Patterns & Planning

I thought it might be wise to take stock of my dress patterns. Surprisingly, I have quite a few! I'll admit, I did impulsively purchase a few this year when they were on crazy sale. But I also have a small collection of vintage patterns which I inherited. I don't normally like stashing, but patterns are small and my collection still fits in a shoebox so I'm not too worried about it.

Before I dive into showing you everything I've got to work with, I wanted to highlight a pretty exciting discovery. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me post about my love of this little number, from Modcloth:

Well, I spotted this Butterick Retro reprint at the fabric store the other day. Pretty close, wouldn't you say?

I was pretty excited.

So, what else do I have to work with? First, there's the patterns I bought this year that I'm still pretty in love with:

Then, there's these, which kind of leave me kind of scratching my head about why I bought them. But hey, they might have some potential:

But the most exciting bunch is the inherited vintage. I actually originally had quite a few more, but I culled the collection a while ago. These are all in the 14-16-18 size range. Unfortunately, most of the ones I like best are 14-16 and my measurements indicate that I'm an 18 in vintage sizing (as opposed to a 16 by today's Big 4 standards). I'm not sure yet if it'll be possible for me to grade them up, but I'm sure I'll develop that skill sooner or later?

First, my very favourite. (Why, oh why does it have to be a size 14?):

And, all the rest:

(That last one is particularly awesome, isn't it?)

I think it's safe to say that it's unlikely I'll need to buy any more patterns this year! Especially if you consider that I also have to do the Lonsdale and the Bombshell dresses (for which I already have the fabric and everything).

I'm pretty excited to get going... right after I finish this skirt I'm working on. (More on that in a day or two!)

Mojo Pajamas

Wow, where to begin? It's been a while, that's for sure. To make a long story short, about a month ago I was laid off from my job. Don't feel bad for me - this was a very good thing. So now I'm happily unemployed for a spell, and keeping busy by traveling and planning my wedding. However, I haven't really been crafting. I'm not sure why... and so, a few days ago I decided I needed a mojo project. Something fun and simple and hard to screw up. Pajamas!

The pattern is Butterick 6474, which I bought about seven years ago. In fact, I bought it to take a sewing class through the school board so I could learn to read patterns! (Until that time I was more of a wing-it, self-draft-it kind of girl. But then again, I mostly made hair ties and aprons and whatnot in my youth.) It's not specifically a pajama pattern, but it does the job fine.

The only thing I'd say about it, which someone on Pattern Review also mentioned, is that the crotch curve is all out of whack. For my preference, it's too long in the front and too short in the back. (In fact, they're practically the same length.) Additionally, the rise is crazy high, which I didn't realize until after I'd already finished the waist. Oops. So, after unpicking, rather than monkeying with the depth of the curve, I simply lowered the waist further in the front than the back. (I took it down 2" in the back and 3" in the front.) Although I wish the curve was deeper, it worked out fine this way.

The fabric is some beautiful damask-y flannel I bought at Fabricland back in December. I love it.

To keep it interesting, I decided to use this project as an excuse to try out french seaming. And all I can say is: I'm in love. Such a clean finish, without having to drag out the serger? Yes, please. I think I did a bit of a sloppy job, and didn't really account for the cloth allowance... but hey, they're pajamas.

When I went to do the crotch seam, it seemed a shame to serge, so I just did a little clipping and created a faux french seam as an afterthought. Despite the strong curve it worked out fine. I love flannel, it's so forgiving.

When I make pajamas I always do a line of stitching at the fold of the hem and the waistband. I find it just looks so much cleaner this way.

The hem, however, marked the first time this year I've been annoyed by my machine's lack of a free arm. If I ever change machines in the future, I think I'd like to have this option.

Anyway, it's nice to complete a project in less than 4 hours, without a muslin, and happy with the end result. I have a whole bunch of sewing on the horizon and I'm hoping my mojo sticks around long enough (and I stay in one place long enough!) to get some things accomplished this month!

Also: flannel is a cat-magnet. At least in this house it is.

Pencil Skirt Muslin

I put together a muslin for my pencil skirt the other day. I'm working with my first Burda pattern, 8155. It went together in a snap and just needed a few minor changes.

First, there was too much ease in the hips, so I took it in about 1cm there and down the length of the skirt. Second, I had to admit that I just don't like skirts sitting on my natural waist. I'm too short-waisted and frankly, I find it uncomfortable. I decided to just remove the waistband altogether, and that helped immensely. So, this means that I'll have to draft a facing, but that's no big deal.

(please ignore the wrinkles! I ironed before sewing, I swear.)

I'm definitely getting crinkles at the point where my legs meet my torso, which Fit For Real People says can be fixed by simply removing the front darts. I tried unpinning them, but then the waist is too big. I'm not sure if the answer is just to take in the waist a bit at the side seam? (Or, considering I've already taken the skirt in at the hip, just make the whole thing in a size smaller and omit the front darts?)

I was interested to see that at least one person who's made up this pattern noted that it sits higher in the front than the back. I'm not sure if that's a problem with the pattern, or if that person just has a very similar figure to mine, but I noticed this as well. In these photos, I've removed about 5/8" from the front of the skirt and it's now sitting about level.

(the side seam isn't totally vertical, but that's just because of the way I was standing.)

So, I guess my next step is just to play around and figure out how exactly to handle those front crinkles, and then draft a facing and be on my merry way. The good news is, once I removed the waistband and wore the skirt lower, it was actually super comfortable. Old habits die hard, I guess!

Crescent Skirt Sew-Along: I'm In

I was so excited to see that Tasia at Sewaholic Patterns has released her newest pattern, the Crescent Skirt.

I debated whether or not to buy/make this pattern. On one hand, I love the gathers and the the slash pockets. (Pockets in dresses and skirts are my absolute favourite design detail.) On the other hand, the v-shaped yoke doesn't really sing to me, personally. However, after a little bit of thought I realized that changing the v-shape to a gentle curve won't be the hardest alternation in the world, so I went for it.

Actually, who am I kidding? It was definitely the announcement of the sew-along that sealed the deal!

I'm guessing from the size chart that I'll also have to grade the yoke from an 8 at the hips to a 10 at the waist, seeing as I'm not a pear, but that shouldn't be prohibitively challenging either. Definitely starting off with View B.

I'm excited to receive this pattern in the mail. Anyone else sewing along?

Pendrell Blouse: Planning

I've decided that the Pendrell blouse will be my first 2011 project!

I'm definitely planning on making view B, modeled by the (local!) designer in this photo:

View A is also cute on the designer, but I can tell that the large petal sleeves are a style I wouldn't be comfortable in:

(Isn't it funny how small changes can really make or break a style for you?)

I do have a few reservations about making up this pattern. Specifically, body shape. I'm an hourglass with a full bust, whereas Sewaholic patterns are designed specifically for pear shaped women. I figure that this shouldn't matter too much with this pattern, seeing as there's no lower half and I'm likely going to have to get used to doing full bust adjustments. However, there's also the styling to consider.

I generally avoid high neckline styles intuitively, although there are some exceptions to this rule. I find I don't mind high necklines as much if there is also length to balance it out. (You may remember my recent a-ha! moment in which I realized I'm short-waisted. I also suspect that I'm long from shoulder to bust, as I always have to wear my bra straps on nearly the longest length available - which may explain why I feel this need for length to balance a high neckline?)

I'm unsure at this point if I will feel the need to lower the neckline on the Pendrell - or if the length of the blouse will balance it out for me. But it's an adjustment I'm definitely preparing myself to make! (I do think it would look quite pretty with a scoop neck.) I've also been reading Fit For Real People in anticipation of the full bust adjustment, and I have to say that so far I'm on the bandwagon with regard to that book. I'm more of a visual/kinesthetic learner and I sometimes I have trouble understanding what to do from written instructions, but that book is very straightforward and I think I understand how to apply their methods. Here's hoping!

I had originally planned on making Sencha first, as I anticipate having to make fewer adjustments. However, I'm having a heck of a time finding the right fabric! But I know exactly what I want for Pendrell and where I'm going to get it, so it's jumped to the front of the queue. I'm going to pick up the fabric (and some muslin) after work tomorrow. I'm so excited!

Field Trip: Spool of Thread

Today I made my first visit to Vancouver's new sewing lounge, Spool of Thread. And what a cute little shop it is! I almost lament being blessed to own my sewing equipment, as it seems like it'd be such a fun place to hang out and work.

Usually, the "planning" stage of any sewing project for me consists of an impulsive trip to whatever chain sewing store I'm familiar with, flipping through The Big 3 pattern catalogues, making a choice and picking the most suitable fabric available that I can afford. Now, that's not to say that this is always a bad idea - sometimes being impulsive and spontaneous can be fun and rewarding. But it's certainly not the smartest or most relaxing way to go about things. (Especially when it usually ends with you forgetting to buy some important notions in your rush out the door!)

Not this time, folks. Nope, I'm putting my best foot forward and doing my research. In keeping with my rule to use local and/or independent patterns for at least three garments this year, I've been browsing around and I quickly found two pattern companies being raved about in the blogosphere - one of which is local to Vancouver. Win! And as it happens, both are carried in stock at Spool of Thread. Double win!

Hence, today's field trip. It's a good thing I'd done my planning ahead of time because it's so far from my work I only had ten minutes to get in and out the door! But I was successful, and I picked up two patterns to kick of my 2011 sewing:

First, we have Sencha from Colette Patterns:

Second, we have Pendrell from the local Sewaholic Patterns:

I have a few thoughts about both, but I'll save them for more specific posts in the coming months. Let's just say I think both have the potential to be very beautiful garments and I'm hoping that I'm up to the challenge of creating them!

In the meantime, I have some supplies to buy - particularly fabric. I'm thinking of silks... mmm, silk.