Vogue 8536 Play Date

 

Thank you all for your suggestions on the Vogue 1177 polka dot top. It would make a nice sleeveless top, but for now Grandma is wearing it. It keeps her chest warm. Meanwhile I'm moving on towards my goal of developing some TNT patterns.

 

I'm having a play date with Vogue 8536 today. This is a nice basic knit top with three different necklines and four sleeve options. It has an applied neckband, which I like, instead of just turn-it-under-and-stitch-it-down neck finish.

I'm going to do an FBA, lengthen sleevecap, lengthen sleeve, lengthen body, raise center back, and raise the bust point alteration. These are the ones that worked on the Burda 7189, so I want to see if this flies with Vogue patterns. I've measured the width of the bicep already--lesson learned there!

 

More later. Thanks for stopping by.

The Final Defeat Vogue 1177

I've been brainstorming quite a bit about the sleeve dilemma with the Vogue 1177 blouse. After measuring my bicep and measuring (too late) the bicep on the pattern, I discovered that they are the same. Meaning no ease for my arm whatsoever.

 

I then pulled out the last muslin I made, the Burda 7189 blouse, and measured that altered sleeve at the bicep to determine my true fitted bicep measurement. Two and three-fourths inches difference.

 

This is not a complete fail. I have learned to measure first. Every single time. No excuses. If I'm too lazy to do that I need to go read or clean the bathtub instead of sewing.

 

I learned the value of keeping the original muslins. Just find a hanger and put it in the closet.

 

I learned the value of making notes as I alter the muslin. I have half a page of notes on the Burda 7189 and I referred to them several times while working on the Vogue blouse. Keeping track of back waist length, how much to lower the bust, and the width of the finished sleeve cuff were useful.

 

Most importantly, I learned not to just throw a project away too soon. After thinking about the Vogue 1177 sleeve for a couple of days, it dawned on me that the sleeve was a two-piece sleeve and there was still a possibility I could make it work. Here are the two sleeve sections, the upper cap piece and the lower piece. Notice that the lower piece is tucked. Which means it is wider (It is folded in the photo). And notice that the bicep of the sleeve is in the lower wider section:

 

I realized that I could eliminate some of the tucks in the lower section, making the sleeve wider at the bicep. I made that alteration and split the upper sleeve section. Here is the result.

This seriously reduced the sleeve cap height. I have no extra fabric. This option was not possible because in order for it to fit and hang correctly I would have to cut new sleeve pieces.

So as a last ditch attempt I decided to just put in the upper cap sleeve portion and have nice little capped sleeves instead of beautiful tucked sleeves. Too tight in the upper arm. No arm movement possible. Think tourniquet, if you will.

So this blouse is now officially a dud. It's going in the muslin closet and after a million years have gone by and I've gotten over it, I'm going to recut these sleeves out of something random and put them in. As I've said before, I love the style but hate the pattern. And you can bet I'm keeping the notes I've made.

Onward. Another pattern is up for a muslin.

Dismayed! Vogue 1177

After tons of thread tracing, basting, reconfiguring tucks on the bodice fronts, backs, and sleeves, I finally set in the sleeves on the dress/top/blouse/whatever.

And the sleeves are too tight. I don't have more fabric to cut new ones.

The sleeves are gorgeous, by the way. Love the style of this, love the tucks, love the design.

Hate the pattern itself. It is NOT drafted correctly. NONE of the tucks are correct. Not the front bodice tucks, not the back bodice tucks, and goodness gracious alive, not the sleeve tucks either.

I have the skirt and casing already assembled. All I have left to do is sew on the front bands, serge two seams, and make buttonholes.

I should have compared the sleeves to the the Burda sleeves I just fitted. Should have, could have, too late now.

I'm trying to figure out how to salvage this one.

Any ideas out there?

Hitchhiker

On my way out of JoAnn's the other day, an old woman stuck her thumb out and wanted me to give her a ride. So I did.

Then she wanted to come in the house, too. So she did.

Then she wanted to see my sewing room. So she did that, too.

Then she told me she wanted to live here. She promised not to eat too much, she said I wouldn't have to send her to college, and she said she would put up with all these cats. Pet them, even.

So now she lives with me. Meet Grandma:

She was naked, and that just wouldn't do. So I threw this on her, Vogue 1177:

She really likes it. A lot.

Vogue 1177 An Hour And A Half Later

After an hour and a half of my life essentially wasted fooling around with the front bodice pieces of this dress/top, I had this mess.

You can see in the top photo that the lower bodice is tucked and overlaid onto the upper bodice.

Each section has tucks. The top section has five and the lower section has seven.

These two pieces DO NOT line up correctly. Repeat, DO NOT.

Before I cut this pattern out of my fabric I looked on Pattern Review and saw only seven reviews. One of the seamstresses had trouble getting these pieces to work together. That is why I spent so much time chalk marking and rulerizing (great word, I just made it up) and checking and comparing and measuring and thread tracing every single tuck, notch, dot, circle, folding, stitching line, you name it on my cut pieces.

The lady was absolutely right. The bottom photo above shows just how far off the pieces are. After I finally accepted the obvious evidence, I had to lie down on the floor in the dark for a few minutes because I do not EXPECT this sort of thing from Vogue patterns.

So I just added another tuck to the lower bodice piece on the center front edge to make it line up, and next thing you know I have this.

Don't point out that you can't see crap in this photo. What matters most here is that I KNOW I fixed it. Otherwise, it would have truly been a waste of my time.

This is a better photo. Hard to photograph, sorry about that.

Onward.

Vogue 1177 In The Works

Busy today finishing up the marking and thread tracing while a pot roast is on the stove. Due to the strep situation, upstairs in the sewing room is too close for comfort, since all the patients are hanging out up there.

Ready to thread up the serger and change out the needle on the sewing machine.

More later. Thanks for stopping by!

Now I'm Ticked Off

Geez, I just wrote the greatest blog post ever. It was witty, funny, sarcastic, informative, inspirational, and perfectly divine, with just the right amount of griping thrown in for good measure.

And Blogger just ate it.

Just for sake of asking, does anyone out there know what happens to your stuff when you are typing along, smiling, singing a happy little sewing song in your sweet little head while Blogger constantly saves your stuff every three seconds automatically, and all of a sudden you get distracted by a cat, causing you to hit the wrong key on the keyboard, and your wonderful stuff just disappears? And if it was automatically saving the whole time, WHERE IN THE WORLD DID IT GO?

I wrote about this:

 And this:

And Vogue 1177. And thread tracing. And chalk pencils. And strep throat. And nerds.

Wardrobe Plan Colors

This is the fabric I'm using for Vogue 1177, the top/dress, a crepe de chine with a black background with several shades of brown, camel, and ivory dots. I can't remember where it came from, or when:

 

I can already tell that it is going to fray and shred and make a mess in the sewing room. But that's okay. Right now there are four people in this house with very active cases of strep throat and so far I am not one of them. Hanging out in the sewing room with a vacuum cleaner suits me just fine.

 

I have been collecting brown toned fabrics for the past year. This has been deliberate.

 

Before retiring early, I taught high school and college. The main school colors were black and red (at one school) and black and grey (at the other school). As a result I wore a lot of black--tops, coats, shirts, pants, shoes, you name it. I want to do something DIFFERENT. So brown is my chosen color for the Wardrobe Plan.

 

Here are two more recent additions to the pile. Pretty sure these came from Joann's or Hancock. These want to be tops of some sort.

And here is a strep throat patient who is helping out by holding one of these ten million kitties around here. These cats are wearing me out.

 

That is one pretty Little Girl with Long Tailed Louie.

Vogue 1177

Sometimes not having the perfect fabric for a desired pattern is a good thing. Since I was unable to find something suitable for the Burda 7189 blouse, I spent time making sure my pattern alterations were accurate and writing an extensive note to myself about them. I'm still anxious to make the blouse, but in the meantime I've been cutting out this Anna Sui pattern, Vogue 1177.

 

 

The pattern photo doesn't show off all the neat details of this dress--which I am planning to wear as a top with slim pants, so here is the line drawing from the Vogue website:

Of course I like the neat pleating on the sleeves and yokes, but a real surprise is the bodice armhole pieces. As a bonus, there is a bias slip pattern, too. I'm thinking how nice that would be just to have in the closet.

I've cut out most of the fabric already and I hope to finish the cutting tonight. After measuring the flat pattern I didn't think I would need to make alterations for the loose fit style.

The basic color for my Wardrobe Plan is dark chocolate brown, since I seem to have so much fabric in that color but hardly anything that color in my current closet. A big change is coming as I move away from a black based wardrobe into the brown family.

Picture of the crepe de chine I'm using for this pattern coming soon....

Thanks for reading, as always.

Burda 7189 Eureka!

Well I have sliced and diced and chopped and split and slid and rearranged these sleeves and armholes until it is not even funny. But I think I have got it at last!

My right sleeve in the following photos is the one that works. The sleeve itself is in pitiful shape, but the armhole length is GREAT and widening the sleeve at the bicep makes an absolutely AMAZING difference in the fit and feel of the entire blouse.

This is an ugly, ugly muslin but I want to wear it all the time. No cuffs on this rendition.

The left sleeve is beyond being a hot mess. Talk about surgery gone wrong! This was about as much fun as kissing frogs.

Unless you, too, are TALL and have spent years wearing ill-fitting RTW with sleeves that bind and are always way too short, you cannot appreciate how much I love this ugly muslin. Since I was 14 years old I have never bought a RTW long-sleeved shirt that I could stand to wear more than an hour.

I want to make this FOR REAL in a solid ivory color, but I don't have enough fabric here and of course Joann's had what I wanted, but not enough of it. For now I am going to make a mock-up of another Vogue blouse.

Next time I'll iron the muslin for yall.

Burda 7189 Yet Another Muslin

After making several length adjustments I cut out a new muslin. Even though I lengthened the sleeves in the arm section and in the sleeve cap area, I still ended up slicing and dicing this sleeve into a jillion little sections trying to get a better fit.

 

This sleeve appears way more distorted and misshapen than it actually is. You can see the various inserts and adjustments are kind of buckling up. The lower edge is pleated and that makes this sleeve look so horribly Frankensteined.

 

Even so, so far so good. The fit of the body of the shirt is much better.

 

Still working on the sleeve cap and bicep width for this pattern. I really, really like this pattern so I'll keep at it.

 

More later. Thanks for reading, and as always, I'd love to hear your comments and input.

Burda 7189 Muslin Part 4

 

Thank you to all those who have left a comment or sent an email regarding this muslin. I took Gail's advice and widened the bicep. What an AMAZING difference this makes. Not only does it feel better, I have complete movement in the arm now. I split the sleeve cap to widen and lengthen it about 3/8 inch. I just pinned in a strip of muslin for this quick alteration.

 

 

This muslin still needs so much fitting that I am going to go ahead and put together Muslin 2. I've started the flat patterns adjustments already.

 

I  am lengthening the armhole and sleeve cap by 1/2 inch. I have also made a 2 inch FBA, which is really simple on a princess seamed garment.

 

I still need to lower the bust point by another inch and will also lengthen between the bust and waist a further 2 inches. If that proves to be too much it will be easy to pin out in the new muslin. I'm still planning on widening the bicep.

 

I've been rummaging through the fabric box looking for the real fabric for this shirt. So far the only suitable things I've unearthed are heavily patterned. In order for all the neat seaming and style lines of this pattern to show off I think it needs to be a solid colored fabric. Most of what I have is for more of a bottom weight, so I'm going fabric shopping!

Burda 7189 Muslin Part 3

I'm pretty disgusted with this.

In the first photo, I have scooped out the front armhole on my left side (the right side in the photo).

 

I have lengthened one sleeve 1/2 inch and the other sleeve 1 inch. My left sleeve is longer. I have reduced the seam allowances in the side seams, front princess seams, and back inset seams.

Now the shirt has no shape at all.

But then again, neither do I.

But these last two photos tell the real story.

 

I can't move my arms.

I'm going to widen the sleeves at the bicep.
I'm going to lengthen the armhole.
I'm going to chop it up with the scissors.

Burda 7189 Muslin Part 2



 

Okay, here is proof that I have no pride. None. Here's the view from the front. I haven't put the sleeves in yet and wanted to check the fit of the blouse itself. Photograph by husband. My head is missing.

 

The length of it is good. The shoulder seam seems fine. The armhole is going to be excellent (very  hopeful).

Here is the side view. No makeup. No lipstick. No hair. Sunglasses!

The fine print says it all.

Here we go from the back. Love the back. Love, love, love it.

See the little stand up collar? I may raise it just a tad.

Time to let her rip with the seam ripper.

Burda 7189 Muslin

I've started work on the long sleeved muslin for Burda 7189. I'm hoping to get this one to work because I like the sleeve, collar, and front band options. This would work well for me in the Wardrobe Plan.

This is the two piece bodice front. The center front has an inset pleat over the princess seam section. I think this is a nice detail.

I have marked the center front, buttonholes, and lengthen/shorten lines with dark thread. A very nice thing about this pattern is that there are THREE lengthen/shorten lines on the front--in the sleeve area, between the bust and waist, and between waist and hip. This should allow me to get the best proportional fit. I'm tall, so this matters to me a lot.

You can see that the sleeve has two lengthen/shorten lines, too.

But far and away the most exciting thing I see in this sleeve is the shape of the sleeve cap. The left side of the sleeve in the photo will be the front, and the sloped side on the right is the back.

This is the detail that is so lacking in modern patterns. I do not understand why Vogue could draft patterns like this in the past, but cannot do so today.

This is my first Burda blouse pattern. I have high hopes! I'll be putting this one together this evening.

Vogue 2775



 Everyone needs a jumping off point, so for my little striped project I needed a bodice. Unfortunately this blurry photo is all I can come up with at the moment. The pattern is Vogue 2775, circa 1957. The bodice on this dress extends to the natural waistline.

Here's the  bodice front of this Little Dress. Notice if you will the waist dart used to shape the bodice. Of course a size 4 little girl wouldn't need a bust dart, but she does have a somewhat cylindrical chest. The dart is there to gently shape the bodice around her little chest. This is one of the things I love about vintage patterns.

I extended the side seams of the lower bodice to get a more squarish bottom. This is because I still don't know which highway I am on. Better to have that extra fabric than to wish for it later on after I've cut it off.

The strongest inclination I have for the bodice is for the stripes to be horizontal. So I drew off some straight lines perpendicular to the stripes and ran row after row of machine basting stitches, ending up with this. Just for good measure I narrow hemmed one edge of the fabric before the basting started.

After pulling up the gathering rows, I now have this:

Oh, hello, little darling, I might be in love with you.....



Stripes At Play

I'm still playing with these stripes. I pinned out another variety to get a different stripe pattern and started thinking about a bodice. At this point I've pretty much decided this wants to be a Little Dress. Here's one version:

And here is the same version with a nice black polka dot thrown in for good measure.

This raises all sorts of possibilities. The way I've tossed this on the Little Dress form raises the possibility of a bottom band on the bodice. It raises the possibility of a sort of drape overlay on one side of the bodice. It raises the possibility of a polka dot sleeve or two. It raises the possibility of more possibilities.

One note about the Little Dress form. This is too small (size 1-2) to actually fit any the little girls around here but it is highly useful for planning and pinning. Being able to drape it and walk away six or seven feet really helps me get an idea of proportions for design and fabric combinations. It's also very handy to just sit and stare at it and let the ideas just dance through my head while I drink coffee.

Several questions have come to mind. What should the back of the dress look like? I think the back of the dress should have some sort of interesting detail because I think the back of the dress should be cute enough that I want the child to turn around just so I can see the front of it. Also, what closure should it have? Buttons? Zipper? And does it need a collar?

The more I think about it all, the more things I have to think about.

Naughty Stripes

At first glance my striped fabric appeared to be an even stripe, meaning that the stripes were symmetrical. After a little study, I decided that it was in fact an uneven stripe. Of course I had to prove this to myself with the mitered fold test. Hopefully the blue stripe on my ironing board cover won't confuse this too badly.

First, I folded the stripe back on itself at a 45 degree angle to get a true bias fold:

Next I folded it up onto itself and looked carefully at the result.

 

You can see that the biggest stripe is symmetrical, but the smaller stripe is not. This is one of those things that can create absolute havoc if you don't discover it before cutting out your pattern. I use this same test on plaid fabrics also.

 

Ask me how I know.

 

In other news, I am still putting together ideas for the wardrobe and I bought Burda 7189 during my recent trip to Joann's.

 

This top has a neat folded effect in the upper bodice as well as a very interesting sleeve treatment in the cap sleeve version. It's also a cute dress (which I really have no need for) and a nice long sleeve version. The front button band has a great little detail also.

I'm going to work up a muslin of this top in the next couple of days. I want to see how the Burda armhole will work for me. I've been thinking a lot about armholes and sleeve caps lately. And crotch curves. And crotch depth. And princess seams.

And mostly, I've been thinking about stripes.

Facing Reality

I have succumbed once again to Dress Fever. In particular, I want a simple, sophisticated, sleek looking dress, preferably in brown linen, in the luscious Coffee Liqueur shade on yesterday's Pantone Fall 2011 color chart.


On the cutting table, I have been busily hacking away on a muslin for this little number from Vogue:



This is Vogue 8682, a Very Easy Very Vogue design. Here's the line drawing for this one:

I am working on View A, the shorter length with the shorter sleeve length. So far the sleeves seem to be elbow length, which is a nice look for this.

Cutting this one out took a little bit of soul searching and a lot of Facing Reality.

Facing Reality #1:

I took early retirement from teaching two years ago. During that time I have been working in my own business. This business requires a lot of sitting time, both in front of the laptop and in a chair/recliner/sofa, etc.

Facing Reality #2:

Sitting doesn't use up a lot of calories.

Facing Reality #3:

My usual main form of exercise (heavy gardening work) is no longer available to me. (More on this in a future post.)

Facing Reality #4:

The best workout I currently get is from houseWORK. Not my favorite.
Second best current workout involves kitchen appliances. This is a favorite.
Third best current workout is fork lifting, the hands-down all time favorite.

Facing Reality #5:

A session with the tape measure indicated I needed a WAY BIG size in this dress. WAY BIGGER than anything I have ever made for myself. Or that I have made for anyone else, now that I think about it.....

Facing Reality #6:

I need to put on my Big Girl Pants and cut out the WAY BIG size.

Facing Reality #7:

The damn thing fits me.

Fall Colors in the Fabric Stores Yet?

Long time no see. Such is life, I guess...

At any rate, this of course is probably very old news to most of you, but here is the Fall 2011 Pantone color report:

I really, really like this year's colors. The most surprising thing to me is the lack of black! It seems that we are supposedly going to see more earthy, rich, feminine colors in the stores this year.

Have you ever had your colors "done"? I did, about 25 years ago, and believe it or not I still have my little color swatch book. It is in my purse as I speak.

I'm planning a little road trip soon to a not-so-local fabric stop (JoAnns or Hancock Fabrics), so my mission is to see if these colors are in the fabric stores or if we will have to wait 3 years for these color palettes to show up for home sewers.

If you've seen these colors out there for purchase already, give a girl a holler out in the comments and tell us where!