Fall Essentials Sew Along: Done!

The Fall Essentials Sew Along (FESA) has come to an end.  Here are my accomplishments:

1.  Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather : bottoms, trousers, skirts, jeans, etc

Tania Culottes, Jalie 2908 Gray jeans, McCalls 3830 (modified to A-line), HP Marrakesh Pants


2.  Chic Chemises for Cool Climates: blouses, tops, cardigans, sweaters:

New Look 6808, New Look 6407, Jalie 2556, Butterick 5354, Jalie 2449 Crossover Tee, Kwik Sew 3555, New Look 6150 (unblogged), Kitchy Coo Lady Skater Dress as a Tee (unblogged)


3.  Fabulous Frocks: any type of dress
Nope.

4.  Underneath It All: underwear, bra

 

 

Orange Lingerie Marlborough Bra

5.  Tender Tootsies (no plans to make socks)
Nope

6.  Those Cozy Nights: pajamas

Very exciting (ha ha), knit PJ pants made from New Look 6110 (yes, I have very short legs!)

7.  Baby It's Cold Outside:  Outerwear, hats, mittens
Sigh...I really wanted to make a coat, but it just didn't happen.  I did, however, make 2 very cute Halloween costumes: Anna & Elsa

The cold never bothered me anyway

Hopefully my coat-making will start up soon.  All in all, I think the FESA was a big success. 

Tania Culottes: A Perfect Match

While browsing through my stash I discovered an unexpected surprise.  One of the block printed cottons I bought in India was a perfect match to the leaf green knit I used to make my Jalie 2566 cardigan.  Look!

The fabric must have been really inexpensive because I bought 4 meters of it.  Since I had so much, I could make a fabric hog like the Megan Nielsen Tania Culottes.

I made this pattern once before and loved the result:

Original Post

I made an XL an added 3" to the hem length just like last time.  It was a quick sew, I hung it up for 2 days before hemming and it was done!

Since it is essentially a circle skirt, it's very swishy!

 

Jalie 2566 Cardigan shirt

I have used Jalie 2566 many many times, but this is the first time I made the cardigan rather than the tee shirt. 

Jalie 2566

 

Let me start by saying this is more of a cardigan shirt than a cardigan that can be worn over something else.  The sizing is for a shirt worn next to the skin.  I should have realized that from the envelope photo. 

 

 

 

I cut a size W, graded up at the hip and did a narrow back adjustment.  I also added width to the bicep.  The bicep is still too snug, and I need more room through the bust.  Check out those drag lines!!

 

I used some stash fabric: a leaf green active wear knit from Fabric Mart, purchased in May 2013.  To make the buttonholes, I used a cut away stabilizer, which worked really well and made a big difference in the quality of the buttonholes. 

 

When I first completed this top the placket was not laying flat above the top button.  As it turns out, I didn't like up my buttons correctly and they were all sewn on almost 1" too high!  So I snipped them all off, and sewed them back on in the right spot. 

 

The button band lies much better, but I still wish I had more room in the front.

 

 

 

I have learned something important regarding sleeves! A Denim shirt: Kwik Sew 3555

Another September make and another entry in the Fabric Stash contest.  This bit of denim has been sitting around since November waiting for me to get inspired.  I said in the title of this post that I have learned something important about sleeves.  First, I must give some background:

Almost 2 weeks ago, Mrs. Mole wrote a post about poorly fitting sleeves.  I was immediately reminded of the very nice email she sent to me in November after seeing my denim dress where my bodice adjustments forced me to take out a lot of extra sleeve cap ease.  Summarizing her email:  "Meigan, I think that you have removed too much in the sleeve cap as you have drag lines pointing to a need for more height."  She also suggested making a sleeve in gingham so I could see both the horizontal and vertical grain lines.  I was so relieved I got something wearable from the dog's dinner I made out of that dress that I wasn't too stressed.  Then the whole topic dropped out of my mind.

Fast forward to September...I made 2 woven tops (NL 6808 & NL 6407) where I unknowingly adjusted the sleeve incorrectly (again) and had sleeve caps that were not high enough. Then the topic of sleeve caps came up on her blog, and it all came rushing back.

Time to listen to the expert.  I bought gingham at Joann's and made a sleeve with lots of extra cap height for my KS 3555 per Mrs. Mole's suggestions.

You know what? Mrs. Mole was absolutely right.  I drew horizontal and vertical lines on the sleeves in marker.  Here is the sleeve cut in gingham and pinned in place as drafted.  Check it out:

Holy Cow!  Look how that horizontal line is pulled upward!!


So I unpinned the sleeve and let it drop so that the horizontal line becomes horizontal:

Horizontal line is horizontal!

 

Close up of Sleeve Cap

Each gingham square is 1/4" wide, so we can see that the new seam line should be 1.25" HIGHER at the top of the sleeve cap!   I did not expect it to be that much!!  Shouldn't these sleeves be drafted better???

 

I redrew my pattern piece adding the extra height needed at the sleeve cap.



Revised pattern piece

So I cut out my denim for my shirt using this revised sleeve.  You know what?  It fits so much better.  I have a full range of motion, and there is no pulling across my shoulder or upper arm.  Woo Hoo!!


Ok, so back to Kwik Sew 3555.  I bought this shirt to make with Craftsy's "The Classic Tailored Shirt" class.  I haven't finished watching the class, but I made this shirt anyway, because I like to (wait for it) "sew on the edge!"  (ha ha ha)  I made the long sleeve version, added a bust dart per "Fit for Real People", and added a sleeve placket from this Thread's magazine article.


On me:

 and on the dressform:

I added the bust dart for shaping and I may add darts in the back as well to remove some of the fullness.  One thing I have noticed is that the shirt is slightly snug where it hits my high hip.  I think that if I were to add a side slit, that slight pulling at the bust would go away.


So here is the important lesson I learned:  Not all sleeves are drafted well!!  When trying a new pattern, make a muslin of the sleeve in gingham.  Cut it out with lots of extra sleeve cap height, mark the grain lines, pin or baste it in, and see what happens!


For the record: I never doubted Mrs. Mole's diagnosis, I just wanted to prove it for myself.

At long last: the HP Marrakesh Drawstring Pants

This pattern is quite possibly the oldest unmade one in my stash.  Seriously, I ordered it on March 6th, 2011.  That is 3.5 years spent unmade.  Sigh.  It was also my first indie pattern purchase.  

 

While still living in India, I purchased some gorgeous white linen in order to make these pants.  I ultimately decided against making them because the water (undrinkable and non-chlorinated) would turn your whites gray.  Our white bath towels became very dingy and I didn't want the same thing to happen to my white linen.  And so the pattern lingered and lingered...until now.

 

I used a gray stretch suede-like mystery fabric.  It does not press well so I imagine there is a high polyester content.  In any case they are smooth on the inside and fuzzy on the outside.  

I made a size 16 and then took in the waist over an inch at the center back seam.  They are also drafted to be very long...~34" inseam.  I hemmed mine at 28"!


I added 1" to the CB seam to accommodate my pear shape.  I think the crotch curve should be lowered a little bit, it is a little too high for trousers.

The construction was not without drama.  I made 2 goofs on the waistband.


#1: I cut the front waistband too short:

 

 

#2: I put the buttonhole on the right front waistband vertically thinking it was for the drawstring...nope, it's for a button.  And I didn't make the vertical buttonhole for the drawstring at all.

A little cutting and piecing later, it was fixed:

I did the same thing to the right front waistband: cut off the vertical buttonhole, added a new piece (I lined the seam up with the fly topstitching), added the vertical drawstring buttonhole where it needed to be and made a horizontal buttonhole at the center front.


The drawstring is a elastic/fabric combination.  The elastic is hidden in the waistband, and the fabric ties come out the front.  The fabric ends are too wide and too short, which makes them both bulky and difficult to tie.  I plan on sewing the elastic in permanently and chopping off the fabric ties.  I don't need a big lump on my stomach from bulky drawstrings. 

Other changes I made were to topstitch the side seams from waist to hem to help the seams lay flatter.  My fabric was rather springy and didn't press well.  I also skipped top-stitching the pockets down.  I thought this would look too casual and wanted to keep my elastic waist pants as classy as possible ;)


The legs were very wide which made me look very wide and like I was swimming in fabric.  I tapered the legs in 1" on both the out-seam and inseam from the knee down.  The legs are still plenty wide but much more flattering this way.


This has turned out to be a comfortable and nice looking pair of pants.  I approve. 

Fall Essentials Sew Along: FESA

Sarah over at Rhinestones and Telephones is hosting the Fall Essentials Sew Along (FESA).  I am joining in!

The categories are:

1.  Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather : bottoms, trousers, skirts, jeans, etc
2.  Chic Chemises for Cool Climates: blouses, tops, cardigans, sweaters
3.  Fabulous Frocks: any type of dress
4.  Underneath It All: underwear, bra
5.  Tender Tootsies (no plans to make socks)
6.  Those Cozy Nights: pajamas
7.  Baby It's Cold Outside:  Outerwear, hats, mittens

Here are my plans so far:

Tops:

• The green Jalie 2566 cardigan didn't come out wonderfully so I have been procrastinating writing about it. 
• The white Butterick 5354, is complete, and I got a coffee stain on it the first time I wore it...arrgh! 
• The Kwik Sew 3555 is compete with the exception of sewing buttons on. 
• I may also make a long sleeve tee shirt or two using the top portion of the Lady Skater Dress. 

Bottoms:

• The Marrakesh pants are finished and just awaiting their blog post.
• I have some caramel colored twill that may become the Thurlows,
• I have some gray denim that will become a new pair of Jalie 2908 jeans.
• Skirt fabric is undecided

Coats/Jacket:

Ah coats...I love coats!  There are too many coats and too little time.  I may begin with the McCall's 6800 in a beige & gray coating fabric.  I have ordered some navy wool suiting for the Vogue 8333.  That one will be a labor of love for sure. 

 

Remaining Categories:



• I will make some pajama bottoms with some bright green jersey knit that has been sitting in my stash for a while. 
• I probably won't make any dresses. 
• I won't make socks.
• Bras or underwear....maybe.  I have been wanting to learn to make bras for a while now.  I may get around to it.

So there it is!  My big FESA plans :)