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.

My Favorite Thing: Denim Simplicity 2588 (Project Runway)

When I first saw Simplicity 2588 I really liked it:  princess seams, neckline variations and 2 skirt options.  The pattern sat for a while in my collection before I decided to make it up in some pink linen.  I muslined the bodice using a turquoise poplin.  I graded the pieces from a 14 at the bust out to an 18 at the waist.  I cut the flared skirt in an 18.  My muslin was perfect.  I didn't change a thing.  Strangely enough I really liked the look of my muslin more than the look of the final dress.  Turquoise is one of my favorite colors.  :)

So off I went cutting into my pink linen.  The fabric is fairly stiff but hopefully it will soften up more with more washings.  The pattern went together like a dream.  Absolutely no problems.  I had used a friend's serger on another project a few weeks ago and I was really wishing that I had my own to finish the princess seams.  I didn't want to topstitch the bodice seams so I just zig zagged over the raw edges and left them.  

I simply cannot buy 22" zippers (regular OR invisible) so I have to make do.  What I have discovered is although the pattern envelope calls for a 22" zipper, I can use a 16"/18" instead.  The dress is perfectly wearable, but I HAVE to put the dress on over my head- I can't step into or out of it: it won't go over my hips.  So if you're ever stuck with a too short zipper...fear not!  My invisible zipper insertion was very good as well.  For the 2nd time in a row, I haven't had to unpick any stitches, only to sew another line closer to the coils.  I count that as a huge success.  So here is the finished dress:

I wasn't really thrilled with the color on me.  It's fairly close in tone to my skin and hair color which makes for a boring look.  I will have to wear noticeable jewellery to snazz things up a bit.  But I really liked the dress and the style and the fit.  Soooo....I immediately looked through the fabric stash.

Once in a while fabric, pattern, inspiration, come together, the stars align and you are immediately excited, no THRILLED about what you are about to make.  For me it was this pattern, in a lightweight stretch denim.  I decided right then that I would do a bunch of topstitching on the bodice seams, and neckline.  I'd also add the pockets I omitted on the pink version.  I bought the denim last summer in the US with the plan of making it into an A-line gored skirt to replace one that had become too tight.  I am so glad I put that project off!  I had 1.5 yards, and the denim was 60" wide and I had no problem cutting out the dress (including the flared skirt and pockets).  Due to the variations you can do with the pattern, the pattern envelope separates out the fabric requirements for the bodice and skirt type, sleeves, and neckline.  These fabric requirements are very generous.  The envelope said for 60" wide fabric, I'd need 1.75yd for the bodice and flared skirt, 3/8yd for the flat sleeve, and 1/2 yard for the neck band.  I cut everything from 1.5 yards.  Something to keep in mind is that the skirt is pretty short.  I am 5'-2" tall and for a knee length skirt, I turned up slightly less than an inch on the hem.  So if you are tall...cut it longer and you will need more than 1.5yds.

The pattern envelope did not list lightweight denim as a suggested fabric but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I was concerned with the pleats on the skirt and whether or not the denim would hang well or stick out and make me look like my tummy has a pooch (not good).  I initially thought of eliminating the pleats, but then decided on keeping AND topstitch them down a few inches to keep them flat.  I chose to do 2" of top-stitching very close to the pleat and I think it came out great and it keeps my tummy looking smooth.

Skirt's front pleats topstitched down 2"

More topstitching photos (I went all out! It is denim after all!):

Neckline topstitching

Shoulder seams (sleeves have 2 pieces)

Bodice topstitching

I did put the side pockets in the skirt and to cut down on bulk, I used a navy rayon-poly blend I had in the stash for the front side of the pocket.  Prior to sewing the pocket together, I topstitched the side seam (and front of the pocket down so that my pocket lining wouldn't peek out:

This is my absolute favorite self-sewn item to date.