Day 1-Ready, Set, Go!

Let us now begin the nine glorious days of fall vacation, which I am calling my Fall Fashion Fling!

The Men Folk have all left and are off somewhere playing with a chainsaw. Load Number 2 is in the Merry-Go-Round, and Load Number 1 is riding in the Whirly-Gig. I have the house to myself!

Contestant A won the election by a landslide, and I have to admit it was calling to me the loudest:




This is a slinky, sheer, chiffony thing I picked up at Joann Fabrics a while back. Those whitish stripes aren't white; instead they are a black satiny weave. Very pretty. Since I own 11 pairs of black pants, this will work well with my pitiful wardrobe. I hope to gradually move away from the Dowdy Grandma look to the Interesting Fashionable look.

This really is sheer, but not so sheer as to be Madonna-ish, if you know what I mean. Of course I plan to wear a black tank or camisole under it, since I am such a shy little thing. See how sheer?




It looks WAY too sheer in the photo, but it's not that much in real life. I'm going to have to test out some interfacing for the collar before the day is over.

Mr. Scissors, where are you?





If you have your own piece of slinky, sheer, chiffony goodness that is speaking to you, here are some tips for you when the time comes to lay it out and use the scissors on it:

Required Items:

• one large pot of coffee, with caffine
• three hundred straight pins
• the patience of Job

And she's off!

Good Things Come In The Mail

This is a gorgeous little thing, just look at that darling little hat, won't you?




This one (and another!) showed up in my mailbox from the lovely Amanda (thanks!). She had these and their condition was such that she couldn't use or sell them, so now they have a new home. This one is missing most of the parts, but you can see the shape of this little bonnet quite well on the line drawing. Here's the back:




Click on it to get a larger view of the pattern pieces for the bonnet. I just may have another bonnet pattern around here in the pile that is similar enough in style that I could actually recreate this one. I know that whoever had it originally must have loved it to absolute pieces. Go check out Amanda's site, Butterfly Blue--she's into all the same things I am. And an etsy shop to boot!

Thanks again, Amanda, it's already in its very own little protective sleeve....

And I'm still muslining along, trying to get those sleeves just so......

I really, really want to get this perfected by Friday night because we have NO SCHOOL next week. Nine wonderful days to cut, and sew, and smock, and cut, and sew, and smock.....

I can't wait!

Muslin, Part 5

I'm made more slight adjustments to this muslin, but I think I am finally ready to move on to real fabric.



Since there was so much ease in the sleeve caps, I decided to trace off the original pattern pieces, make my modifications on them, and then walk the seam allowances on the sleeves to see how to remedy the problem.



The first step is to trace off the original pattern pieces. I drew in the lower front bodice, then overlapped that piece at the seamline with the upper bodice. I then overlapped the back at the shoulder seam line. The results are below. In the photo, the pencil lines are the cutting lines, and I drew in the original seam lines with a black Sharpie:

I then cut these three pieces apart on the seam lines. I drew in my pattern alterations from my muslin, using a blue Sharpie. I simply measured each part of the altered muslin to get the adjustments needed:

Then I put the three pieces back together again, lining them up on the new seamlines. The result is the actual "pattern" for my altered muslin:

The final step was to mark the sleeve adjustments, which I did in red. Using the different color markers helps me keep track of the orginal pattern and the different stages of the alterations. A pack of Sharpies is well worth the investment.

I walked the seam line of the sleeve to the actual armhole seam and discovered that there is 2" of ease. Since I removed 1 1/4" of the armhole seam length with the bodice seam adjustment and the shoulder adjustment, this means there is only 3/4" design ease built into this pattern. The pattern recommends that this ease be distributed between the shoulder seam and the double notch on the back armhole. This is doable, without any unsightly puckering.

I will remove the extra 1 1/4" from the sleeve height by simply making a 3/8" fold across the top part of the sleeve and redraw the curve of the sleeve. Since this fold will actually take out 3/4" on each side of the sleeve, the total I remove will be 1 1/2", leaving 1/2" of ease to be worked into the back.

If you read Fashion Incubator, you know that Kathleen says sleeve cap ease is totally bogus. After much measuring and examination of my purchased clothing, I believe her. Go search her site for "sleeve cap ease" and read up! I bought her book and I recommend it to everyone. It's worth every penny. It is my fervent hope that she will write a sewing book on industrial practices. She'd be a millionaire overnight.

I'm ready to invest real fabric in this pattern. Actually, I feel pretty confident that I can apply my alterations to each of the three views of this pattern. My only problem is, which one do I work up first?

Is it Contestant A:

Or Contestant B:

Or Contestant C:

And I have to show you this luscious heavyweight chocolate linen I bought over the weekend:

And I adore this Burda jacket pattern and I'm wondering why no one else has posted about it already:

It's lined. Check out the sleeve pattern pieces, too:

I could have a heyday with this pattern!

A Final Muslin, Part 4

Here I am again with this muslin, the final version. For this one, I cut a larger size to gain extra width across the body. I don't like tight clothes, and to me, people look slimmer if their clothes skim their bodies.

I made the shoulder adjustment and the princess seam adjustment. To get the princess seam exactly like I wanted it, I finally removed the basted seam and pin fitted it on myself. Once again I only adjusted one side, even adding a short sleeve to make sure it would all work together.

Here's the front:





The bodice fit is nice, but it's worth noting that different undergarments affect the fit of a blouse. I'm wearing something different here (a truly uplifting experience) and to my eye, I can see a difference.

Here's the side view:




I moved the sleeve up on the shoulder about 1 1/2 inches at the shoulder line, and raised the armhole 1/4". The shorter depth on the armhole makes a HUGE difference in the fit--the entire body doesn't move upward upon moving the arm if the armhole depth is correct.

One nice thing about using real muslin is that you can write and draw on it with a pencil. You may have noticed that I have penciled in the front seam lines in the photos above. I'm going to take this bodice apart, adjust the seam allowances, and I've got a pattern! That fits ME!!

Thank you to the anonymous commenter on the previous post. Go read it. I'll wait......

She hit the nail on the head. It's nice to know that I'm not just weird! The adjustments that she recommends are right on target.

Now that I have the fit of this blouse like I want it, I can make a real one out of the good stuff...so I went shopping........

I need to take more photos!

Muslin, Part 3

Back to the sewing room I went with this project. This time I took in the princess seam above the bust point another 1/4 inch and moved the sleeve up onto the shoulder another 1/2 inch. I altered my left side only (on the right in the photo) so that I can compare the two sides. By doing it this way I can see if I'm making the situtation better or worse. Here's the current status of the front:




I need to smooth out the princess seam in the bust area, and maybe move that seam a bit toward the center.

Here is the side view:





I need to lengthen the front so it won't rise up. Ignore all the sleeve puckering--I've moved to hand basting this for the fine tuning. This sleeve looks better because it is sitting up higher on my arm. The front armhole area is now smooth, with no more bunching.

Here's the back view:




I think I still need to move the sleeve in on the back armseye a bit, and perhaps go up even farther on the shoulder. Notice the yellow arrow in the photo above; there is still a bit of a fold there. If I pinch out 1/8 inch horizontally in the armseye (where the arrow is) I think this problem will be solved. Or I may need to remove 1/8 inch from the back shouler only.

I might also need to make the back darts just a tad deeper to restore some shape to the blouse, but that will be one of the very last adjustments I make.

The fitting really begins with the shoulder, so that is what I've been focusing on. Then the bust. Then the sleeve.

I can tell you that this blouse is much more comfortable now than before. Yes, I still have it on. It is fine while I type. It's amazing what an effect moving the sleeve up has on the fit--the back and sleeve aren't pulling, and I still haven't trimmed the armhole seams.

Why am I going to so much trouble with this blouse? I like all the views included in the pattern. I can envision this view made up in several ways, and each would look entirely different:

• in a solid color
• in a nice print challis
• worn belted over a straight skirt or narrow trousers
• piped princess seams
• circular ruffle on the sleeve cuffs instead of pleats
• collar embellishments-beads, sequins, contrast
• as a chiffon or georgette overblouse over a tank or tee top

Back to it.

Still Making A Muslin

I'm still working on the muslin from the previous post. Here's where the front is at this point:




I let out the side seams 1/2 inch on each side. That gave me a little more room around the body. Then I let out the princess seams in the front the same amount, and also lowered the bust at the same time. The bust point is better now and I can improve this even more when I reccut the pattern.

At that point I tried the blouse on and had horizontal wrinkles above the bust, pulling towards the armhole. Compare the two sides in the photo. On my left side (that will be the right side in the photo), I took up an additional amount in the princess seam ABOVE the bust and re-sewed that seam into the adjacent sleeve. I left the left side unaltered so you can see what a difference this makes in the fit. This is a big improvement.

I have shortened the shoulder seam about 1/2 inch, by simply moving the sleeve up. Although this looks better, the sleeve is still down a bit on the arm and needs to move up even more.

Here's the back--compare the two sides (the right side of the photo is the unaltered one):



There are still wrinkles happening, and the sleeves are still way off.

A side shot of the unaltered side:




And a side shot of the altered side:




Better, but still not there. See how the sleeve just hangs there, like some pitiful lifeless little thing? So sad. As I mentioned, there is a lot of ease in the sleeve caps. But since the sleeves aren't sitting in the right spot, all that ease is just hanging at my upper arm, instead of being up on the "ball" part of the arm.

I definitely need to go up a size for width around the body and increase the bottom width so this isn't so snug on the booty. I'm thinking I need to leave the extra length in the sleeve, too.

Back to the drawing board.

Making A Muslin

I've made a muslin of Simplicity 3789, using View B for the body and the sleeves for View C. I cut a size 18. This pattern comes with separate pattern pieces for cup sizes, and I used a D cup. I also lengthened the sleeves 1 inch. Here it is on the hanger:

Definitely doesn't look like much on a hanger, does it?

And here is a detail of the sleeve:

I really like the pleats on the sleeves on this pattern. Ignore the pink thread, please. I just basted this whole thing together and used up leftover bobbins.

Gee whiz, I didn't realize this was going to be an X-Rated photo, but here it is on me, from the front:

Problems I see (and feel):

• the sleeve caps are sitting on my arm, not at the shoulder where they are supposed to be
• the armholes feel really tight--this could be because I didn't trim and clip the armhole seam yet so I could alter if necessary
• it feels really snug around the body
• there's a ton of ease in the sleeve caps
• the sleeves are a tad too long (maybe 3/8 inch)

And from the back:

See the horizontal lines where it is pulling? That means it's too tight. And my shoulders aren't weird--they look the same to me in the mirror. It's amazing the things you can see in a photo that you don't see when you look in the mirror!

Good thing I just basted this together, isn't it? I'm going to take the sleeves out and raise them a bit. Also going to let out the side seams a bit while I'm at it. Then I'll take another look at it.