappyColor week

Could pink be the happiest color? I saw a hashtag on Instagram for this month that I have no problem participating in, which is #SewHappyColor.  Just about my whole wardrobe is a bright color, as you probably know it's the rare item in a neutral shade that makes into rotation for me.

But this color is in another category. In all the photos it looks so saturated, and probably also due to the type of fabric it has a sheen as well. It was a bit tricky to get photos of the actual color and I'm not sure any of them are exactly how it looks in person. In any case - this shirt is very luxurious to wear and I'm so glad I finished it before our warmer weather arrives. The silk fabric is from Stone Mountain as well as the buttons which match perfectly. I always find fantastic buttons there.

Because it is stretch silk charmeuse I decided to do my hidden buttonhole placket which I've done on a lot of silk shirts and blouses. Particularly on stretch silk - the buttonholes are a bit tricky and there's always one that misbehaves. It never fails that it's the top one that shows the most so to circumvent that issue I do the hidden buttonhole placket and hide them all :)




I don't put a button on the collar stand, and you may not even have noticed that it was missing.  My shirt my rules! I never button that one up and it's just kind of annoying to do the buttonhole in the silk there so I skip it.

By the way, most all the tutorials and how-to's that I wrote on the original Craftsy blog have been updated onto their new websites, so you can still read them. I have a page here on my blog menu at the top, you can see them all listed and click over to read any.




This one on the hidden buttonhole placket is one of my best, if I do say so myself :) and here is the link. 

Here's a couple of views of the placket in progress on this silk version.





For all my button front shirts I use the same pattern which is this dull looking Simplicity pattern. And I've never ever sewn it just as the pattern is designed. I have a couple of different placket variations, and have used it for a popover and a tunic. I think once you have a shirt pattern that fits as you want then it's really fun to change that into other variations. My most recent version using this same pattern is this one in Liberty cotton/silk.  Which I noted in that post was version no. 15 so I guess this silk charmeuse one is the 16th. I think based on how many shirt patterns I haven't bought I can purchase some new dress patterns!



One of the changes I've made on this shirt pattern is to rotate the bust dart into shoulder gathers. I'm not sure that it worked as well on this fabric as it does on cotton but it does avoid the dreaded pointy dart which can happen on satiny fabrics.







Of the various silks I find that stretch silk charmeuse is the most difficult to sew, but the most wonderful to wear. I did machine baste the sleeves in, which I generally do, and found this little boo boo which is super easy to fix and then sew in the sleeves with a regular length stitch and no pins.






Yeah those buttons could not match any better - and they were just a lucky find on the wall of buttons at Stone Mountain.




And another look at this shirt along with the wool blazer which I wrote about in my previous post. These two items are a match made in wardrobe heaven.

So that's the latest on my silk shirt. Next up are a couple of pieces that I just sewed in a new-to-me color palette. Not as bright as this, I'll say they are jewel-tone adjacent. And just right for the next holiday on the calendar, St. Patrick's Day.

Sewing class updates at Hello Stitch Studio: next week we have a rare weekday class on the schedule, which is my Adjust the Bust class on Thursday Mar. 14.  There are a couple of spots still available and you can sign up for just the morning session, which is hands-on lessons where you will learn to do the various adjustments, or include the optional afternoon session is where we adjust the specific pattern of your choice.
Looking forward to the rest of March we have the Sew a Wrap Dress class on Mar. 23. Pick any wrap dress and I will help you with fitting before you cut out your fabric.
April is going to be really busy - we have our Level I: Learn to Sew series again as the last two sessions were sold out, so that starts on Sat. Apr 6. The Level II: Make a Dress class also starts on Sat. Apr 6. On Sunday April 7 is the Bondi Dress class - that was so popular last summer and we decided to get it on the calendar in time for spring. Then after that weekend on Monday I sleep in!
Finishing out April we have the Lander pants class on April 28.
In May we have the following classes scheduled: Knit T-shirt, Wiksten Haori Jacket, Jeans weekend workshop and Copy your Favorite Garment.
All the class info and registration can be found here.

There are lots of daffodils around and I see the roses starting to leaf out - so spring will be here in no time. With all this rain I'm planning for a great garden year. Sometimes just the planning is enjoyable - even if what I'm thinking of doing never materializes. And with some initial effort (well a lot of effort) you put the plants in, treat them right and then while you are sleeping they grow and grow. As opposed to those lazy fabrics that don't sew themselves, right?

Thus speaks a person who might or might not go to the garden center and succulent sale on Sunday whether or not there is a space to put any new plants in her garden.

Happy Sewing, Beth

Here's a camellia that lives near the front porch. A few years ago it was a big messy thing that was starting to obscure the view out of the front window. So I chopped it down to stumps and kind of hoped it would croak so I could replace it with something a little more interesting. But it sprouted and a couple of years later is again putting out these flowers. I can understand why so may camellias are planted here in the bay area, they are hardy, green all year, and while messy when the flowers drop they are so colorful in bloom.

Blazer jacket with velvet collar, Pauline Alice Saler jacket in check wool

It seems like jackets are having a moment. Or at least a resurgence in popularity. Perhaps it was kicked off during the last two elections and the pantsuits worn by women candidates, or maybe we were due a return of 80's fashion, which means oversized jackets, suits and dare I say, shoulder pads. Either way I'm happy for this development as I've always loved sewing blazers (also wearing them) and feel like the sewing community is starting to feel the same way.

So during January when I had to wait on finishing the blazer I sewed for Heather, I sewed up this blazer jacket for myself. I have a older jacket in my closet that I can't part with, it's black and white houndstooth check I made using a Ann Klein Vogue pattern ages ago. It's slightly dated and I shortened it a while ago, not entirely successfully (you can see it worn here).

But I had so much use out of that jacket I decided I needed a new one in my wardrobe. This version is the Pauline Alice Saler Jacket pattern. This is my second version, as I tested this pattern for her in 2016. I think she is one of the few people that make outerwear with nice details and I always look forward to seeing what she comes up with. (other coats I've made from her patterns, neither one for me as it happens, the Quart Coat and Hemisferic Coat.



I was out for a glass of wine with a friend and figured I would take a few photos of this jacket but to my delight we happened to walk by this window display which seems perfect for a sewing obsessive like me.

The fabric for this jacket is something I ordered from Fabric Mart I think just after Christmas. On the website it looked more black/white to me and I was slightly disappointed when it arrived and it looks more like grey, the checks are smaller than I anticipated. But it is a really nice quality wool, perfect for this type of jacket.



I decided to make the collar as a contrast and used black velvet for the upper collar, and then black wool crepe for the under collar and the pocket welts. Both small remnants in my stash. I hoard all pieces of velvet and velveteen for uses just like this one because while I love to wear wool I have an aversion to anything itchy touching my neck. Problem solved!



Pressing velvet is a very specific technique and also I have a needle board, or velvet board which I've had for a long long time. Every time I mention it I get asked about it, the brand it Dritz so it's not some exotic item but I think very few fabric stores carry them. I just did a search and they are between $ 70-140 on various places so if you see one at a garage or estate sale buy it!







But using the needle board generally means no worries on pressing things like this velvet upper collar. I use it on other napped fabrics like corduroy and velveteen, even some wools.




I rarely button up jackets like this but it was very chilly! OK chilly for us here in N. Cal.




By the way - I will do a blog post next on the shirt I'm wearing - it's not quite that color in real live but almost. I just got the latest iPhone and am still figuring out the various photo settings. (and I miss the home button!)

Let's talk buttonholes. I wanted this jacket to have a traditional look so I opted for stitched buttonholes and used my ever trusty Singer and the best buttonhole attachment, and chose the keyhole buttonhole template.






That's my Singer (one of them) and the buttonhole attachment. It works on all the Singer Slant Needle machines.

Here is a sampling of buttonholes made using this attachment. It uses templates, the metal keyhole template is shown below. So you can't change the size of the buttonhole once you have chosen the template. I find the templates available cover all the sizes needed, and since I made this reference sample I've found more templates at sales (including a round one that is perfect for making the holes on a belt).



It's definitely the opposite of electronic - it makes quite a noise but I like it as you can go around as many times as you want, with the exact same pattern so you can make a good thick buttonhole which is ideal for a lot of fabrics. If you're super interested in all things buttonhole then I did a post about this ages ago, with a lot more photos and details plus video of the thing in action.  Here's the link.

Back view, and it fits me a lot better than on this dress form.





A little inside peek because everyone seems to like seeing that :)  I do a combo of hand stitching of seams and fusible interfacing.




Yeah I'm on a roll with the silk shirts lately and now have a few sizable scraps which I'm figuring out how to combine into one jewel toned extravaganza of silk top-ness. Stay tuned!

Note this jacket has shoulder princess seams which make it very easy to get the right fit at shoulders waist and hips. I use my measurements and veer between sizes and then adjust when I have it sewn together, with a bit of nipping in at the waist or hip as needed.






Purple satin lining because that's what I found in my box of linings. A slightly weightier lining but perfect to add a bit of heft to this jacket. I love a nice satin lining and while I don't usually go for any novelty lining a suitably jewel toned one is OK with me.

If you use the search box in the right hand column you can find all kinds of jacket and coat posts with lots of details. Also as I mentioned in my previous post you can look at the Highlight "Wool Jacket" on my Instagram profile page to see all the steps in the wool jacket I sewed recently for Heather.

Up next - I just finished another Burda magazine item, and an ultra suede version of skirt Vogue 1247 - that perennial favorite. Plus a Tamarack jacket as I taught that class over the weekend with lots of really fun jackets accomplished. Coming up a fitting class on Thursday 3/14, and then check the web page for Hello Stitch, classes are really filling up fast. There might be one or two spots open in the wrap dress class which is on Sat. March 23. Something new - I'm going to do a Culotte class as that seems such a great wardrobe item for spring/summer (or anytime). And Ash jeans again - in the beginning of June. Hope to see you there :)

In other news, should I mention that I saw the first tulip in my garden this morning? While we are still in the midst of a very rainy winter (which is great for our water needs!) I think spring is on it's way. At least here it is, I feel for you all in the polar vortex!





Happy Sewing, Beth

today's garden photo, these pink camellias are so messy but such a pretty shade of pink.

McCalls 6172 Wool blazer version 2 in Shetland wool from Britex in SF

This jacket shows why I like to make a pattern more than once. When you find a good pattern and get all the fit adjustments worked out, then why not make it multiple times? After all, our wardrobes consist of a lot of basics, be it button front shirts, or a pencil skirt, a fit and flare dress, a knit t-shirt. It's the fabric that makes things look completely different, and also the small details like stitching, pockets or even length that change up the look a lot. I find myself less interested in buying new patterns, particularly for items when the patterns are often so similar. But fabric, I have a lot of restraint but I could find endless pieces to add to my stockpile.

Fortunately my friend and muse Heather usually knows exactly what she is looking for, and when we make a trip to Britex we always find it. How could you not?  their selection is amazing. I grant that you don't go there for bargains or bulk buys. Last time we went shopping we selected this wool as well as 3 silks for coordinating tops. (I say we, because she lets me have a veto which I do exercise against really tricky plaids and stripes).

We took these photos early on a Sunday morning when we were both free. She was on her way to her office to get in some quite-time work undisturbed by clients or her employees. So it was a jeans and t-shirt day but perhaps that shows the versatility of a nice blazer jacket - you can toss it on over just about anything and look put together.

I have a lot of photos of the construction on this jacket - far too many to post but as I was constructing this jacket I took pictures and video which I uploaded to my Instagram Story and saved to a Highlight.




A lot of people have viewed as I've posted this over the past months and I appreciate all the comments and direct messages 😊. The whole series is there and I'll leave it up so it will be a reference.
But for those of you who like to see the insides of garments - here is a sampling of what I included in the Highlight.



Jacket front. I do my own thing when it comes to interfacing, and it all depends on the weight and structure of the fabric. Let's get a round of applause for this pattern which has the collar and lapel roll lines marked on the pattern. You can see that I mark the angles on corners which makes stitching so much more accurate and it goes faster as well. Also I always want to make sure the two jacket fronts are exactly the same so more markings help with that.



Above, collar attached and now clipping, trimming and grading seam as needed, prior to catch-stitching it down with silk thread.






Somebody is liking their pockets!
Since I did a fair amount of fit adjustments to the front pattern pieces I had to decide where to place the pockets and I'm very happy with how they turned out. Here's a look at them in progress. Again the color of this fabric is so different in every picture.



By the way - as I mentioned above this is the second time I've made this pattern, both for Heather. The first one was a solid navy blue that was really a test version - here's the blog post on that one which has a lot of the info on making fit adjustments on this pattern as well as some other info.








Lining sewn in by hand, and a small pleat at the bottom edge so that the lining has space to move and not tug on the bottom edge of the jacket when worn.



Side view and you can see how a two-piece sleeve curves nicely to follow the shape of the arm. Also in the background is a jacket I've sewn for myself, another version of the Pauline Alice Saler jacket in wool with a velvet collar. I started Heather's jacket the week after Christmas and since I had already made one version I just needed her to come by for a final fit check on this one. But she had the bug that was going around so it ended up being postponed for several weeks - but I was still in wool jacket making mood so I decided to do that one. And have already worn it a couple of times. It goes so nicely with a couple of silk shirts - a blog post on those items next.
Also in view is my sewing room table, which is not the most beautiful worktable you can see on the web but it is really functional. I got a few questions on that so in my next Random Threads post I'll show some details and tips on how I made it.



I love this picture! It really shows how well the lining color and the buttons complement this. Which should be credited to the lovely salespeople at Britex who know what they have in stock.

Here are the 3 silks we also found that day which will be tops to go with this jacket. Not sure which fabric will be used for what top pattern I just got Vogue 1412 so that will be for at lease one of these.






Someone really likes that fancy lining :)



So that's a wrap on this wool jacket. Is it spring yet?  Although last week I traced a couple of distinctly wintery patterns from the recent Burda mags so I will have to get to those quickly.

Update on classes at Hello Stitch Studio:  Classes are filling up quickly - so if you want to register I suggest not waiting. I do have a fitting class on a weekday coming up, on Thurs. March 14. After that we still have some spots open in the Wrap dress class (Sat. Mar 23) and in April we have a Lander pants class (always fills up fast) and the Bondi dress class. Tessuti patterns has come out with a really nice new dress pattern, the Coni dress so if the sleeveless Bondi dress is not for you perhaps the alternate one will be just the thing.

Jacket making is in the air - have you seen the sneak peeks of the new Closet Case pattern? which will probably be available to order when you read this. I'm starting to plan for a Jacket Making weekend workshop in October, as I've had a few people from out of town ask me if we are doing that this fall. Since we have a bit of time I'm open to suggestions and questions. It will definitely be a Sat. and Sunday class, but possibly we could add a shopping day and a dinner together. All kinds of possibilities. Message or email me if you want to make a suggestion or with questions. By the way - tentative date, the weekend of October 19.

Happy Sewing, Beth

today's garden photo, this camellia which has big sticky blooms that the bees and hummingbirds love, but if you look closely at the photo above you can see that they fall in a messy heap creating an unintentional red carpet. That red/yellow combo though, so striking.

BurdaStyle 12/2018 # 107 Wrap look dress

The sun is shining today here after a stretch of gloomy weather, so I plan to get outside and do a bit of garden cleanup. It was in the 30's℉ last night but I think winter will swiftly depart so any winter sewing needs to be accomplished soon. (Hurrah - summer sewing ahead!)  I saw this dress in the December Burda magazine and perhaps it was the color in their version that appealed to me, also the fact that it looks like a wrap dress but it's actually not. Which makes it easier to wear and fit.

So I traced it out, sewed it up and while I like the dress I probably won't wear it much. Or ever. I think I'll end up taking off the sleeves, or giving it to a friend. The thing about thin jersey long sleeved dresses is that they just don't work all that well for me. I'm always cold so they are just not warm enough and then once our winter is over they are useless to me. But I do like the color and the shape is reminiscent of some of my favorite knit tops. I think it will go in the magic closet for a while.




I bought this fabric the week after Christmas at Joann's when they had a super sale. I went in there for a few things but ended up buying a bunch of different fabrics for bargain prices. This was maybe $ 4 per yard after coupons etc. I still have a good 1.5 yards left so it will probably be a summer knit top.



Here's the Burda magazine photo from their website. The pattern is also available as a PDF download here.  Before I subscribed I used some of these PDF single purchase patterns and sometimes when I'm tracing I'm actually tempted to do it again :) Actually practice makes it easier - once you have traced a few you get the hang of it and know to look for the notches, grainlines, etc.


In their version I think they have used a thicker knit which I don't like as much, the waist drape part looks a little bulky to me.

Here's the technical drawing. Which is really all I look at when deciding on a pattern. This knit dress has bust darts which make for nice shaping and in a stable knit are probably quite necessary.



Sewing details: I omitted the center back zipper as my fabric was quite stretchy so I could get it over my head and shoulders without it. I think sewing the zipper in that gathered section at the center back would not be fun! but to get it to fit around the waist it does need to fit rather snugly. It also had some gathering at the top of the center back neck part which I skipped as well.

Here's a look at the inside back. The shaping is achieved by a base layer inside which you sew the gathered overlay to, and then you attach the skirt and upper part to that. I sewed the whole front and whole back (as is my habit) and then I stitched up the side seams last, and took it in about 1/4" on each side to get a snug fit at the waist.



I used a knit for the inside, but it is less stretchy than the jersey, so it was good for the base layer. And note - I never use a serger on knits - I really don't care how the inside seam allowances look and they don't unravel so not a concern. I did take in the center back upper bodice a good bit as well, I cut a size 38 in the upper bodice which is mostly fine but typically I take everything in from waist to neckline at the center back (also have to do the same on Vogue, Mccalls etc).




There's the inside front, you can see I took in the side seams about 1/4" more after the first try-on. Also the center front bodice was a bit long, and kind of sagged at the waist, so detached it about 6" across the center front and pulled the wrap portions down a bit and restitched, taking out about 1/2" there in length. Any dress or top with a wrap neckline is likely to need some adjustment and there are a few things you can do even after cutting it out. I wrote a blog post on this topic on the old Craftsy sewing blog - they have migrated those old blogposts to the Blueprint site and the links I have on my own blog still work. Here's the one about Adjusting a Wrap Dress Neckline. 




If you look closely you can see the center front seam of the waist rises up slightly on the dress form but I think when worn it settles in the right place. This is also an accurate version of the color of this fabric. My biggest difficulty lately with blogging and photography is getting the photos to show the fabric color correctly. Of course taking pictures at all times of day and night plus sunny or cloudy weather means I have a multitude of shades of each fabric. Kind of annoying.

This dress started out about 4 inches longer which for me just feels dowdy. So I cut off 4 inches and it's ok now. I didn't hem the skirt, and I think I'm going to leave it that way. You can't see that it's not sewn and since it won't unravel I will leave it as I like the length now












I'm including this picture because I laughed a bit when I looked closely at it. I decided to take photos of this dress, the light was just right outside. In the 5 minutes it took to put it on and go out there the sky opened up and it was pouring hail, plus thunder and lightening. Which rarely happens here!



I wanted to see how this coat looked with the dress, since the color match is so good. I bought this coat ages ago in Italy and I actually don't wear it often, maybe I haven't worn it for 2-3 years. The other day I was thinking I might cut it off and make it into a jacket, then I might get more use from it. The leather is really nice quality but it's a thin coat so not really suitable as a coat - more of a fashion item.

So that's the latest on my Burda Magazine sewing. I just traced a shirt pattern from the January issue (this one)  and it is easy-peasy to sew. I have started stitching it up in a mystery fabric I got for free at a swap which might be a wool challis. Anyway it is a different color palette for me but so far I like it.

Yesterday Heather came by to pick up her wool blazer, so I have a ton of photos to edit and upload for that blog post which I will start on this week. I loved making that - you know tailored jackets are my favorite thing to sew and combine that with gorgeous wool from Britex, ❤️💜❤️. I made version one of this jacket for her back in December, and here's the blog post on all the details for that, which is McCalls 6172, a pattern I highly recommend. Also I posted a lot of in-progress pictures in my Instagram stories and then saved it to a Highlight titled "wool blazer" so you can see sewing details there. But a blog post soon.

Here's a little sneak peek.



So that's some of the latest sewing. I finished a silk charmeuse shirt for myself, and then while waiting for Heather to come by for a final fitting (she caught that respiratory bug that hit so many people) I sewed up another version of the Pauline Alice Saler Jacket for myself. I tell ya, jacket sewing I can't resist. So lots of things to blog.




Happy winter sewing, 
Beth

today's garden photo, yes we have daffodils. And tulips on the way.