Muslin Take 2 - Butterick 5895

Well, y'all, today went better than yesterday's horrific pant ordeal. This rainy afternoon I managed to make the size 14.  This time I used the cotton sateen that will be my final pair of pants (I bought twice as much as I needed so I could make a muslin in my actual fashion fabric.)  The fit was much better, in that I could get the pants around my body:

Working with this stretch cotton sateen was a LOT easier to work with than the stiff twill stretch icky stuff I used yesterday:

 It was soft, and much easier to pin.  Just like yesterday, I sewed my outside seams so the allowances were on the outside, for future fitting purposes.

 These photos don't really show the true greeness of this fabric - they are a little washed out and make the fabric look a little minty instead.

Here's a shot with flash:

 I'm no expert on fitting pants, but I suspect I need a little extra room in the high hip, a little less fabric in the front rise, and a little extra in the back rise.  But I don't know - it's hard for me to tell without a waistband attached.  

I timed myself this go around, and from the time I sat down and sewed my first stitch on this muslin until I finished the zipper was one hour and sixteen minutes.  Now, I didn't finish seam allowances, or do the waistband, or hem, but still:  these pants are a quick make.  One thing I did do that I didn't do yesterday, I edgestitched and topstitched the front pockets to see if I like it.  Verdict:  I like the edgestitching but the topstitching, not so much.

 Here's a photo that shows more of the true green!

I pray this gives Gertie something to work with while fitting this coming weekend.  I'm hoping these pants become my sloper for any pants in the future!

Goin' to See Gertie - Butterick 5895

I'm going to Gertie's sewing retreat next weekend which I'm pretty excited about (I leave Friday), and the consensus was that pants should be my project for the weekend.  Vicki pointed out that having the opportunity to have someone help me fit my first pair of pants - by the person who drafted the pattern, no less - was an opportunity not to be wasted.  Butterick published Gertie's pattern for a pair of peddle pushers last year:

I wouldn't say it's my style, but it is an easy pair of pants - the zipper is in the back seam, and a good place to start.  I bought the smaller sized pattern that went up to size 12 because size 12 in the Big Four is my usual pattern size.  I plan to make my pants from a gorgeous green stretch cotton sateen I got from, where else?, Gorgeous Fabrics.  

Gertie recommended to the retreat group that we make a muslin prior to our arrival, so we can maximize our time fitting and sewing.  This is my last weekend to make my muslin (nothing like waiting until the last minute to do my homework . . .).  So this morning, I looked at the pattern.

Huh.  Those size 12 finished measurements printed on the pattern look kinda small.  But I'm going to use a stretch fabric, right? That's going to affect fit.  But still.  Those are small measurements.

So in abundance of caution, I went to Hancocks to get the larger size pattern that contained size 14.  Of course, the Butterick patterns weren't on sale today, so the pattern cost me $ 11.00 as opposed to the $ 1.99 I spent on the first one a few weeks ago.  I also bought some stretch twill pictured under the pattern as my muslin fabric.  When I got home, I decided to give the size 12 a try - if it worked, then I could return the larger, $ 11 pattern.

Well, y'all, I can say that the size 12 is definitely too small.  I'm glad I muslined it.  It saved me some major embarrassment at the retreat.  And it wasn't that bad to make.  I didn't worry about topstitching or finishing or trimming seams.  I didn't attach the waistband.  It went pretty quickly.

And then I tried it on.  Well, I tried to try it on.  

To say it was snug was an understatement.  It took a lot of strength to get the zipper up.  I can't believe I'm going to show you my fat behind, but since this is in the interest of science, dear readers, I will sacrifice my dignity:

You can see that I sewed the side seams wrong sides together so the seam allowances are on the outside.  My thinking that I could more easily make alterations, if necessary.  My thinking was correct only if I didn't need like, at least two more inches all the way around:

OK, size 14 is definitely required.  I felt like I needed to lay down after taking these photos with a cool, damp cloth on my forehead.  And never eat again.

I realize this pattern is deliberately close-fit.  I realize that the skirts and dresses I usually make have some fudge factor in them - a precise fit isn't usually required, limited only to how tight you like your skirts.  

So I'm recovering.  Slowly.  I'm trying to learn that no muslin is failure because you learn something as result.  And I've learned to trust the measurements printed on the pattern!

By tomorrow, I'll be recovered enough to make the 14.  Wish me luck.

: )

Cutting Out, Phase I: Complete!

My personal coat-sew-along on the Butterick 5824 1950's coat by Gertie continues.  One of the two challenging aspects of this project was upon me:  cutting out.  My goal was to get the camelhair wool garment pieces cut out and then rest on my laurels for awhile.  As Gertie has mentioned, the layout for cutting is single layer.  Which means you have to cut one pattern piece, remove the pattern, set the cut-out fabric piece aside, flip the pattern piece over, cut the second piece, put the two layers together (carefully matching the edges), and then reattach the pattern piece to both.  And remain aware of which side is the "wrong" side for each piece.  This is not for the faint of heart.

I knew I needed a day where I was well rested and there was plenty of light because my fabric is such a dark green, it looks black.  This Saturday morning was the day.  Gertie says you need two hours for the cutting out process. I was doubtful that I could manage that, so I timed myself just to try to make the process sorta fun.

On the coat sew-along Flicker site, I saw one photo where a sew-alonger laid all her fabric out on a large tile floor in her house.  I envied her large surface space until I realized she was going to have to crawl around on her hands and knees on that hard tile to cut out her coat.  Here was my cutting set up:

It basically consists of two tables, end to end, in my living room to handle the sheer volume of fabric.  In retrospect, I should have put the tables side by side to make a wider surface so that none of the fabric hung over the sides, but by the time I figured this out, the Carpenter had already left the house and I didn't want try move the tables by myself. 

You know how all the sewing books tell you to make sure your fabric doesn't hang off the table when you are cutting out to avoid distortion?  Well, I never paid attention to it and never had a problem with it.  But my camelhair wool is both drapey and a somewhat heavier weight than what I am used to.  And I found with my first pattern piece, number 6 (which is the side back skirt pattern piece), the fabric was definitely distorted.  When I put my two number 6 pieces together after cutting them out separately, I discovered the hemline was a little too long on one side and a little too short on the other, but I decided this wasn't catastrophic as I could compensate when it came time to hem.

So from then on, I spent a lot of time moving the fabric around in order to pin the pattern pieces, while also making sure none of the rest of the fabric hung from the tables.  As you can imagine, this process got easier as I continued to cut because my fabric yardage decreased as I progressed.  But it required that each piece be pinned and cut one at a time.

I also discovered while cutting the first pattern piece that I laid my pattern so that nap on my coat will go up rather than down.  I suppose it doesn't matter which way your nap goes as long as it goes all the same way, but I would have preferred it going down.  But let's pretend this is a deliberate design choice on my part rather than a result of my inattention to detail, shall we???

One decision I needed to make was which fabric to use for the pockets.  Gertie suggests using the wool fabric for that portion of the pocket closest to the body, and the lining fabric for the other side of the pocket, to reduce bulk.  But I hate wearing gloves in winter, and I have a tendency to jam my hands in my pockets to keep them warm, so I cut all four pocket pieces from the camelhair wool to make my pockets as warm as possible.

After two hours and seven minutes into the cutting out process, I took a break and made myself brunch.  Then I went to the fabric store to buy more pins.  I could have gathered errant pins by walking barefoot in my sewing room but I went the wuss route and just bought more.

I resumed in the afternoon, and by the time I finished, I probably spent about three and half hours cutting out.  This does not include marking - I'll mark the pieces as I use them.  I just don't have the energy for marking all the pieces right now.  I also discovered that I had nearly a yard left over.  I think this is due to buying a little more fabric than the pattern called for, and doing everything I could to conserve fabric while I was cuting out.  I used the leftover fabric to re-cut pattern piece number 6 again which made me feel immensely better - and I found that I had no problem cutting both pieces at the same time by folding the fabric.  So I am puzzled by pattern's instructions to cut this out single layer, at least for the skirt pieces.  I can only assume that the single layer layout is to conserve fabric, and the double layer may not work if your fabric is anything less than 60 inches wide.  My was, and I wish I had figured this out sooner.  I'll remember this, though, when it comes time to cut out the lining.

So the garment fabric is finally cut.  It isn't marked.  And I've decided to wait and cut out the lining when I need it - I just can't face it now.  The temptation is to jump in and start sewing, but I'm resisting this.  I see this coat as an exercise in restraint and slow sewing - virtually unknown to me - so I am making myself put this aside for a while and work on a dress I have in progress.  I have to remember this coat is marathon, not a sprint!

P.S. You may notice I didn't do a muslin for this coat.  I don't like muslins.  And yes, I realize I'm taking a big risk, but this is a coat, not a close fitting garment, and the finished measurements printed on the pattern lead me to believe I'll be fine.  : )

Vogue 8648 - The Couture Dress

I saw an advertisement for a Craftsy course by Susan Khalje and I thought, I don't need to pay the money for the course, I'll just wait for Vogue 8648 to go on sale for $ 3.99 and sew it myself.  So I did.  Here is Vogue 8648:

And here is my version.  I made view C, which is the yellow dress above:

I made it from a wool/silk blend I found at the expensive fabric store in town which I bought on sale in February.  It's a blue/gray soft plaid that was a joy to sew, so I am a bit distressed to see how much the dress wrinkled in the photo above.  The dress is fully lined, so it was basically like making two dresses.  I started out by lining the dress in habotai silk, which I didn't realize was such a PITA to work with.  (Gertie didn't come out with her post on this diabolical silk until AFTER I started this project.)  So only the sleeves are lined in the silk, as I decided life was too short to try to wrestle silk into this dress.  I lined the rest of the dress in a swiss cotton satin batiste.  The biggest challenge with this dress was matching the plaid.  I was thrilled with my results:

(Can you tell???)  Here's a close up of the front waist band:

Here's a close up of the side.  I was excited by this:

I didn't bother with a muslin because I hate muslins, and the finished garment measurements printed on the pattern assured me that it would at least go around my body sufficiently.   That was probably a mistake.  I made my usual size 12 and had no problems, except for the bodice.  The side front was cut on the bias, and either the pattern piece was too long for my torso, or the bias stretched as I worked with it (I suspect it stretched). Here's a close up of the front neckline, and it is obvious that the neckline is too low.  It's not just that there is more cleavage showing that I am comfortable with, but that I have problems keeping my sleeves on my shoulders:

I also can't lift my arms very high - the armholes sit too low, causing restricted movement of my arms.  You should have seen me trying to close my car door yesterday morning! 

All of this is a real shame because I enjoyed making the dress so much - the plaid, the matching, the lining, all the interesting top stitching.  Even the sleeves.  For some inexplictable reason, the sleeves are cut in two pieces and sewn together (my matching on the sleeves was excellent; I forgot to get a photo of it), but they went into the armholes practically on their own - there was no need to do the whole basting and gathering thing to get the sleeves eased in.  It was magic. 

It's just the wearing of the actual garment that I don't like.  Mostly the inability to move, I guess.  And the revealing nature of the neckline.  I wore a jacket over it at work so I was sufficiently covered up:

 And of course, I realize I have no one to blame but myself!  A muslin would have helped enormously.  Taking Susan Khalje's course would have probably prompted me to do the muslin.  Well, maybe.  OK, doubtful.  I'd like to say this project wasn't a waste because I learned the value of doing a muslin, but that would be a lie.  I hate doing muslins so much that I am quite cheerful about having a project not work out every once in a while as the price I pay not to do them in all other projects that do work out.  I have learned that if I am thinking about sewing a close fitting dress, I'm taking a significant chance that it might not fit - and if that is a problem, maybe I need to choose another project.  So despite the three weekends it took me to make this dress, I'm glad its over and I'll probably be donating this dress - maybe someone who is my size whose a bit longer in the torso will benefit. Still, its a shame because the fabric is lovely . . .

: )