Wow

I'm the featured member of the day on Patternreview. Not sure if it's an honor or it happens to everyone. Though to be fair I've been member since 2005 and never been featured. It came with a coupon so that blends my two favorite things. Coupons and sewing.

Slowly coming unravelled

I didn't mention this in my previous post but you could probably tell that the pink herringbone was a big old ravely mess and I miss I had anticipated that because I think I would have skipped the hand tailoring and just fused the whole front. As it was all the handling made the seam allowances all fuzzy and they didn't hold the catch stitching nicely. The project is still turning out fine but all this fraying has me worried a little

Lekala 4162 Fitted Blazer

OMG look how much progress I've achieved overnight. Ok j/k I actually started this jacket on Jan 1st and this was my progress as of Jan 11th. So far I have sewn the front side seams, back side seams and center back seam. I have interfaced all the hems with weft fusible interfacing (Which IS available at Joann's)

 

I've applied a lightweight hair canvas to both the front and side front catch stitching it to the seam allowances. I pad stitched the lapels and taped the edges using 3/8" twill tape. I also catch stitched twill tape to the inside of the roll line (Don't put it on the roll line itself otherwise you won't get a nice turn back) The tape was slightly shorter that the roll line itself and was eased in.

 I created a back stay out of a high thread count muslin and basted it to the seam allowances. I pinked the edges so it wouldn't create a hard visible line on the outside.

Before I applied the canvas to the front I mad double welt pockets with pocket bags made out a fun quilting cotton with "Blah Blah Blah" printed on it as my secret little inside joke.

I applied a heavier hair canvas to the under-collar and pad stitched in a circular pattern. Since these photos were taken I have sewn the shoulder seams and side seams and attached the under-collar to the jacket. The facings had already been sewn together and the upper collar was attached as well.

I also set the sleeves backwards 3x. I'm so talented in that area.

New Year New Project. Lekala 4162

I've had this pink/red herringbone sitting in my stash for years now. I originally bought it from Emma One Sock to make a skirt out of. I only had 2 yards of 54" wide which when your a size 22 limits your choices. So I chose a slightly shrunken blazer from Lekala 4162. I got a shocking pink china silk lining from Mood online and for the pocket lining I used a fun quilting cotton print.

For those of you not familiar with Lekala patterns they are a Russian based company that sells made to measure patterns using CAD technology. They have an American site and a translated Russian site. I use the Russian site because the patterns are cheaper 50c for no seam allowances or $1 with seam allowances (3/8") vs $2.50 for the US site. You can either put in your basic measurements or you can create a data string which takes into account things like shoulder width, whether you breast sags etc.

The muslin was nearly perfect. The only adjustments for fit were narrow shoulder adjustment and a bicep adjustment. I did slash and spread the collars to add more of a curve shape and cut the under collar in two pieces on the bias. Turn of cloth allowance had already been added to the pattern and the sleeves have no ease you don't need to gather the cap at all. I could have probably cut the pattern as is and still have gotten an amazing fit. I plan to adjust my string to account for the changes I have to make.

I'm going do use a light hair canvas on the entire front and pad stitch the collar and lapels. I'm going to bag the lining and do double welt pockets instead of single welt pockets.

OH I forgot to mention the one thing about Lekala patterns is they usually don't have lining patterns and this is because most Russian ladies know how to cut one without a separate pattern. Once you learnt how its super easy.

Anise: Complete and worn in

I finished my Anise sometime before christmas and wore it to Vegas where I very sorely needed it. It's been chilly in LA these days which is actually nice after years of summer all the time. I'm happy it coincided with my finishing my coat I would have been SOL without it. It's really hard to find a nice anything when your size 22.

This is the first real garment I've sewn in years. I've made the odd knit top or scrub set but nothing that really required fitting or skill. Why? I was burn out. Crispy. I had been teaching knitting at a local yarn store 3x a week so knitting slowly replaced sewing for me. Then I took up spinning and weaving. But really the factor that was holding me back was the idea that I was "fat" and fat people don't look good in anything but knits and tents.

I'm hoping to prove this wrong one garment at a time. Admittedly I'm photographing them on a size 13 dress form because thats what I have. They look great on too but I haven't gotten the nerve to take live shots yet.

Ok lets get down to the garment itself this is the Anise by Collette Patterns. The pattern only goes up to size 18 which is a 46" chest. I'm a 50"so I graded up 2 sizes and then made a full bust adjustment, narrow shoulder adjustment, added a little to the back so the side seam wouldn't get pulled back and tapered the sleeves. Oh and I cut the under collar in 2 pieces on the bias and drafted my own lining and adjusted the facing to allow for the bagged hem. I tried this method this time instead of the one Kathleen from FI taught me.

It's not bad, Maybe not as sleek but I think if you were finding your pieces weren't lining up right then the workaround method would get you out of that hole without having to hand stitch anything. I guess I should just do side by side samples and let you make the decision. They do look differently since the workaround I used has the lining flush with the hem where it meets the facing.

I did both the bound buttons and the welt pockets according to the pattern instructions and I regret doing so. It eats up a lot of time and is very fussy. The one tip I did like was when creating the facing windows it suggested using fusible interfacing instead of silk organza which creates a nice finish. I fused the entire front and back using a fusible weft interfacing (which by the way you CAN get a Joann's lest the sewing snobs convince you otherwise) I used bias cut hair canvas on the sleeve hems and the jacket hem. I fused a chest shield as well.

Now about those darn sleeves. I knew they were trouble before I cut them out but I was trying to make it easier on myself since I had already made so many changes. They were too straight and too wide for a tailored jacket. Too much sleeve ease. So I taper the sides after the fact. And the sleeve ease? Well lets say I reverted to an old dirty habit from my home ec days. I just pinned the sleeve so it fitted in the armscye and then trimmed the rest off the top. I spent 2 days of the week it took me to make this jacket fighting with the sleeves.

Do I recommend this pattern? Well since I graded it up and changed so many things I really shouldn't get to have a say. For a newbie sewer I think it's good the illustrations are excellent and their are supplementary instructions on their blog. Just look at a few other peoples finished garments first. I'm notice a lot of them have issues with the shoulder/sleeve area.

The BIGGEST disappointment was my fabric choice. I compromised for color and I shouldn't have. It shows every little press mark and is spongy and stretchy. But the color is perfect.

Quaver Twist Puzzle

So over on Fashion Incubator the other day Kathleen posted a Q twist dress puzzle and then its eventual solution which comprised of cutting circles out of a large piece of fabric (2 yards of a 60" knit). Normally I look at these puzzles/challenges and think oh thats nice and just wait for others to post their solution.

This time I took advantage of the fact that I had finally moved my dressform from where it was smooshed behind the couch and that I just been to the by the pound fabric place and come back with 10lbs of knits.

The diagram looks like this

And the fabric once cut looks like this

Then you drape it on your form and see what happens. Warning. Things get very project runway sad pretty quickly.

This was where I started before I decided to chop into the fabric. Unfortunately once you start chopping you get stuck so far as choices.

And the final result.

I hate 5/8" seam allowances

Things always seem to go bad when I use a pattern with them and can't be bothered trimming them down to 3/8" or 1/4" before I sew them. Things are harder to match up, curves harder to sew then I STILL have to trim down the seam later.

So yeah I am opposed to anything more than 3/8" unless there is a good reason like flat felled seams. If you've done your fitting then theres no need. How often have you actually let a garment out as you've grown out it? Never I'm guessing.