Fabric Shopping: Sometimes I play the fool

So instead of partaking in the usual black friday crazyness I headed over to Mood Fabrics LA in hopes that it would be quiet the way it is during the day. It was. I think my husband and I might have been the only people shopping. I found my blue in a nice wool crepe. I would have been happier with something with a harder finish like a gaberdine or a flannel but the color itself was perfect and the price at $18 yard was just right.

Looks a little brighter in real life

Now the lining was where there was a problem. I grabbed a china silk and I don't know why but I didn't look at the price. Didn't think I needed to china silk is usually about $10-12 yard for a 45" width and even on the website Mood prices there china silk at $10 for what I assume is a 5mm. Anyways it wasn't until I had it cut I realized it was $25 a yard and let me tell you they let it be known that if they cut it you must buy it though to be fair before she cut my piece she had to unwind another already cut piece that someone must have balked at. Apparently what I had picked out was 8-10mm and 63" wide hence the higher price.

So I spend more on the lining than on the shell fabric which for me happens a lot because I can get good deals on wool fabrics but never the same for silk linings unless I order black or white from Dharma Trading. FYI Dharma Trading has excellent prices on silk organza for underlining.

There was a small silver lining the girl over cut my wool by 1.5 yards. Yes that much. Maybe she felt bad. The clerk who rang up my order gave me one of their nice canvas totes which they usually sell for about $10 so I think I came out ok. I just felt like a fool.

Overall I paid more than I wanted but got my moneys worth. The only think is I'll end up with too much fabric left over since I already had calculated a small cushion in yardage. I'm thinking this might end up being a Pan Am style suit if I make a matching skirt.

Anise: Getting there

Ok so I've slashed and spreaded the collar and the front of the Anise muslin. I added 3.5" on each front at the hip tapering up towards the bust and just spread the collar by eye.

Doesn't look much different I know but it fits.

The flat pattern adjustments I'll plan to do are a full bust adjustment (FBA) but also I'll reallocate about 1" to the back because when I put the muslin on it's the right circumferance around my hips but the side seams swing towards the back indicating that there needs to be some fabric added there. The collar definately looks better flatter but I don't want it to be too flat so I'll have to pull out the trusty patternmaking book. I will probably trace the neckline out and use that as a guide. I'll also make a narrow shoulder adjustment. Then recut the muslin and work on the sleeve. I'm not usually a muslin making person because I usually feel confident at making my adjustments but my body has changed and its been awhile so I don't really know which adjustments I'll need off the top of my head.

I plan to get fabric from Mood this weekend though if I can't find the perfect thing I have 4 yards of a wool cashmere blend in grey I can use. The thing is its a plaid with a pretty blue stripe and I'm not sure if I want to match plaids on this project and it's very conservative. I was thinking Pan Am blue and then a fun lining. The pattern suggests buying 3.5 yards which for a short jacket I find outrageous so am trying to do my adjustments today so I can layout a marker. An extra yard or two saved can mean money for a whole new project.

Anise

Sooo I've been away from away from sewing for awhile a combination of being uninspired and overwhelmed with the concept of dealing with my larger body. I didn't really want to deal with having to alter things or to try and make myself "look" thin. But I've come to the realization that maybe fat girls shouldn't be trying to look thin. We won't achieve said goal and we already know we are fat so I am going to throw my mother's constant advice "Your not the one who has to look at you" out the window  and just sew things that make me happy. Not look "good by societal standards" but happy with myself.

So I'm starting with Collette Patterns Anise. Its a double breasted jacket than ends at about the hipbone with a peter pan collar. Probably every fat girl don't in the book and my friend A (who is not svelte either) would probably spend about half an hour giving me all the reasons why it would look like ass.

Still searching for the perfect blue.

Well I graded the pattern up 2 sizes from 18 to 22 and sewed up a muslin and guess what it almost fits and it makes me happy. I look good too. I just need to add a little width in the hip area and fit the collar.   Where it attaches to the neck is very straight and it doesn't hang as flat as I would like. In general the more curved the neckline edge is the more likely the collar is to lay flat. The straighter it is the more it's going to standup. This seems to be a common problem with commerical and indie patterns probably because collars are drafted starting with a straightline. The solution? Slash and spread so the outer edge grows and the neckline edge stays the same ( so it will still fit into the neckline )

See how the collar looks funky? The pattern needs to be curved like your neck.

So now my problem is fabric. I have a nice grey wool with a subtle blue plaid that I got from British Fabrics on eBay back when the USD wasn't so weak against the pound. It's lovely but a) it doesn't set my heart on fire for this project and b) not sure I want to go into the effort of trying to match the plaid on a pattern I didn't draft *newsflash if your plaids and stripes don't match it's not you it's the pattern* most of the time anyways.

I would love to be able to get a blue similar to the to model garment and about the same weight but not to thick since I live in California. Attached to the muslin are two samples I wish would mate and grow some baby yardage. The thinner brighter wool twill swatch is the color and the navy camel hair is the texture though camel hair might be too warm.

I haven't graded or tested the sleeves yet. Sometimes I like to sew the body of a jacket and then fit the sleeves to match. Otherwise if you make any changes to the armhole during the sewing process then you've already cut out your sleeves and then your SOL. Round peg square hole situation. So I sew the body do any hand tailoring and then hang the muslin sleeves on the body, work out any kinks then cut the sleeves. If its a pattern I'm sure of the fit then I wouldn't do that obviously.

I bought the Anise companion not because I really needed the instructions but because I liked the concept of a 8 day checklist process to keep me motivated. Some of the techniques have me going ewww but for a beginner it might be ok.

Hopefully I can get over to Mood Fabrics in West LA and find the perfect fabric. I'd be willing to compromise and go for a kelly green but blue makes my eyes pop.