Top 5 Sewing Hits

1. V8805 Red Knit Dress

Normally, I don't wear dresses. Perhaps, I just didn't like the dresses I had. I wore this dress  a lot and always received compliments.  

2. Papercut Rigel Bomber

This jacket is my favorite make of the year. Since I live in Florida, I didn't wear it as often as other lighter weight jackets. The weather did permit me to wear it often last winter. Usually, I wear it opened which looks better. I do like it closed because it shows my favorite feature, the zipper.

3. Grainline Morris Blazer

I love this blazer and wore it a lot.  On a whim, I entered it in the Girl Charlee July 4 contest and won  a $75 fabric prize. The fabric is so  comfortable and goes with many other garments in my wardrobe. The pattern is great with clear instructions. There will be another Morris Blazer soon!

4. Blue Prints Saltbox top and Sew It Over Ultimate trousers

This outfit ranks as the most often worn, particularly the pants. Yes, I did hem those pants after looking at the pictures. The pants are starting to show wear now so I definitely will be making another pair.

5. Cashmerette Appleton Dress

I have another dress in the top 5 which surprised me. After trying numerous unsuccessful wrap dress patterns, this one went together like a dream with only a SBA as an alteration. The fabric from Mood sewed easily and is soft and comfy.

I pleased with my successes this year. Next up, I'll show my misses.

Rigel Bomber Finished

I finally finished my Rigel Bomber. I love it!!

This picture shows the jacket a little better. I'm not sure about the crazy expression on my face. I think that the sun is was in my eyes.

I probably will wear the jacket open unless it is really cold. I don't live in the Northeast so super cold days are rare.

The back fits pretty well although I'll make a slight sway back adjustment if I make it again. I did stretch the ribbing around the back neck so that it would fit snug against my neck.

Note to self:  Remember to take one or two pictures without my hands in the pockets. The fit actually is better than it appears. A lot of the winkles in the jacket are caused by my hand placement.

I'd like to make the Rigel Bomber again, but I'm not sure that I will. How many jackets do I need in Florida? I'm trying to focus on the many garments that I need for everyday wear. The Rigel Bomber sew-a-long actually got me side tracked. This winter has had many cool days so I do think that it will get lots of wear.

As for construction, I made a size S. With a 37 bust and 32.5 high bust, I still didn't need a full bust adjustment. It's rare that I don't need one. I sewed the side seams at 1/4 inch and still feel like it a bit snug for me. I'll add 1/2" to the side seams if I make it again. I struggled with the welt pockets, but they turned out okay for the first time. They really aren't that difficult. All I need is practice! I really pulled my hair out had to think about inserting the zipper. I had trouble figuring out how to put the zipper in before attaching the facing. The zipper is put right side down to the jacket, attached and folded over before attaching the facing. I forgot to baste the zipper first to check if it was even. I was lucky as I could not have gotten it any better with basting.

I'm off to the next project whatever that may be. Happy Sewing to you!!

New Year Sewing

My first completed project for the year was the long sleeve t-shirt version of Silhouette 195.

Although this is just a t-shirt, I need a white knit long sleeve top. I am sticking to my goal to spend most of my time sewing the casual clothes that I wear often. I've made this top many times. The fit is fine for a t-shirt, but I want to add some different necklines and other changes to this basic pattern. When I look at it closely, I can see that it needs some tweaking before I start getting creative. The changes I want to make for next time are:

1. Sew the darts 1/2" further into the bust line. The dart is not smooth enough at the end. I checked my sewing which looks perfect to me.

2. Do a 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment (not obvious in this photo).

3. Make a slightly smaller armhole by raising the side seam. Change the sleeve to fit.

These are so minor that I won't make them on this top. I guess I am lazy have other priorities.

Today I spent most of "sewing" time trying to figure out the self-timer on my camera. I have a Cannon G-15 that I got for Christmas last year. I was assured that I could purchase a remote for it. Well, I could but the remote has a cable that is only 6 feet long. I figured out how to add an extension which is long enough to work. The problem is the cord shows in pictures. Also, I almost tripped over it a couple of times. Husband is willing to take pictures if I can catch him. He is a sweetie, but not very patient with picture taking. I'm going to try the self timer. Yahoo!! I finally figured it out. Now, I only need a clear day. The weather here in Florida is dreary, really cold for us, and raining off on on.

I finished sewing the buttons on a blouse that I started this summer. It's hardly appropriate wear for this time of year, but I want to finish a few of those UFOs that are hanging around. It needs a final pressing and a sunny day for picture taking.

I need to get back to the welt pockets on my Rigel Bomber. I'm really nervous with them since this if my first time making welt pockets. Fortunately, I have enough fabric to cut new fronts if I mess up badly. I've cut between the welts and they look fine so far. The rest of the jacket should be a breeze. Yea, sure.

I hope your sewing and life in general are going well.

The Rigel Bomber and Looking Ahead

I've joined Ginger and many others in the Rigel Bomber sewalong. Hopefully, sewing the Rigel Bomber will be easier than deciding what fabric to use. I guess that is the problem with such a large stash. Finally, I have narrowed my choices to two.

This is a cotton sateen, purchased from Fabric Mart last Spring with ribbing yardage from Sew Baby. I bought the fabric to make pants. While I think pants would be super cute in this fabric, I doubt that I would wear them very often. The zipper was purchased to make the Bomber which never happened.

This is a wool sweater knit and theory cotton to make the sleeves.  Both fabrics are from Mood. The zipper and ribbing are the same as choice #1.

My concern about Choice #l is the fabric is the same as the Bomber made by Shanni.  Only the zipper color is different. I'm not sure about using the sweater knit although interfacing it should make it work. I bought this fabric to make a cardigan. Yesterday, I decided to use the polka dot cotton because I just love it. After all, I gotta decide or the jacket will never happen. Maybe I'll just go for the Copy Cat Award of 2015. I just hope that Shanni believes that copying is the highest form of flattery.

The year 2014 was the worst ever as far meeting goals. It wasn't a bad year but far from the best. My major focus was getting my arm and shoulder flexibility back. I can't believe that it took me a year, but I'm 95% there. It only hurts when I do a lot of fabric cutting. My strength is slower at returning. Would you believe 3lb weights? It is an improvement from inability to lift a gallon of milk. Don't ever break your arm! (not that anyone would plan on doing that crazy thing) Although I made a few garments that I like, I didn't finish many. I would stop working on a garment because the task was hurting that arm. (That's my reason and I'm sticking to it.)

I broke the Ready to Wear Fast in August. I needed shorts to wear on vacation and could buy them for $5. There was no way that I was going to be able to sew them. My goal to blog about the garments I made was a failure. I still have 3 garments finished that have not appeared in the limited activity on this blog. They will be coming soon. As I set out to do in 2014, one of my goals is to blog about finished garments soon after completion.

Goals for 2015:

1. Focus on garments for casual, everyday wear. I need to think more about how often I will wear each garment I make.

2. Finish the bra making Craftsy course.

3. Finish 3 quilts. I have one quilt that needs borders and another where all the blocks are completed. The third is a block of the month that is offered by my local quilt shop. It is a wall hanging of downtown DeLand, FL where I live.

4. Improve knitting and crocheting.

5. Make progress with sewing room organization.

Easy Enough for One Hand

Since my right hand is still useless, I thought I'd sew an easy pattern that I've made before. This sweater wrap, Silhouette 85, is my third version. The cut out part was slow. Fortunately, this medium weight sweater knit from Fabric Mart cut and sewed like a dream. I am reluctant to use a tripod for fear of dropping my camera. I even had a difficult time holding the camera and snapping a picture with one hand.

The edges are serged - couldn't face turning and top stitching. Since I finished this garment in January, I've only worked on muslins. There haven't been any cutting mishaps yet. I don't want the first mishap to be with good fabric. I have kept my commitment to no RTW purchases. Anyhow, jeans and a jacket are good to go once my right hand can cut again. Physical therapy starts in March. Yea!

This is a short post. This hunt and peck typing is annoying. Hopefully, I'll be sewing and blogging regularly soon.

New Directions/Jacket Update

Thanks for your concern about my blogging absence. I've been fine. DH is getting better everyday and is returning to his usual active life. Actually, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about my sewing skills. I was making some things that I liked, but making many garments that looked pretty bad to me. I particularly had difficulty as I moved into more fitted, tailored garments. I was working very hard and making only small improvements. At the rate that I was going, it would be fifty years before I felt like an accomplised seamstress. If I am lucky enough to live that much longer, I doubt seriously if I would even care. I was working very hard. I was guilty of doing the same thing and expecting different results. It was time to do something different. I pondered that issue for a while. My solutions seem to be working (at least for now). Here's what I did:

1. I added mirrors to my sewing room so I could see the front and back of my garments at the same time. After watching Peggy Sager's webcast on fitting, I asked for the 3 mirrors from Ikea for my birthday. Unfortunately, they no longer make them. When my sweet husband asked about alternatives, they were not very helpful (according to him, anyway). So, he went on a mission to find mirrors that he could put on hinges. Yes, he found them, but they were very heavy. I wanted to be able to move them out of the way. My sewing room is large, but not that large. I think that his solution was creative and continues to work for me. I have glass mirror doors on my sliding closet doors that hide my sewing stuff. He had mirrors cut to fit the wall next to the closet doors and the back of the entrance door to the room. When the door is half opened, I can see my front and back without twisting. It's a bit hard to see in the pictures because the mirrors reflect each other. I hope that you get the idea.




2. I bought a new iron which has made a big difference. One of my irons spit at me and one was so old that it didn't generate much steam. I did a lot of research and bought a Rowenta Expert. It was expensive, but worth every penny. I love it!!

3. I went to a fitting workshop. Trying to fit through the internet was killing my love of sewing. I don't fault the teachers. It was the process of repeatedly making changes and taking pictures. I learned a lot, but I still wasn't satisfied. It works for a lot of people, but not for me. I wanted to go to a recognized teacher and was saving my money (easy to do when I don't buy fabric!). Then, I saw that Peggy Sager was offering a 4 day workshop in Atlanta. The hotel was reasonable and I could drive! So...I was off to Atlanta for 4 intense, wonderful, memorable days. It took her 5 minutes to fit a jacket shell and another minute to fit the sleeve. The pants and jeans went just as fast. Wow! When I think of the frustrating hours that I spent, I get sad. My fitting skills still aren't perfect. A new pattern often takes some time, but it's much, much faster. I feel like I know what I'm doing (for the most part, anyway).

Here are the last jackets I made. I haven't finished my fitted, tailored jacket from the workshop because I needed to do some faster projects. My wardrobe was in bad shape!

Silhouette 211 is a loose fitting cardigan. It still has some shape. I also like the way the front slopes upward - great for my short figure. The fabric is from Coldwater Creek and was sold by Silhouette Patterns.

Silhouette 1850 has a kimono sleeve. It's not droopy like most kimono sleeves. The trim is added to the middle which gives it a more fitted look. Peggy wore hers at the workshop. I had to have it so here is my copy.Silhouette 1750 is a pre-workshop jacket. It fits, but the sleeve caps need improving. The jacket looks better when I'm wearing it. The workmanship is marginal but it's still a jacket that I will enjoy wearing.

LH 5201 cardigan is a wadder. It doesn't fit well. I think that I needed to add interfacing to the neck edge and front. I love LH designs. I've had trouble fitting them in the past. Don't ask me why I tried one of her patterns again. I don't know the answer. I will have to be a lot better at pattern work before I try one of her patterns again!
I'll post the other garments that I've finished in the next few weeks. Now, I'm off to work on my next sewing adventure - a cowl neck tee.

Happy Easter!

Can this be fixed?

I have this possibly crazy desire for a fitted jacket. My favorite is FSG 1945. This pattern offers a number of style changes using the basic pattern. The fear of fitting kept the pattern sitting in my pile of "one of these days". Then, I discovered that NancyErickson offers an internet fitting service for her pattern. My Fitting Adventure began with a size 12 which is much too large for me. Although I measured a jacket that fits to determine the size, it's still hard for me with a totally new pattern company. After several weeks of trying to get it to fit, we decided to trash and start with smaller size. Here's the back of Muslin #2. Actually, it looks reasonable compared to my first muslin (not shown to avoid appearing ridiculous). This is size 8 which is the smallest size. It's still too big in the top although I had to squeeze into the hip area.



I took a tuck in the top area, took in the back and side back, and let out the front/middle front seams (gotta have room for the tummy). Here's the adjusted muslin that I'm working on now.

The old winkles disappeared and new ones appeared! I just that's the life of fitting garments. Can it be fixed? I hope so. I'm taking in the back around the waist area and taking a larger seam in the armscye. We'll see how that goes. I'm not showing the front because I haven't worked much on that. I hope that it will look like this:

I also am working on the 1945A front. If all goes well, it will look like this:

While waiting for responses from Nancy, I've been working on two other jackets. I'm 95% done with one (lots of hand sewing) and 1/3 done with another. With an ailing husband, there is limited sewing time around my house these days. I'm going to have to sew like a maniac to catch up with my JAM commitment.

For now, I'm back to my jacket fitting adventure.

Chanel Jacket 1

One of my sewing goals is to make a Chanel Jacket. I love the many versions that I have seen. When I read about ChanelSewAlong I just had to participate even though I joined the group late. After looking at numerous patterns, I decided to use KS 3258 for the first of many (I hope!!) chanel jackets.
I am going to make view B with long sleeves. I am still debating about putting in a zipper but I don't think that it will enhance the design. I certainly don't need it for most of the Florida winter. My muslin is a size S in the shoulder, neck, and armscyle area with a size M for the side seams. The only adjustment that I made was a 1/2" petite adjustment in the armscyle area.

I'm pleased with the fit for a first muslin. The adjustments that I think are needed are: raise the bust dart 1/4", add 1" to both sides of the front seam, and shorten the sleeves 1/2". I like the length where it is so I will add a hem allowance. The side looks pretty good to me and certainly the sleeves are the best fit I've ever done. I have toothpick arms so these narrow sleeves are wonderful to me. I wasn't very careful setting in the sleeves but they did go in easily.

The back fits all right as far as I can tell.Here are pictures with my hands on my hips. I think that is a way to check on ease. In the front view, I can see the horizontal lines on the left side so I know that they are straight. I marked the left pocket flap locations and will raise the top one a bit.

I've made the adjustments on the tissue and did a tissue fitting. That looks good. I am concerned that the front seams don't meet at the top and the bottom. They fit at first and then fall when I move. That was not a problem with the tissue fitting. I'm hoping that adding facings will take care of that.

I welcome any comments and suggestions that anyone has. I'm planning to do a second muslin to check my adjustments. I know the fit will never be perfect with my body but I want to get as close as possible.

Progress

Sewing has been more challenging this past week. New skills just take a while to learn! Most of the sewing has been good with a few clinches. (I made sure my seam ripper was handy.)

The pockets are ready to be sewn on the Burda 02/2009 #115 jacket. I know at least one of the individuals who reviewed this pattern put the pockets on before doing the hem and facing. Burda instructions have you sew the pockets over the hem and facing. This time I decided to go with Burda so the pockets are waiting. I spent a lot of time preparing the pockets because I really want them to be exactly even and the same size. So, I used a variation of a tip from Shannon Gifford. (Note: Her courses on PatternReview are excellent.) She suggests tracing the pocket without seam allowances on cardboard. For these pockets, I used template plastic which, IMHO, is easier for tracing than cardboard. The first step is pinning the pocket pleats on the pattern:

Then, I traced the pocket and flap without seam allowances. The pattern slipped a bit with those pleats pinned so I checked and corrected the tracing. I labeled both pieces, partly because I'm scatterbrained and partly because I may use these tracings for pockets on another garment.

Then, I cut out my traced patterns and used them to iron the seam allowances over them. The ironing was easier and more accurate. I checked my accuracy by folding the pockets and flap at the center mark to make sure both sides were the same. Then, I checked the pockets and flaps to make sure they were the same size. They were! (Before making the pleats and pressing the seams, I added fusible interfacing to the top of the pockets. I do use pockets and want them to be stable.)

Here's my big clinch:

The linen I used has some lycra in it. The fabric must have slipped because the upper sleeveon one side was cut way off grain and hung crooked. I ripped and carefully pinned this sleeve so that it would hang on grain. What a pain! The difference between the upper and lower sleeve is not big so, hopefully, I can just shorten the sleeves a bit and still use the sleeve bands. Naturally, I did not have enough fabric to cut another top sleeve! After the fact, I remembered a tip that I read somewhere (can't remember where) to press fabric with a dry iron, spitz with water, and iron parallel to the selvage. I tried that with a skirt I cut out last weekend. The fabric lies so nicely. I guess I've been steaming the fabric out of shape. That won't happen again!!

The collar is ready. I really worked on it. The points are pretty good but I sure wish I could do them better. I know, from past experience, that the points can only take so much fiddling before a hole appears. I used Pam's tutorial for the collar except that I didn't have to turning tool she used. That tool is on its way to me now.

I had to read the instructions for installing the collar several times. Finally, I figured them out. The front facing is only sewed to the notch for the end of the collar before the collar is sandwiched in between.

I did pin the CB and shoulder points to check the fit first. We'll have to see how this works.

Then, I moved on to doing another collar for a shirt that I had cut out. I just had to try that collar again quickly. It was sort of like someone who comes close to drowning in a pool. They had better get right back in (assuming there is no physical damage, of course) and start swimming. Otherwise, a lifelong fear of water can occur. I certainly don't want to have a lifelong fear of pointed collars. Here's my blouse V2634, in process, that I hope to finish this weekend: