Old and bright and late – Jalie 2682 as bike jersey

This project has been a long time coming. Not just in that I cut it out a full month ago, made it two weeks ago and am just blogging it now, but in that I bought this pattern and fabric literally years ago with this exact project in mind, and it took me until now(ish) to get around to it. When the Slapdash Sewist pointed out this waffley athletic fabric on FFC back in 2011 (egad!), I immediately ordered a yard with a bike jersey in mind. I had no pattern ideas until I stumbled across Jalie 2682 - I thought the zipper version would make a perfect bike jersey. And then I did nothing about it for a long time. I even made up the regular shirt version of the pattern in the meantime. But I was finally spurred into action (very leisurely action) by  Cation Design’s Vibrant Color Stashbusting Challenge last month. And was just getting warm enough for sleeveless bike jerseys! And then… April happened. And the jersey didn’t. But, better late than never, right? It’s still old stash, and it’s certainly a vibrant color. It’s just a little late.

And the verdict? Well, what I learned here was that the reason I haven’t made a previous foray into self-stitched bike-wear is a good one: the fabrics kinda suck. This is Poly with a capital P fabric, and the waffle weave that’s supposed to be cooling and wicking (I assume) in fact just makes the fabric thicker and poufier, not exactly traits you want in close-fitting athletic wear. It also pulls off that great double trick of cheap knits in that it manages to feel thick and at the same time still cling and show every lump and bump. In my test ride with the jersey, the word that sprung to mind was “cozy”, which, again, is not my ideal workout shirt descriptor. But I guess that means it will make a good winter jersey with one of my boleros! (Seriously, these bike boleros are maybe the best bike clothes invention ever. They don’t slip down like armwarmers and they California-winterize a sleeveless jersey perfectly. I have like three.)

But as for the pattern itself? I do think I was right that it’s a good candidate for a bike jersey. It has a sporty look about it to start with (this bothered me on the shirt version, and I think I’ve figured out what makes it that way – no bust gathers. If the bodice were gathered a little into a midriff band I think I would like it better. That’s totally my next hack of this pattern. But I digress) that works well for a jersey, and it has a somewhat looser fit through the torso, something that you sometimes want in a jersey, actually (or at least one that’s made from insulating waffle polyester). And it already has a zipper, obviously. So I didn’t really make any mods to the basic pattern. The only change I made was lengthening it in the center back about an inch to create the curved back hem all my favorite jerseys have. This is a pretty long top, though, so I ended up actually taking off an inch all around before hemming, still preserving the curved back edge.  I like my jerseys long, but not that long. (I also managed to sew a dreadful meandering hem. Oops.) The only other adjustment I’d consider making to the pattern if I attempt bike clothes again would be to try to figure out how to reduce the amount of fabric at the back neckline. I like a little collar on my jerseys, but this is a little too tall.

The main way I jerseyed it up, though, was to add pockets to the back. Back pockets are an absolute necessity for me, because I need a place to put my phone and any food I might need for the ride. I sort of drafted a pocket piece off an existing jersey, but it was really just a very slight trapezoid shape that was about 6 inches narrower than the back piece. I zigzagged elastic across the top edge of the pocket piece, turned it down and twin needled (all my jersey pockets are elasticized across the top). I attached it to the lower back piece by flipping the pocket piece upside down and sewing along the bottom, right sides together, then flipping it right side up and topstitching along the bottom for security. Then I topstitched along the side edges and up the middle in two places to create the pockets. I did this before I sewed the side seams of the jersey to make it easier. I placed the pocket piece about two inches from the bottom edge, but I find the pockets a bit low. Next time I’ll attach the pocket piece an inch and a half higher at least, so the stuff in the pockets will sit in the small of my back.

So, would I try this again? Honestly, it all depends on the fabric. If I ever stumble across a nice, real athletic knit that’s breathable and has food recovery (something this fabric definitely doesn’t have, hence the wibbly zipper), I would totally go for it. But I’m not committed to the idea enough to order dozens of swatches online in a quest for the ever elusive fabric-as-nice-as-RTW. And frankly, I seriously doubt I can find a fabric for sale anywhere that lives up to the awesome proprietary performance fabrics my RTW jerseys are made of. I mean, really, have you ever found yardage that you’ve touched and thought, hey, I could sweat in this for 100 miles? I know I haven’t. If something perfect does just walk into my stash, though, I have lots of ideas to real-jersey-up this pattern – reflective piping along the underbust seam, back pockets finished with contrast fold-over elastic, grippy paint along the inside bottom hem… But as it is I will wear this jersey occasionally, I think. And it’ll just motivate me to ride faster, so no one will be able to see all the terribly wonky topstitching!

On one last bike-related note, I can pass off at least a little of the delay of this post (just a little, mostly it was just my traditional procrastination) on the fact that I spent last Saturday riding the Tour of Long Beach Cruz Gran Fondo, a pretty flat 100 miles going down the coast and back. It was my third century and by far my fastest at 7 hours 20 minutes, mostly because it had almost no hills. (Though needless to say, I still did not wear this jersey.) I was very happy with my time, and even more happy about the craft beer garden at the finish! That, and the fact that when we rode past the Pageant of the Masters sign in Laguna Beach I totally yelled “There are dozens of us! Dozens!” Yeah there are.

Vogue 1179: my kind of sack

Is it still stashbusting when the fabric has only been in your stash for 3 weeks? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Luckily the pattern at least was unearthed from cold storage, where it has lain lo these many (well, maybe three) years. In what I think is the true spirit of the Pattern Review Pattern Stash Contest, I’m making up old patterns that I’ve remained really excited about, even though I’ve for whatever reason not ever turned them into garments. Usually that reason is that I’ve never found just the right fabric for them. That was certainly the case with poor Vogue 1179. I really liked this pattern, and had the perfect, beautiful silk jersey for it, purchased a few years ago at Michael Levine… where I didn’t notice that it was only 45 inches wide, and therefore I did not, in fact, buy enough for this dress. So into the stash box/pile they both went.

But as I was sifting through the pattern box for oldies but goodies, I pulled it out, and immediately my eye was drawn to the turquoise poly knit on top of the pile of my recent LA haul. You know, that fabric I bought with no project in mind at all? The fabric I assumed would be the last of the haul I’d get around to? Yeah, well, suddenly it had to be this dress. right. now.

This pattern, along with the ubiquitous 1250, were the popular 3-piece Vogue designer dresses that everyone and their mother were making a year or two ago. And with good reason – who doesn’t want to whip out a dress in a day? I certainly do. I washed and cut the fabric one day, and sewed it all the next, though certain fiddly bits did keep me at it for more than just the couple hours the three pattern pieces would seem to indicate it should take.

I started off quite well, whipping out the five pleats at the neckline in record time. Sidebar: does anyone actually do pleats as instructed by the pattern companies? These instructions would have you “crease” along the line with small circles (how do you crease poly jersey, pray tell?), bring the crease to the other line, then baste on top of the pleat close to the crease. What? I just fold along the middle of the pleat and baste down the marked lines. I don’t generally even mark the lines on my fabric, I just baste straight down from my clip marks a little ways. Then I unfold the piece and press the pleat in whatever direction is indicated by the instruction illustration and baste across the top. I feel this is not only easier than the instructed method, but makes a neater and more accurate pleat too! I know I didn’t come up with this method myself, which means that at least some patterns instruct you to do it my way, so why the “crease” rigmarole here? Vogue just trying to be obstinate, I guess. Anyway, end of rant. Here’s a comparison shot of crazy complicated instructions and super fast easy pleats (and you can also see the cool textured stripe this fabric has):

I attached the cowl easily (again ignoring the instructions to just attach one side then slipstitch the inside down… not gonna happen. I just folded the cowl in half and attached it as one; the seam is totally hidden when worn), but where I got bogged down was the armhole finishing. The armholes as drafted were way too high and tight for me. I first attempted to finish them using clear elastic as instructed (hadn’t I learned not to trust these instructions yet?), but that just made them tighter. I cut them down a little and tried again, same thing. After yet another trim and elastic attachment I called uncle, cut them down another half inch and just turned and twin needled, which is what I should have done from the start. I probably took the bottom of the armscye down about an inch in all (my low armpits strike again!), but in the trimming process I also whittled away the sides of the armscye too much, making the section between the armhole and the neckline narrower than I’d like. Whoops.

The hem that’s called for is a full 4 inches, and I like the idea of a deep hem on this design a lot. However, a 4 inch hem is not easy to twin needle, let me tell you. My hem is a little wonky, since even though I pinned the heck out of it, that still didn’t make me good at keeping my stitching line straight without a seam guide. But I don’t think the slightly uneven hem is too obvious when worn. I added an inch and a half to the length when I cut it out, but once it was together and I pinned up the hem I wanted it shorter so I took the extra off again, so it ended up the drafted length. Any longer and it exacerbated the flowy-fabric-catches-on-giant-thighs-and-pooches-out-over-stomach problem I’ve been having a lot lately. It’s still happening even with the shorter hemline, but to be fair I can kind of see it on the pattern envelope picture and I think it’s just a tendency of the design. I really should have cut a bigger size from hips to hem, I guess.

Overall I’m not sure this is the most flattering dress in the world (all the back pictures were appalling with the amount of fabric pooling above the butt, but how can you do a swayback adjustment on a sack dress?), but I sure like it. It’s a sack, but it’s a really elegant sack that can be dressed up with heels or down with leggings. I’ll admit that I’m a bit puzzled by the idea of a cozy cowl neck on a sleeveless dress, but it works. Of course, I’m totally going to be putting sleeves on it come fall. A girl needs a fancy sack for every season, right?

My full pattern review slash contest entry can be found here.

McCall’s 5974, or: I’m so predictable

This is maybe the most unsurprising post ever. What? I made a knit dress in a bold print from one of the most popular knit patterns ever, and I love it? I truly apologize for being so predictable. I suppose the only slightly unexpected thing about this dress is that it took me so long to get around to it.

The pattern is, of course, McCall’s 5974, the Palmer/Pletsch pattern that they actually call “the perfect knit dress”. Ordinarily I would take umbrage at that sort of labeling, but you know what? It is pretty perfect. It’s the classic crossover bodice with just the right amount of pleating, a skirt with lovely front pleats that give it the perfect amount of swishy fullness, and a tapered tie/belt/thing that defines the waist nicely. The only thing that’s not perfect about this pattern is how much fabric it requires! This sucker, with its long waist ties, cannot be squeezed out of 2 or even 2 and a half yards. Ask me how I know that. The reason it’s taken me so long to actually make it up is that the 4 or 5 previous times I thought I’d found the perfect fabric and laid it all out to cut I’d come up short. Finally, when I saw a bolt of this awesome print rayon knit at the crazy Solvang store, I thought of this pattern and cut off 3 yards and some change. Just to be safe. And so the perfect knit dress finally happened!

I made only one adjustment: on Amanda’s sage advice (sidebar: I love her graduated dot version! I thought I would have to be content with admiring it, since it’s such a unique fabric, but I just happened across a very similar fabric down here in LA and I nabbed it! I feel a copycat dress coming on…) I narrowed the wide end of the ties so they don’t come up as high on the side seam. I cut a 10-top-12-bottom as usual and I just took it in a little in the upper arm/armpit/upper bust area. I do wish that I had done my usual wrap top SBA by pinching out an inch or so along the neckline, since it does gape a bit when I slouch. Well, next time! I finished the neckline my usual way, by zigzagging clear elastic to the wrong side along the edge, then folding it under and twin needle topstitching. It’s by far my favorite v-neck finishing technique because it’s very easy and much more foolproof for me than a self fabric binding (and I sure hate cutting long skinny strips of fiddly stretchy rayon knit).

The back is not broken up by a midriff, and has a center back seam, both of which I thought I would be annoyed by but I’m not. If I ever make it without the tie belt, though, I would probably want to add a back midriff for balance and eliminate the seam, since the midriff would serve the same swayback-shaping purpose.

One last thing of note about this pattern – it may be the perfect knit dress pattern, but it’s far from the perfect knit instructions. As it has been extensively noted on PR (wow, I’m pretty sure I’m the last person on earth to make this dress), these instructions are like out of 1988. I mean, I am not slipstitching the midriff lining down over the skirt seam, thank you very much. And in what universe would this dress need a zipper? Honestly, I really only glanced at the instructions anyway, since I’d heard they were not great and I’ve assembled about a million of these type of dresses anyway. One thing I did notice was that the layout diagram told me to attach the two pieces of piece 8, the tie, together before cutting, but my tie pattern was all in one piece. I must have gotten a newer printing of the pattern tissue and an old instruction sheet. I was suspicious because I felt like the tie was a little short, but it’s like that on the pattern photo so I think I cut it the full length. (Not that you can see it in this busy print, but trust me that it’s on the short side.) I may make it a smidge longer next time.

If I have ever have enough of one fabric to make this pattern again, that is.

Knit Three-peat: Vogue 1194, Butterick 5346, and Vogue 8511

First of all, thank you all for your nice comments (and votes!) for my RTW knockoff dress! I really love figuring out how to use existing patterns to replicate things I’ve seen in stores. (Is anyone interested in a post about my method for picking patterns for knockoffs? Planning them is half the fun for me, even if I never get around to making the actual garment.)

But it’s funny how after a mad rush to finish something for a deadline, I almost always fall into a slump of inactivity… I have completed a couple things, but a random cold sidetracked me from finishing (or, ahem, well, starting) my trousers before I was separated from my machine for a couple weeks working away from home. So to make up for my sad lack of posting in the last two weeks, pants or otherwise, here I present three garments in one post. Shocked? You should be. But probably just by the terrible, terrible pun I have committed in the post title. I apologise, but it had to be done.

Because, yes, these three knit dresses are all patterns I have made before! Also shocking, I’m sure, (well, mostly just to me) since I’m generally not a pattern-revisiter. Too many shiny new patterns out there! But for some reason, in January I pulled out three patterns I’d made before and took another stab at them.

Let’s start with Vogue 1194:

This was one of the first knit dress patterns I ever made, into maybe my first true-love-success! knit dress. I made it up in a nice ITY print from Gorgeous Fabrics for an anniversary dinner a couple years ago (almost exactly 2 years ago, since my anniversary is at the end of March), and I have worn it a ton since then. It’s my go-to cool-weather-dress-up dress. So when I was looking for a practical winter work dress to make from this super nice jersey I got at the FIDM store, I thought this pattern would be perfect. I mean, I didn’t want to screw up a great fabric on a pattern that didn’t work! So I went for it. And it worked, for the most part. I cut the same size as before (including cheater SBA – folding out length in the neckline), but somehow the elastic in the waist bands ended up tighter. Stiffer elastic? More careless with measuring? Both possible. It’s tight but still wearable, though since the front band is somehow much less wide than the dress front, it pulls and gathers the sides of the bodice a bit so it looks like there are more pleats than there are.

Also, I used the pockets on this version, omitted in the first one because my fabric was so light. The instructions for sewing them are really weird, but I went with it because, well, it must be like this for a reason, right? Wrong. They have you sew one pocket piece to the skirt front, understitch it, sew the other pocket piece to the first one, then sew the skirt sides, catching the back pocket piece while avoiding the front. Not necessary at all. I should have just done the usual sew-the-side-seams-including-around-the-pockets method. Because of the weird construction as well as the understitching stretching out the pocket seam on the front, the pockets gape and stick out a bit. Oh well. Another keeping-hands-in-pockets-at-all-times dress.

FInally, I think this pattern is better in a heavier, more drapey jersey. This fabric has the most wonderful soft and smooth hand, but it’s still on the light side so it poufs just slightly more than I’d like it to rather than falling flatteringly from the waistline. Still, it’s a solid pattern and I’ve already worn this version a bunch.

Next up, Butterick 5246:

I made my first one of these last winter out of a random cheapo jersey and I wear it all the time. It’s a really good casual dress to wear with leggings for a bike commute in cooler weather. One such day in January when wanted to wear it and it was dirty, it suddenly occurred to me that I should make another one (duh)! I had a thick, super stretchy striped jersey from Girl Charlee that I wasn’t sure what to do with, and equally suddenly it latched itself to this pattern in my mind. But when I washed the fabric, like several other striped knits I’ve gotten from them, sadly, the different colored stripes shrunk at different rates and I ended up with what looked basically like seersucker. That was still heavy and super stretchy. There was also almost not enough (it went from 2 yards of 60″ to like a yard and a half of 45  inch!) to make this pattern at all, but I did some of my best desperate pattern puzzling and barely got it all cut out. I made the sleeves as long as the fabric would allow, which was not very long, so I added bands to the sleeves to lengthen them a little. (The contrasting stripe direction was more about available fabric scraps than a design choice, but a happy necessity. The fabric is so stretchy in all directions that I didn’t need to worry about grainlines!) I did not line the bodice, instead finishing the neckline with a self binding strip.

Ultimately, though, this fabric proved a little too heavy for this pattern. The weight of the skirt pulls both the empire seam and the neckline lower than they should be. And because it’s so stretchy, even after taking it in on the sides a bunch, it still pulls away from my body at the underbust seam because of the weight of the center gathers (which makes it maybe the least flattering dress ever from the side). I wonder if going back in and sewing elastic to the seam allowance would pull it in a little? I may try it at some point, but for now I’m just wearing it as is. It’s more casual than I was envisioning, but the thick fabric is warm, anyway.

Finally, here’s Vogue 8511, a pattern for woven fabrics that I (quelle surprise!) made up in a knit:

I was inspired to pull this out when I saw a houndstooth doubleknit version pop up on PR, and I was reminded of a similar baby houndstooth doubleknit I had gotten from Fashion Fabrics Club eons ago that I didn’t know what to do with.

Again I just cut the size I had cut before (since my previous version was in a stretch poplin, and this fabric was a stable knit, they stretch about the same). Bonus to reusing patterns: you don’t have to cut through the pattern tissue when you cut your fabric (yes I cut out my pattern tissue. For commercial patterns that I get on super sale, who cares? Also I am lazy, in case you hadn’t noticed). I saved the center back seam for last, basting it first to be sure I could squeeze the dress on over my head, and success – no zipper necessary! I did sew the waist seam with a legit “stretch stitch”, the triple straight stitch, to make sure it didn’t pop with the stress of pulling it over my chest (luckily there isn’t much chest to strain it). I didn’t line the bodice, just turning the neckline under and topstitching to finish it.

I will say that this version has the same problem as the last version: the waist seam allowance is annoying. It wants to lay facing up because of the bulk from the skirt pleats, but then it’s visible slash creates unnecessary waistline bulk. This dress really wants a belt, I think, but none of my belts look good with this fabric. So I wore it without and tried to forget about the bulky waist seam. Just goes to show that I almost always prefer a midriff on my dresses!

So what did these three dresses show me about remaking patterns? Well, honestly, that I can see why I almost never do it. I have to say that I don’t like any of these dresses more (or even as much as) my original makes. Maybe it takes three tries at a pattern to get it perfect – the first to get you excited, the second to show you what you did wrong or need to fix about the pattern, so the third time’s the charm? Oh boy, I’m pretty sure I don’t have the patience for that.

Frankenpattering a RTW knock-off

I’ve lost a little of the sewing mojo lately. After finishing a bunch of things in January that I just wasn’t that over the moon about (and I will post someday, really), and studiously ignoring the two projects that I’ve started cutting and really need to make (pants and a jacket), and quite frankly just lazing around (two whole days spent reading Gone Girl, for instance – warning: it is exactly as un-put-downable as everyone says it is), I was looking for a project to get me going again. As usual in this case, I turned to a PR contest. The RTW knock off contest is one of my favs, since I enjoy figuring out how to modify existing patterns to copy designs I’ve seen in stores (and also because it enables my terrible habit of going into shops and scoffing “well, I can make that“).

But February was passing fast, and nothing was really jumping out at me. Of the likely RTW candidates I had chosen from my inspiration file, I either didn’t have a suitable pattern or the right fabric in stash. Then, miraculously, a week and a half ago I pulled a lavender doubleknit out of a pile at the crazy fabric store and was reminded of a lavender ponte dress from Banana Republic that I had seen in the store last winter, scoffed at, and then actually went home and saved the picture to my computer for distant future knock-off purposes. Looking at it again I also finally realised that I had the perfect pattern(s) in stash to use for it, so I tossed the fabric into the wash and started it the next day. And, you know, it actually kind of worked out.

I started with Simplicity 2219 as my bodice. It’s funny, after I first saw the dress I remember scouring the pattern websites for a dress or top pattern that mimicked the neckline shape, with the two bands meeting in a V then continuing straight down to the midriff. And somehow I missed this one. Huh. I guess it took actually making it up this summer to lodge it in my brain, because it’s basically the exact. same. shape. The inspiration even has the slight racerback style of this pattern. So I really didn’t have to modify the bodice at all. I used the bodice lining piece for my main front piece, since I just wanted the shape but not the gathered overlay of the original pattern. I didn’t line the bodice (though I did line the bands) because my fabric was heavy and also I only had a yard and a half. I finished the armsyces with narrow bands as a nod to the inspiration piece, though its bands are wider. It was a bit of a brain puzzle to figure out how to assemble the bodice without the lining, but eventually I figured it out. I left the side seams for last for fitting purposes. The midriff pieces came from Simplicity 3503. I could doubtless have nicked a midriff from any number of patterns, or just drafted one myself, but I grabbed this one and it worked perfectly. If I make another 2219 sometime this summer (and I might, I like this bodice pattern) I’ll use this midriff again, because frankly I think this pattern kind of needs a midriff. I topstitched the midriff again as a nod to the inspiration (which might actually have piping? I can’t remember nor can I tell from the picture).

But then came the skirt, and here’s where my Frankenpattern monster got away from me a little. At first I was just going to draft a rectangle skirt and pleat it front and back, since I prefer a fuller skirt generally. But the inspiration had more of a fitted pencil skirt, with back darts and what looked like slash pockets, and I had McCall’s 5927 in my stash, so I figured, why not? I should have gone with my original plan. I suppose I assumed that the bottom of the midriff would hit at my natural waist, where the skirt of the McCall’s dress was supposed to start, but it wound up being a little higher than that. I think this threw off the curvature of the skirt, so I’m getting drag lines above the pockets and there’s some weird wrinkling near the midriff at my natural waist. Not helping is the fact that my, well, ample bottom and hips are a little too big even for the size 14 that I cut in the skirt, so the sides are pulling toward the back and preventing the pleats from falling straight. It might be exacerbated by the fact that I converted the pattern’s two pleats per side to just two big pleats, like the BR dress has. Ah, well, that’s what I get for being a slave to the inspiration. The problem is solved, though, if I just keep my hands in the pockets!

I saved the ruffle for last. I had cut three lengths of fabric that were 3 inches wide, a half inch wider than the bands. They seemed really wide when I cut them, but after they were turned into ruffles and attached to the bands (by sewing straight down the middle of the ruffle, and having the seams of the ruffle at the shoulder seams), I kind of wished they were just a little wider. I can still see the neckline bands peeking out behind the ruffle sometimes. I thought the ruffle would be the hardest part of the project, but it turned out to be the easiest! Tedious, but straightforward.

In the end, though, I don’t know how I feel about this dress. I’m pleased that I (mostly) successfully knocked off the Banana dress, and it got me sewing again, but ultimately why did I do it? I mean, it’s an awesome contest, but I certainly won’t win (still, do vote for me next week if you’re so inclined – the prize is Mood money!). I don’t really need a dress like this right now, and I bought new fabric for it rather than sewing from stash, as I really need to do. Well, if nothing else, perhaps it will guilt me into finishing the Thurlow trousers I started cutting out before Christmas, and that I’ve been putting off because they seem slightly daunting. But hey, if I can frankenpattern a ruffled dress into existence in a week, surely pants can’t be any harder. And it’ll be kind of a relief to have some instructions, at least.

My pattern review slash contest entry can be found here, and all the contest entries are here, check it out. It really is my favorite contest. Voting begins on the 3rd!

“Stashbusting” silliness – sewing my strangest fabric

The Stash Monster is eating our office. Seriously, I have so much fabric it’s ridiculous; stacks and stacks in teetering piles on the floor and the sittables of our spare room/office, with only a semicircle of clear floor around the desk unencroached upon. So of course I wanted to participate in the Stashbusting Sewalong co-hosted by Cation Designs. Each month has a theme, and of course February’s is “love” – that is, make something from stash for a loved one. Add needing a special Valentine’s gift to the equation, and I finally had the motivation to sew up what is possibly the Most Bizarre Fabric I Have Ever Encountered.

I picked this up at (where else?) the Crazy Fabric Store a couple years ago. I mean, how could I not? I always intended it to become something for my husband, but I didn’t really know what. I only had a yard of it, so there weren’t a lot of options. I considered making a tie, but that would only showcase a sliver of the awesomeness (plus he sadly almost never wears ties), so I finally decided on boxer shorts. Really awesomely weird boxer shorts:

Why yes, that is a Hawaiian-style print with all Russian things! I’m particularly fond of the poorly illustrated caviar in the bottom right corner… Please, tell me, why does this fabric exist? Why can I find Russian-Hawaiian-shirt fabric but not a nice chevron print jersey? And why was there enough of this fabric in the world that not only did a bolt of it show up in a discount fabric store in Solvang but also online at Fashion Fabrics Club? (I actually saw this exact print, in two colorways, for sale on that site last year. I had a minor freakout at the time, but couldn’t tell my husband why I was convulsing because I was keeping the fabric a secret from him until I made it into something. So of course I have no proof. Wait holy crap I found it! It’s still for sale! That means you too can make bizarre Russian boxers for your special someone!) At any rate, I’m glad it does exist, because my husband has a random affinity for all things Russian, so this fabric seemed like an in-joke especially for him.

For the boxers, I used the Simplicity 2317 pajama pattern as a base. I used the XL in the regular pajama pants pattern, and cut them off just under the crotch (I made them as long as my fabric would allow, which is to say not very long at all. The inseam on these is no more than 2 inches, hence the very narrow serged-and-turned hem.) Since it’s a pj pants pattern, the crotch is rather low for boxers; I’d raise it if I used it again. I measured the elastic for the waistband off a pair of his RTW boxers. And I cut an appropriate piece of the print (my husband loves chili peppers) from a scrap, serged the edges, and stitched it on the inside back as a tag so he could more easily tell front from back. From cut to finish I’d say these took no more than an hour and a half. I can see myself making more boxers in the future – they’re a good way to showcase a wacky print that, well, perhaps I may not want featured in a garment that my companion wears on the outside… Anyhoo, he loved the finished product, even though they’re far from perfect. It’s the thought that counts – and the bizarro fabric, of course.

So that’s my “stashbusting” for the month. I say stashbusting in quotes because, really, sewing up a fabric that took up probably a millimeter of space in the stack (it’s rayon, so it’s super thin and folds up to be almost nonexistent) is not exactly making a dent in the Monster consuming the office. Sigh. I may not be capable of busting the stash, as evidenced by what’s on my sewing (/dining) table now: two dresses using fabric from my most recent visit to said crazy store – they didn’t even make it into the office at all! (One of them I’m trying to finish for the current PR contest, which ends – gasp – day after tomorrow! Best be getting on that.) Not to mention I just found out that I’m being sent to LA for work again next month… and how could I not partake of the fabulous fabric offerings of that great city when I’m living there for two and a half weeks? Especially not when I could have the opportunity to do so with awesome local sewasauruses? (And I now can track you all down, thanks to this totally brilliant map!) So what do you say, anyone in LA want to meet up and support my totally unhealthy stash habit? Or, ya’ know, just hang out. But surely our office can hold just a couple more cuts of fabric…

Simplicity 1716 – a cowly win!

It may be (just slightly) clear at this point that I enjoy a cowl neckline. While I do like the sew-on-a-tube variety of cowl, my favorite is the all-in-one-drapey-bodice type cowl (is it called a “cut-on cowl? I think it is). I have a couple of this type of shirt from Gap a few years ago that I love, and I’ve been on the hunt for a pattern to make more. I like McCall’s 6078 (oh, it’s out of print now! Sad.), but it’s sleeveless (could I add sleeves? Well, yes – in fact, I did once) and the cowl is a little lower than I like. Enter Simplicity 1716. And you know, it’s pretty perfect.

I had my eye on this pattern since it was released in the fall, and even though I was excited to try it, other projects kept pushing it down the queue. I actually cut it out back in December, but ran out of time before the holidays so I didn’t sew it up until the new year. But once I finally sat down to sew, I had a shirt in about an hour. Easy but not boring is my absolute favorite combination! A couple of pleats at the shoulder, back neckline finish, then just sleeves and side seams. I omitted the strange additional pleat that comes out of the armscye (I just folded it out of the pattern before I cut) because I thought it was odd and I don’t need the extra room in the bust (plus one less pleat to sew!). Bonus points: it fit well with no adjustments (cutting my regular 10-grade-to-12). And it’s really long, something I like in a top.

There’s not much more to say about this one, but it’s a keeper! I will certainly make another of these (maybe a couple) and I’ll give the weird twisty neckline variation a try at some point (even though some clever blogger that I can’t place right now thought it looked like the neckline was eating the model’s head, and now that’s all I can think of when I see the pattern envelope… still, might be worth the risk of head-consumption).

My pattern review can be found here.

Oh, yeah, and about the fabric: this is another piece I dug from the bins at Michael Levine Loft back in November, just a regular ol’ cotton-lycra jersey that was a pretty color and had a nice hand. Or so I thought. Those wrinkles you see in the picture if you zoom in (or, really, just look closely)? They’re permanent. Although it looks like I’ve just left the shirt at the bottom of a pile of dirty clothes for a week, in fact this is what it looks like fresh from the dryer. And it’s totally impervious to ironing. Not only does the iron not remove the wrinkles, but it makes the fabric turn a darker shade of purple for several minutes. This is a crazy thing, right? Is my fabric possessed? Well, it’s lucky I really really like this shirt. ‘Cause this sucker’s getting worn a lot, even if it makes me look like I just rolled out of bed.

Adventures in sweater knits: Vogue 8634 and Jalie 2682

I’m still playing catch-up with posts (which is good since I have not sewn a stitch in over a week! – too crazy at work), so here’re two tops I whipped up before Christmas. I had never sewed with a sweater knit, so when I came across a couple pieces in the piles at Michael Levine Loft in LA I picked them up, thinking they’d make good cozy tops for my holiday travels to colder climes. I wasn’t sure about what patterns would pair well with sweater knits, but I theorised that tops without neckband finishing would be ideal, since sweater knits are not the most elastic of the knit fabrics and I didn’t want to mess about with neck bindings or bands.

To that end I started with Vogue 8634 for the thicker magenta piece. I’ve had this pattern for forever (purchased, obviously, because it features two of my favorite design elements: cowl neck and empire seam), but somehow I never managed to get it to the top of the queue. The cowl neck is my favorite solution to the I-can’t-bind-a-neckline-in-this-fabric dilemma, so it seemed a no-brainer.

And, well, it’s okay. I thought I would like this pattern more, given the legions of positive reviews on PR, but it just doesn’t quite work for me. The raglan sleeves, which are usually a feature I like, seem to slide off my shoulders somewhat, and the neckline seam where the cowl attaches hits wider than my bra straps, which seems a bit wide. I’ve got a bunch of fabric pooling between my armpit and my boob (any ideas why this is? It happens to me a fair bit. Is it a small bust thing? Wrong pattern size?) and the armsyces are rather low for my taste. The empire line serves no purpose, it’s just a design detail (and one I like, so I didn’t omit it as many folks have), but in this thickish fabric the topstitching just looks kinda amateurish. I’m not sure if a different size or some fitting or a different fabric would make me like the pattern more, but the whole point of this kind of pattern is to make a quick knit top without much futzing, so I don’t know that it’s worth the effort to find out. There are a thousand cowl neck top patterns out there (and I may actually own about 900 of them), so I’ll probably just move on.

For my second piece of sweater knit, not wanting to make another cowl, I cast about for a different no-neckband style pattern. Enter Jalie 2682, which I bought a long time ago when I had a coupon at PR and then promptly forgot about. Well, that is, I forgot it could be used to make a normal top, since I bought it to try my hand at making a bike jersey using the sleeveless, zippered neck option (I still hope to get to that this summer!). But when I pulled the pattern out again and really looked at it, I realised it would be perfect for a fabric that’s tricky to work with.

This pattern is frigging ingenious. When I finally deciphered the instructions (which are printed sideways in a corner of the pattern sheet, in small print, with all the diagrams separate from the text and labeled with numbers to correspond with the steps, which I hate), I totally fell in love with the construction method. Basically you cut two identical front pieces, lay them right sides together, stitch a line right down the middle, then fold it over (like a butterfly) and the line of stitching in the middle becomes the center seam and the fold the finished the neckline. Brilliant. Plus it goes together super fast. I so loved this pattern when I was assembling it, but sadly I liked it less once I put it on. Don’t get me wrong, I do think this top is a win, I’m just not as over the moon about it as I thought I would be. I wanted slash assumed that this top would end up a little dressier, but the pattern is kind of sporty to begin with, and with this fabric it turned out more casual than I’d've liked. Not helping matters is the fact that I had to finish the sleeves with cuffs since I wasn’t paying attention when I was cutting and the bottom of one sleeve got placed on an already-cut-out section of fabric… oops. I think I would like to revisit this pattern at some point, maybe in a drapey knit to see if the neckline behaves differently and if I can get it to look a little fancier. Meanwhile I’m going to see if I can incorporate this bodice construction into, like, everything I make ever. Mind. Blown.

My full reviews on Pattern Review can be found here (Vogue) and here (Jalie).

But now some thoughts on sweater knits: I’m not sold, I have to say. The thicker fabric made both of these tops not look as dressy as I wanted, and while casual tops are fine, they should at least be cozy, which these tops aren’t really either! The looser knit of the fabric makes the shirts slightly drafty, unfortunately, and despite feeling thick and springy to the touch, when worn the fabrics are both thin enough to show every lump and bump (I had to scrap a whole set of photos taken with another pair of pants because the fly and beltloops were showing right through the shirts). So I’m glad I gave sweater knit a try, but I think I’ll be sticking to regular jersey and doubleknits in the future!

Simplicity 2281: Knitifying Fun

I’m playing catch-up, as resolved, and sharing some of the things I’ve made lately… or not so lately. I actually made this dress in mid-December, but lack of light (and, really, laziness) put off the taking of good pictures until just the other day. So please pardon this slightly used dress, since I love it so much I couldn’t not share it!

I clearly have a problem. I’m a knitaholic. While I suppose most people would think a knitaholic can’t stop knitting things (my actual knitting count: 1 and a half items), I’m defining it as someone who cant help but make any pattern with a knit fabric. “Oh what a cute design!” I’ll think. “But so fitted… surely it would be more comfortable in a knit?” That’s right, I seem to exist solely to turn fancy dresses into sweatshirts. And it’s awesome.

Now, I can’t take credit for the idea to knitify this pattern, Simplicity 2281 (a Cynthia Rowley design – can’t you tell by the giant midriff and dirndl skirt?) That came from Andrea at foursquarewalls, who made the pattern up in a red doubleknit last summer, and when I saw it I immediately wanted one. Since immediately for me means “sometime in the next 16 months”, I finally got to it in December. And of course I had to shamelessly copy her, so I searched for a while for a rust-colored ponte knit before finding one at Michael Levine in LA. I also had the advantage of her detailed rundown of all the reasons this pattern was totally unsuitable for knitifaction. But dammit, I was going to make it work!

I started by choosing the long sleeve version, both because I wanted a winter dress, and also because that meant I wouldn’t need the bodice lining to finish the armholes, avoiding the too-thick-seam problem. I omitted the bodice lining entirely and lined the midriff in a thin rayon jersey from the scrap pile (it’s purple, but whatevs, they’re complimentary colors). No lining meant I had nothing to gather the neckline to, but I just measured the lining piece and gathered the bodice to that measurement. I bound the neckline as the pattern indicated, but halved the binding piece lengthwise so it was just a single layer folded over. At first I was going to leave the slit in the back and fasten it at the top with a button or snap (since I didn’t want to do the tie closure), but the slit stuck out funny in this fabric and when I pinned it closed I could actually get it on over my head, so I just sewed the back up all the way.

Having sorted out all the lightweight-woven-to-heavyweight-knit fabric issues, I sewed up the side seams (I left them for last, of course, for easier fitting) and tried it on, and realised the last problem that I hadn’t considered: a long sleeved, high necked doubleknit dress in a solid color can be a little overwhelming, to say the least. As in, I looked like an Amish pumpkin. So, resolved as I was that this unlikely dress would work, I set about reducing the amount of fabric covering me. I took in the sides for a better fit, shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length, and took a good 5 inches off the skirt. It wound up being a smidge short (making this a leggings-for-sure dress, which is fine, ’cause it’s been cold!), but it did actually make it cute, I think. It’s amazing how hem length can change the look of a dress totally!

In the end, I really really like this dress. It’s like wearing a really comfortable but fashionable sweatshirt. And did I mention the pockets? Pockets! It’s even cozier when there’s somewhere to put your hands! And I can ride a bike in it, something that would almost certainly be impossible in the woven fabric version of this pattern. So yes, this dress is totally fueling my knitifying addiction… but I’m okay with that.

My review of the pattern can be found here.

One gripe, though, with the fabric. It wasn’t too helpfully labeled in the store, but I’m pretty sure it’s the ubiquitous Sophia Doubleknit that you can get from fabric.com and others. It’s poly, which I don’t mind, except it pills like the dickens! I’ve worn/washed this dress maybe 5 times and it’s already pilling like crazy. And the dress I made from the turquoise Sophia two years ago (this one) is basically a textured fabric now. It still looks okay from a foot away, but it’s not anywhere near as nice to wear. Any suggestions on how I can delaying the pilly demise of this dress, or recommendations of doubleknits that don’t pill? I think doubleknits are my new favorite winter fabric, but they need to last more than one winter!

Christmas goodies

I hope everyone who celebrated Christmas yesterday had a great one! Mine was lovely, and I wanted to share a couple sewingy things it involved. First up, a Christmas Renfrew!

What makes it Christmasy, you may ask, besides the Christmas tree in the background? Why, nothing at all, except the fact that I wore it on Christmas eve. I bought this soft and cozy knit fabric at the FIDM store last month in anticipation of needing some warmer tops for the holidays in Nevada. I thought it would make a perfect casual Renfrew, and so it proved. The fabric is lovely, warm and thick but with fantastic stretch and recovery. My first Renfrew was a near miss, due to fabric choice and dubious off-grain stripe placement decisions, and because it was the first time I realised that the Sewaholic patterns are drafted for folks with narrower shoulders than I, but I vowed to get this one right. This time I cut about a straight 8 (I say about because of course I am a pattern cutter and not a tracer, so my pattern was cut on the size 6 line, so using the other lines as a guide, I just graded up as I cut to what I thought would be an 8), veering toward a 10 at the shoulders just in case. That plus the super stretch of the fabric means I can reach my arms forward comfortably in this version, hooray! The neckband also worked much better this time and lays properly with no problems. I’m still getting some wrinkles from the armpit to above the bust, I suspect due to the whole not-drafted-for-broader-shoulders thing, but I’m not going to make a ton of fussy adjustments to a knit tee pattern. I may just seek a TNT tee elsewhere… blasphemy, I know, but I’m just not sure the Renfrew is perfect for my shape up top.

That’s not to say I’m going to stop making Sewaholic’s patterns, though… because one of those presents under the tree turned out to be her new Cordova jacket! I’m thinking I’d like to make it in a doubleknit, because I’m really into the whole knit jacket trend, and also because I think it might mitigate the shoulder issue a little. I’ll be cutting a bigger size in the shoulders for sure, anyway.

I also got a french curve set and some of the famed Swedish tracing paper – yes, I’m going to attempt a bit of pattern drafting in the new year! Possibly. Not anything major, now, but maybe getting in to some more serious pattern modding and RTW knockoff fun. My need for jeans that fit is getting dire, so at this point I’m actually seriously planning on some quality jeans-pattern-making time. Soon.

And one last Christmas present – I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by the appropriately lovely Adrienne of stitching on the edge! Thank you so much! I’ll need to ponder a bit more about what 7 random things about myself to share, so more on that next time, but I just wanted to say thanks!

So Happy (belated) Christmas and (soon) Happy New Year, and (always) Happy Sewing to all!