Vogue 1143 Suit - nearing the finish line

Who thought this Vogue suit had disappeared in the black hole of space? That mysterious vortex of unfinished objects which exerts such a powerful pull on the pesky, the difficult, the not completed in the appropriate season.  You know what I mean. The waning days of winter, a scratchy wool skirt or a heavy jacket.  One evening you are happily stitching on your winter creation and it seems a little warm in the house. You open the window and hear some crickets, or maybe catch a scent of orange blossoms just outside. It is spring! or very nearly.  Suddenly that heavy jacket or long sleeve dress holds no appeal.  There is some nice linen calling your name. A shift dress in a bright cotton. Anything but the thing you are working on now but will never wear until fall returns.  So away it goes, maybe in a bin or  bundled up into a bag and shoved into the back of the closet.  Have you been there?

That is exactly what happened to this suit.  While it is not particularly heavy fabric, a lined, belted, long sleeve jacket just didn't do it for me once June arrived here. This jacket sat on one of my dress forms for months. In July the thermometer was hovering around 100º F and I finally folded it up and put all the pieces away in a bin.  Last week I saw a few falling leaves - so it was time to revisit this suit and get it DONE.  Here is a look at the 2 pieces, jacket is put together and just needs it lining and lapel facing. 

I have to say this project confounded me in so many ways but I see some light at the end of the tunnel and have plenty to post about when it is all finished.  I would never have chosen this for myself but last January I made the bold (idiotic) offer to make a Vogue designer pattern chosen by a reader of this blog.  Ruta chose this Vogue 1143 Guy Laroche pattern and while I am very glad she did it was a challenge.  Lots of weird quirks with this pattern plus the frightening idea of pants.   

Just about finished and I hope to have finished outfit photos in the next few weeks.  I need some kind of top to wear with this so I will have to ponder that once the jacket is completed.

Unrelated to the post above, I saw this plant growing next to a wall when taking an early morning walk on vacation in Hawaii. Wonder what it is. Even the random roadside plants are lovely there.

Vacation wrap-up featuring Jalie 2805 T-shirt

Is summer really over?  The calendar says so but I think we can pretend for a few more weeks. Still sundress and shorts weather, at least in the daytime.  Recently I have been playing around with t-shirt variations and I made a couple of variations of the Jalie 2805 T-shirt.

There was about 3/4 yard remaining after I made the t-shirt so I made a basic pull-on skirt and turned this one into a beach outfit. I am here on a slightly overcast and very windy day at Kailua beach, very famous for kiteboarding, so windy is good! 

I actually made 2 versions, the one on the right is my first version made using an oddball fabric from my stash that seemed useless - but was perfect for a practice t-shirt and has been worn a lot. The first version (white print) has the neckline as designed on the Jalie pattern but it seemed a bit high in the back to me, at least for a summer tee, so I changed the neckline on the second version based on a RTW t-shirt I have and it feels better to wear. 

    

Here is the pattern envelope photo, and a look at the center front of the V.  The pattern purchase is worth it for the info on how to make this section of the garment, plus the fit of these Jalie knit tops is so good.  Yesterday I had a light-bulb moment and realized I could use my traced out Jalie pattern as the starting point to make a Pattern Magic top - so hopefully I will get to that soon.
Since I changed the neckline I ditched the neck band pattern piece and used the method detailed in this Threads video. It works fantastically and is so easy! For the V-neck it takes a little modification but worked just as well.

I see a knit t-shirt mania in my future. Yesterday I was in Nordstrom and thought "I could make that" "they want $ 90 for that?"  The curse of the sewing fanatic, a lot of RTW starts to seem ridiculous.

Now for a little vacation wrap-up and PR for the island of Oahu.  Many vacations plus over the years several family members have lived there so I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the state. I have traveled to all the islands but my favorite is Oahu. Perhaps I am a bit defensive as most people who go to Oahu see only Waikiki beach which is beautiful in its way but a huge tourist destination with all that comes with that. The city of Honolulu is vibrant, interesting, crowded in parts, lush and quiet in parts, and has all the pluses and minuses of a large city, albeit one that is situated in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The island of Oahu has a huge variety of things to do, fantastic beaches all over the island, every kind of water sport you can think of, and the food is fantastic. (fun for a N. Calif. foodie like me!)

Here is picture I took during an early morning walk on Kailua Beach. Now I am convinced you can get a good photo with an Iphone. Same spot as the first photo in this post with a bit more sunshine. Windward Oahu, the east side of the island. Kailua and Lanakai beach are really all one long beach, and both have been #1 on the Dr. Beach list of best beaches (for beach maniacs like me this is important news!)


And a look in the other direction.  A beautiful beach in a quiet little town (and the place that President Obama vacations with his family when he is home in the islands).  Click here for look at the local support for our president.

Near the end of our vacation, we were on our way to one of our favorite restaurants (Town in Kaimuki) and I joked that we hadn't seen any of our favorite local celebs and that maybe we would see someone at this restaurant.  My family is/was obsessed with the TV show Lost - of course we were, it was entirely filmed on Oahu. I will never know why I started watching that show as I rarely watch continuing drama type shows but for some reason I saw the Lost pilot episode and stuck with it for the entire show. To this day I still think about it and the themes they convered. If you watched Lost then you will know what I am talking about.  Say it and they will come!  In the middle of dinner in walked Daniel Dae Kim, from Lost and now Hawaii 5-0.  He was seated at the table next to us but we maintained our cool.  More proof that Honolulu is a big city/small town.  (For you Lost fans, check out this link to my Flickr with some photos I took ages ago at a charity event.)  

In the background of my beach photos above you can see two small islands, the Mokulua Islands commonly referred to as "the Mokes".  You can reach them via kayak quite easily and I found this blog which has a fantastic photo essay on the Mokes as well as other locations on Oahu. If you are thinking about Oahu check it out and you will see there is more to the island than tourist shops and crowded beaches.  Warning - that blog is mesmerizing and I take no responsibility for loss of your time spent gazing at the incredibly beautiful images!   

Happy Sewing,  Beth

and I can't help myself, one more image I took a few years ago of this beautiful spot.  

New vacation dress and a new pattern category

What do you call a pattern that is not really vintage but not exactly current either?  I have been pondering this question for a few months and have come up with a category for these patterns which I now title:

Recent Retro: a sewing pattern that is between 5 - 20 years old, dating from the 1990's or 2000's.  Not at all vintage, just something that is not really current but could have timeless appeal or adaptibility. Often found in the bargain bin, overlooked at the thrift shop or garage sale.  Perhaps stored away in your garage or back of the closet, a perfectly good pattern but the styling seems so yesterday.  Something you remember seeing in the pattern books not that long ago. Time flies but is there really anything new in fashion?  

What started this reverie?  I bought the following pattern on Etsy - I could not resist its simple and timeless appeal.  Plus I have such a devotion to the Michael Kors patterns.  Here is the pattern that started my Recent Retro kick, Vogue 2345, copyright date 2000. Twelve years old however to me it seems current, particularly in light of the continuing colorblock trend.

Here is my version, a few suitcase wrinkles showing and maybe not the most fabulous fabric but I made this up on a whim just before leaving on vacation to Hawaii.  The pattern suggested lightweight wool crepe, jersey or double-knit and I had this blue double knit in my stash. Another of my thrift store finds, a 4 yard piece of very nice weight double-knit. For a couple of dollars I bought it thinking I could use it for making test versions of pants but you know I am crazy for the turquoise/black color combo so double knit dress it is.  ( I do have some test pants in the works).

I used a scrap of black ponte knit for the strap and some black knit lining, from cut-out to final hem it took about 3 hours. Instant pre-vacation gratification. This is one of those walk-away dresses,  with most of the interest in the back.

                   
A few construction notes:  I didn't do any topstitching and cut it out exactly as a size 12. These type of halter dresses need a close fit and the finished bust measurement on the pattern is actually 1" less than than the bust measurement for that size, but because of the way the back fits it works out just right. I am still not sure if this is the most flattering dress to wear, but I am a beach bum and love to show off the summer tan so this dress works for me.  On the dressform I see some of the same lines that are visible when it is worn, this was bothering me but further study of the pattern envelope shows the same lines so perhaps it is the nature of the design. I tend to go crazy to get things to be perfectly smooth which is not possible and when clothing is shown in magazine photos they probably have all kinds of crazy pin and tape arrangements going on out of sight.

Recent Retro: what do you think of this new category?  Do you have any patterns that are not quite vintage but still worthwhile?  I have a few more from the 90's and early 2000's that deserve a second look, and perhaps a blog post on how to update them.  (The pesky problem of gigantic shoulderpads!)

As for this pattern, it will make an appearance again next summer, most likely in a print. After all, a 3 hour dress with no fitting required - a winner to me.

Happy late summer sewing, Beth

Simplicity 1916 - Knit top

Thank you for all the nice comments on my dress refashion in the previous post. I am so happy to change that one-hit wonder into a wearable dress.  Believe me when I say that the finale to this series will not be so wearable!

I do love those cotton sateens, however I am going nuts for knits this summer. Can I tell you how crazy I am for this pattern which is Simplicity 1916. Perfect for vacation wear and maybe this is the right top for my Vogue 1247 skirt.  I have another one planned with short sleeves. 

Fabric is from Joann fabrics, I had enough to make a Jalie scarf-collar top this winter for a friend and then thought it would work for this pattern. I first saw this top on Myra's blog, it looked really great on her so I was intrigued. She made it a couple of times and in her second post included some very helpful tips on adjustments of the front.

Side and back view.

        
Shockingly good pattern matching if I do say so myself, which I kinda tried to do but figured it was not really important.  How come I can't get these results on expensive wool plaid with equally minimal efforts?  Perhaps there is an equation out there which expresses the variables:
Cost of fabric x importance of project = stress factor of person holding the scissors. . .  math problem for another day. In any case, this top is no stress at all, although I did make a few changes.

For the neckline binding the pattern has you stitch it together at the center back and then apply the binding but I found the upper back was way too big on my first version. For this version I stitched the entire top together at the side seams and then stitched the center back seam last which allowed for some tightening of that upper back area. Instructions call for applying the binding and then turning under and stitching so it is concealed. I skipped that second fold, stitched very closely to the seam to hold it in place which served to make it an edge trim plus it raised the neckline about half an inch.











I did make a third version for my friend Alice, in a brown rayon jersey knit she purchased from the bargain bin at Happy Stop Fabrics in Oakland. After a few months she came over with a bundle of these knits saying she decided they were not going to be sewn into anything soon. So I was rather pleased with myself to make her a top for her birthday with fabric she provided!   Note that she is tall and I added about 3 inches to the length.

I could not resist this taking this shot of plumeria on a walk this morning, what a color combo. Happy sewing, Beth.

                                        

One Hit Wonder # 3, Refashioned and wearable

Time to revisit my sometime series of One-Hit Wonders, which are dresses I worked hard to make for a special occasion, wore one time and then put in the closet, never to be worn again.  In this instance I knew I loved this fabric too much for it to be shut away. Consequently I did some refashioning and now am more than happy with the result.

A double treat to wear my "new" dress, for my birthday dinner, on vacation.  I originally made this dress in July of 2010, to wear to a wedding. (that seems to be a pattern for my one-hit wonders,  see the previous ones here and here.)  I think I have mentioned that when Karen was in California sewing with me she was wowed by my collection of super-bright floral dresses. Being a fan of the colorful and floral, she urged me to revisit them and this one had the most possibilities for refashioning.  Actually the refashioning is pretty subtle, but makes it so much more wearable, or at least suitcase packable!

The original dress has the same bodice, but I took off the skirt and cut it down considerably. The skirt on the first version was 120 inches in circumference, with 1 inch pleats at the waist. Very heavy in this cotton sateen. At the time I was going for a retro early 60's technicolor movie style, and it was OK, but a bit too much in retrospect. Removing the skirt I changed it to a much narrower straight skirt, slightly gathered at the waist. It may be difficult to see, but I left the center front of the skirt flat, and then started the gathers near bodice princess seam. I like this look on a dress which makes a gathered skirt look a bit sleeker. I cut the pockets off the first version and restitched them into the new side seams on this, total recycling for this project :)

Lastly, this dress seemed to need a belt so I used one of my belt kits (purchased from A Fashionable Stitch, so glad she has these as I used to find them all the time locally but now they are very scarce). On the left is the fabric covered buckle, half finished so you can see how it looks once you get the fabric stuck on. These are really easy to make, if you have never tried one give it a go. I suggest a very thin fabric (cotton or something similar) for a first try.  On the right is my Singer buttonhole maker which I use to make the eyelets. The smallest template makes a 1/4 inch buttonhole. OK, it is not circular, but it is fine with me and very sturdy.



Not having made one in ages, I made a slight boo-boo on the the little tongue-y thing which is sticking out a smidge too long, but after a few minutes with the pliers and not wanting to snap it off I decided it was just fine.  When I make belts I put the little loop on the buckle side of the belt, stitched in place as the end of the belt always wants to stick out and this makes it look more finished.

To see how full the skirt is on the first versionand all my other one-hit wonders see this set.  I used New Look 6457 for the bodice, and here is a previous blog post featuring this same pattern. 

No actual sewing for me for a while, but I was busy in July and August so I have a few blog posts coming up on completed projects, including a few knits (starting to see the possibilities - and instant gratification sewing with knits provides).

The grand finale to my one-hit wonders is coming up soon and you don't want to miss that. Floral, tulle, piping, shoulder pads. . . and you are asking why I don't wear it more often? ha ha. Wait and see!

Summer is not really over but it kind of seems like it on this weekend.  Time for thinking about winter projects?   Say it isn't so, at least not here in the 50th state :) 

Happy Labor day and/or unofficial end of summer sewing to all,  Beth

Garment Clone - tunic top

Sometimes I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to selection of fabric and pattern. Some fabrics are too limp, some fabrics are too bright, and sometimes as Goldilocks found in the story, everything is just right. I just made this tunic top for my mom by copying a tunic top that she bought at Macy's ages ago and has worn many times.  She is one of those people that look really sharp in a bold black and white garment so I was a concerned if a new version could equal the original but she is thrilled with it, and it all comes down to the fabric.

Last week I met up with some fellow San Francisco bay area sewing bloggers, a super fun evening. (check out these posts from Shams of Communing with Fabric and Amy of Sew Well).  Even better, I got to meet someone new, Cindy of Cation Designs. I have been reading her blog for a while so it was great to finally talk and hear about her sewing adventures. She made me laugh because I showed a couple of things I have sewn with fabrics purchased at a local thrift store or estate sale. She was amazed at my lucky finds (as am I) and was ready to go shopping with me anytime. While I don't always find something I do get the feeling there is someone who is my shopping doppelganger slowly doling out her donations to the local thrift store I frequent as I now have more than 7 big pieces of yardage waiting to be sewn up.  Everything I have purchased at this thrift store is blue, ranging from dark cobalt to pale sky blue, with a good dollop of turquoise and aqua.  Interesting, huh?  I tell you, my shopping/sewing doppelganger.  Although she is apparently decreasing her stash whereas I am adding to mine.   

Back to the tunic top.  Fabric content is a mystery, it is 60" wide and has a linen-y texture but is super soft and presses beautifully.  Here is the original black and white tunic top which is 100% linen. It looks great but is just a bit heavy. I do like the white outline on the solid black placket etc. but I didn't have any white fabric that seemed the right weight so I skipped that feature on the blue version.  I also skipped the trim on the bottom because visually it seemed to chop off the look in the blue. 

Here is a closer look at the blue fabric. I happened to have the solid blue fabric in my stash, hurrah.

I made the paper pattern by copying the original top, which was quite easy as garment clones go, since it is a relatively simple garment and can be laid flat.  I run a contrast line of basting down the center front and back of the top, and then just trace the seam lines of the garment, adding seam allowances later. I laid the sleeves flat, and traced the front half and back half, and then taped them together, truing up the sleeve cap a bit.  Normally I would pleat in the dart as I pinned the tissue on the garment for tracing but I just couldn't get the paper to cooperate so I traced the front almost flat, and then went back and added a bust dart using the slash and pivot technique. Then I trued up the front side seam to the back. I marked the neckline placket and then retraced that section to make the pattern piece.

For the placket I did use a lightweight knit interfacing, stay-stitched the seam allowance all around and then turned and pressed. The neckline placket is sewn inside, right side to wrong side, and then flipped outside and top-stitched, so the right side shows. The RTW top was made this way, easy and not bulky.

So I gave it to Mom this week and she loves it. another hurrah!  I have enough fabric remaining to make another one - so I might have one as well.  Which might require some pre-event telephoning, to make sure we don't arrive somewhere looking like twins. Could happen :)

Getting back to my thrift store finds, in addition to this tunic top fabric, here are a few other finds which came from the same store.

My McCalls vintage look, made with a blue wool tweed. Still have a good 2 yards remaining, so I am thinking a jacket will be made this winter.  

This one is a crinkled cotton in a tropical orchid and palm leaf print.  I made a summer sundress (what else?)  using Butterick 5351. Another good one for our 100 degree days.

                      

The fabric shown below I found at an estate sale, not my unnamed thrift store, so it is not blue, but one of my other preferred colors - plum or is it purple?  Blog post: Vogue 1117 Michael Kors dress.  Lots of sewing details in that blog post and the previous one if you are interested in this pattern.  

                          

Total investment in these 3 fabrics is less than $ 20.  How I love a fabric bargain and now I feel I must check my local unnamed thrift store weekly in case my shopping doppelganger has made another donation.  You didn't think I was going to drop the name/location of this retail establishment, did you? We couldn't have that, as much as I like you all, dear readers.  Someone might swoop in and take my next piece of blue fabric.

Sunnygal garden photo in shades of purple to compliment the dress above.
Foxglove, a new plant I tried on a whim and it is a winner, expect to see more of these next year.


Happy Summer sewing, Beth

New Look 6864 dress fit adjustments

Still hot here in the dog days of August.  My sewing room gets the most sun of any room in the house, and while that is great in the wintertime right now it seems a bit too warm to attempt any daytime sewing.  Combine that with a steam iron and I can use my sewing as a weight loss workout!  So this time of year looking at fabric and pattern websites seems a better idea than sewing.
My previous post was the cotton sundress made from New Look 6874, multiple versions.

                    
As I mentioned I really like this pattern and it can work for a lot of different figures.  Even better it is a great figure flatterer, or should I say, a design that can hide a few figure concerns if you want (tummy, hips).  The only issue I have found is the front bodice can be a bit too short which puts the center band too high, cutting across the bottom of the bustline.  I would say that it needs a full bust adjustment on some women but I have also made this for women who did not need the full bust adjustment and it still needed to be lowered.

When I cut this out I decided to experiment with a shortcut method of altering the bodice front. If I didn't like the adjustment I could recut the piece according to the pattern but it worked out well. On buying the pattern I knew I would use it in various sizes so I traced the size 12 bodice pieces and they have been well used.  Below you can see the addition in pink paper lengthening the front bodice.  More length in the center, about 1 inch,and tapering to 1/2 inch at the side seam.  Math nerds may notice that this changes slightly (very) the finished length (side to side) of the bottom of the bodice. Also the side seam is now longer on the front bodice than the back, where I did not make any change. I will deal with that side seam discrepancy in a later step.

It might seem that this would make the front band dip too low but this is a pattern where I found the extra length is needed.  A while ago I saw this post by Kathleen Fasanella of the Fashion-Incubator blog that illustrates this perfectly.  Her website is dense with information, a lot targeted at the garment manufacturing industry, but I have learned an amazing amount by reading random posts.  A website that is definitely a time sink, and I mean that as a compliment, so many fantastic explanations. 

Here is the inside of the finished dress, this is an adjustable dress form which is adjusted to my measurements, but the height is one area that confounds me in that one can't change the bodice or hip length.  That would be nice, however I own 4 different forms so no plans to get any others, I can make do. 

I tied a piece of seam lace at the horizontal point to show how much longer my finished front bodice is as compared to the back.  

      
As worn, the center band settles in the right place, and achieves my goal of not having it too high, cutting across the bottom of the bustline which it did in my previous version. The skirt is a bit more puffy in this cotton, in a softer fabric it falls better.

Lastly, to accomodate the difference in the length of the side seam that I created by adding to the bottom of the front bodice, I just ran a gathering thread for about 3 inches on the front bodice side seam allowances and pulled that up until the side seams matched.  This is a great little adjustment that can be added to a lot of patterns to create a bit of ease in the bodice front, kind of a "mini-full-bust-adjustment".  It doesn't show under the arm and especially with a printed fabric. Now that I am looking at the form I think even she is happier with the extra length in the front bodice, it seems to settle at the right spot. 

Up next, I have been on a kick to make beachy looking tunics, and finished a few knit tops. I have another one-hit wonder coming up which I am currently re-fashioning, something I have never done but having seen so many inspiring ideas lately I got out my scissors and started slicing.

Here is today's SunnyGal garden photo, I was hankering for one of these hydrangeas last year and my family suprised me with a gift. It is surviving nicely in a shady corner and I expect big things in the next few seasons. 

Stay cool and happy summer sewing.