tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31626396717762557662024-03-13T13:01:13.689-07:00Welcome to my WorldKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-56230727763599963562019-06-10T15:59:00.000-07:002019-06-10T15:59:27.414-07:00Puzzle-Piece Pattern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img height="332" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x94NiMTfsxxHIZxeyFJzsBPVeiUfQOvTZLRRYJ2RNNkG7-eTAU2HXCDTWkSoFfuOT0en64qHigeoAFPhuKryk8Szc2v3mEReFYDBwX4P-bKwjuQxtT_grOIhiGA5nd1NZ6Hu6akE_SOpGh1_rIM4XfLPjvohZPhQBEQG9awtf80gtMHw26tFIhnhGM_Z0LmhPpM9wQg1ho_SpUOoP9tFzpHYkluK_gBJTQ_EgbwDGvB-z9hDizVPAhY0xN2Sp2kIibKfUmwuy2poSyI4W-4jFZvo8gmLK9ZgimYGx13tzuNQwrwv-8T9GDFbPvVrhRqyy7P7JaupBBz7TNVs2Q651fWQP51Rc8VUmguhNTC-DRU-iUsMBcC0zc1LMaDPyZ5bv3VvsIsRaK7sDDYbt5Pup5E1jgT3jn9dp0xJbmhJvRSCYE_bFzfW4FDqmdRwInIleKtwG7T4pPqxx3sZbF6BWGhfg8PzNEXJK_WszMHnG4Tm04DuT3ccEZ1SkxTn2y0MvDkaU1VJnfbb7DkHxW5FE4jKhd16bhUk1XKOTX7hoO_OPLjy6noJWK_uK07NS4Hn9eEBtMCs6qgt8e2MQnydvZhIysqHuRJwWVG9ufZEpl-z2_SDH594HQ1WzRcpylzr5Z-mwWq2M6XKX4-Pvx9Ss1YAFvyiF4nZ=w2044-h1716-no" width="400" /></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s hard is sitting down to write.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Steven Pressfield, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The War of Art</i></span></span></blockquote>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-eb96c63a-7fff-a0ae-e566-dc4d3ab90883" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m currently re-reading </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The War of Art</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and this quote perfectly sums up why my poor blog is so neglected. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It also sort of explains why it took me so long to do this “thing” I wanted to do with my favorite t-shirt pattern. The idea was there, the process only took an hour or so, but STARTING the project? Haha, I should have a PhD in procrastination! Except I’d never sit down to write the thesis - so, yeah. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I wear a lot of t-shirts. I work from home, I sew from home, I live several miles outside of town and need a really compelling reason to leave home, so my wardrobe consists of anything comfortable but with enough polish that I don’t have to change if I do happen to want to be seen in public. So by t-shirts I don’t mean ratty college tees or oversize concert tees left over from the 80’s, both of which I own but don’t wear in public. I mean nice, well-fitting knit tops in a variety of colors and styles so it doesn’t look like I’m wearing the same thing every day, even though I sort of am. I don’t have time to buy every new tee pattern that comes out just so I can have a different neckline, sleeve or hem option because that means fitting every pattern to my not-average body proportions. What I really want is ONE pattern with ALL the options. Not asking for much, am I? I also don’t want an envelope stuffed full of a gazillion pieces which I have to sort through and iron every time I want to make what should be a quick project. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My solution? ONE t-shirt pattern with interchangeable necklines, sleeves, and hems. And because I’m still somewhere in the procrastination stage I’ve only done the neckline, but I’m still so excited about it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I started with <a href="http://www.secondopiano.space/blog/2017/9/29/basic-instinct-tshirt-pattern">the Basic InstincT by Sasha at Secondo Piano</a>. Hopefully you have a basic tee pattern that you love. I have a long list of ones that don’t fit my body without extensive changes, but it just so happens that Sasha's draft works for my body type. If you want to put the time into making your own “puzzle-piece pattern” start with whatever favorite tee works for you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">And finally… the process:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I folded 2 pieces of 24"x36" manila tagboard in half lenthwise and traced the front on one and the back on the other, with CF and CB on the fold. Sometimes I like to use the pattern on folded fabric and sometimes on a single layer. Folding the pattern like this gives me either option. (This particular pattern in my size fits on a single width, but I could just as easily use half the pattern or tape 2 pieces together.) <span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then I cut out the pattern pieces. I have an old, worn-out rotary cutter that I use for paper. I cut the straight lines (hem and shoulder) with that and a ruler so the layers wouldn’t shift. Then I rough cut around the curves, clamped the edges together with binder clips, and carefully cut both layers at once. Although now that I think about it, I could have cut the top layer then used that to trace the bottom layer. I’m sure there are many good ways to do it, but the end result should be identical top and bottom layers of the folded pattern pieces. (I'm actually using the back pattern piece in these photos because my front piece was too messy-looking!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="619" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MFGaTzJmb2FTEu55qZClloD2suIrGujbQqCtby27ese719pTje5vIX6mC61HXGiSOjUsrbndoPlzwsm-4v13MyQxDlWDW08oxuuv7VaF6DuSmM9aV1aR18veSEW7C_-jAqrTAxdBTvxO6EEfPi6uQH-uyFS7i4eCxf21rAbWFDEy63NzSYvBVw_AwNQEp-uME7PXECWJ8o_0yDfes5vC-ZUFq37tW5vrcVTFAwHJLYM73au_dM_EyYcPgzhf3wv3Q3CAtyHYoMt_tS0p1Gd__ZBHHBm8A3F9l9JNFi1SUCxK0hBrd8WO1ucc4fZ6WM2G_aG2x_-VwVtFfnoBubbQfLp2RVe-j-IlY0pc7Jq_sWs40z5U0AxsFpta7nFp5BmxbumWYY03HAY4CcvK4JMQA7Onb8DA6CQrNRn0GotNTS-6Y1VNtjIIkrsqPGCtwj0l7h6vmtZrqZjE0OLxok9h46ykiKqJclqYqtiUR1Z_WWtmi1M7JbQaylku85jqjJbhMMd3vKVW8TWOabOfxEGKDKqr2zatrpc2eieUV2mcseK04n0PPx-Em0kNlfQIYz46rJWpfrQJFYJ9PfudONre-VBEghKa1Fp1lTohT2ViV127cDgGMvhkW92pEyf4v_cBo8jlW7mDWinsdCU-hkDidv9JpvOYAgIv=w1764-h1716-no" width="640" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the front pattern piece I drew a line perpendicular to the center front, well below the lowest neckline I would want, and another line perpendicular to the shoulder, outside of the widest neckline I would want, and extended both lines until they met. I used a Frixion pen so I could iron off any stray marks, but pencil would work as well. With a pen, I made marks in a couple places across the lines for matching purposes, then I cut along the lines (again, making sure both layers are cut the same). And that’s the first neckline “puzzle piece”!</span><br /><div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGSRKGwjaGo/XP7cty6QcbI/AAAAAAAAqJQ/g_I26JJQ1k0xPRn6AAlTg_NGBTiDAZPdgCKgBGAs/s1600/20190605_122511-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGSRKGwjaGo/XP7cty6QcbI/AAAAAAAAqJQ/g_I26JJQ1k0xPRn6AAlTg_NGBTiDAZPdgCKgBGAs/s640/20190605_122511-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now for other neckline pieces. I folded a piece of tagboard to fit underneath the open space of the front pattern neckline area, keeping the fold perfectly lined up with the center front fold. I traced the neckline cut lines, extended the shoulder line, and drew my new desired neckline. I marked the neckline piece where the match marks are on the front pattern. Besides the original crew neck of the pattern, I have a shallow v-neck, which uses the same neckline at the shoulder and back, and I have a turtleneck neckline, which is closer to the neck at the back, shoulder, and front. I will possibly add a square neckline and a slightly scooped neckline.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcoYGeFYTx8/XP7dIRWeR2I/AAAAAAAAqJY/e2PJabLfy4AGpTDNfJiG4SIlA3Kx3yrxQCKgBGAs/s1600/20190605_123654-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcoYGeFYTx8/XP7dIRWeR2I/AAAAAAAAqJY/e2PJabLfy4AGpTDNfJiG4SIlA3Kx3yrxQCKgBGAs/s640/20190605_123654-01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">I repeated steps 2 and 3 for the back. I used the front pattern piece to mark where I wanted the back shoulder cut line to start, but it’s really not necessary that they match, or even that they’re perpendicular to the seamline or center line. If you might want to have a deep back neckline be sure to make your cutout big enough. </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8F-zu4WLQ00/XP7d-C9RjRI/AAAAAAAAqJs/lQuHqhQOvbsPuGOmtKkJCZDVRX_MgTpEgCKgBGAs/s1600/20190605_120427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8F-zu4WLQ00/XP7d-C9RjRI/AAAAAAAAqJs/lQuHqhQOvbsPuGOmtKkJCZDVRX_MgTpEgCKgBGAs/s640/20190605_120427.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">I labeled all the pieces well. This is something I’m not usually very good at, but it’s super important to know which pieces are used for what and which front and back pieces go together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now when I cut out a pattern, I can set whichever neckline I want in place, keep it there with weights or washi tape, trace, and cut. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TSPPn-1BjRM/XP7enXiZlWI/AAAAAAAAqJ4/a4bLvquwZmUYyHOXLULsIdq6VYV1L1O9wCKgBGAs/s1600/20190605_124902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TSPPn-1BjRM/XP7enXiZlWI/AAAAAAAAqJ4/a4bLvquwZmUYyHOXLULsIdq6VYV1L1O9wCKgBGAs/s640/20190605_124902.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I plan to add sleeve length options (cap, short, cuffed, long…) all using the same sleeve cap, and hemline options (straight, curved, split hem, tunic length…) but for now I’m happy with my progress.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Things I’ve learned:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">I should have made my neckline cutout areas bigger. They need to be big enough to allow for lower necklines AND still have enough space to punch a hole in the small neckline patterns so I can hang them. Luckily I can still make that change, I’ll just have to re-trace my neckline pieces.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Frixion pens are the best! I used a gray pen so the marks were light to begin with, but I used it to trace the original pattern, mark the cut lines, trace the cut lines to the neckline pieces, and draw the new necklines. After everything was cut out a quick swipe of the iron erased any stray marks. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I think this is going to clear both paper clutter and mental clutter from my life. I’m playing with the idea of using this for other basic patterns (button-up shirt? jeans?) so I can change some details without having to re-trace a whole pattern.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you try this and like it, let me know! </span></div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-80710527701132982102018-09-27T14:50:00.000-07:002018-09-27T14:50:42.312-07:00Vogue 2442 -- Vintage Calvin Klein Jeans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4R_o9GyfBTU/W61EtopEwsI/AAAAAAAAhEU/tOd109z-25o5L2eDhpdhWBtEu-Zz6pXNQCLcBGAs/s1600/SAM_0799%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4R_o9GyfBTU/W61EtopEwsI/AAAAAAAAhEU/tOd109z-25o5L2eDhpdhWBtEu-Zz6pXNQCLcBGAs/s400/SAM_0799%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nope, haven't perfected the fit yet!</td></tr>
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I've been working on these jeans on and off for too many weeks... with a couple vacations in between... and they are finally done! Before I get to all the details, I'll just say that if you can find this pattern in a thrift store or on Etsy, eBay, etc., and if you're a jeans-making or pattern-drafting nerd like me, it's worth buying.<br />
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<b>Fabric Selection</b><br />
I've made a lot of jeans and currently have about 6 pairs of me-made jeans in various stages of wearability and honestly I didn't need another pair. I decided to shake things up this time with colored denim. Ha, yes, I'm so daring! Anyway, I thought it would give me a little bit dressier option than regular blue denim jeans.<br />
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This pattern pre-dates widely available stretch denim so I wanted to make it in non-stretch fabric. Ultimately I decided on wine-colored bull denim from fabric.com. Bull denim is thick like regular denim, sometimes even thicker, but it's not quite as stiff so it can be easier to sew and more comfortable to wear. The only drawback to the denim I found -- it was intended for home dec use and was labeled dry clean only.<br />
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Not one to religiously follow care instructions, I bought the fabric anyway and decided to see what would happen if I washed it. It's 100% cotton so what could go wrong?<br />
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There are two things I always (ok, usually) test for before I sew up a fabric, crocking and bleeding. Crocking is when the dye rubs off when the fabric is dry. Washing the fabric may or may not stop the crocking. I've had some denim that crocks so badly I can't sit on light colored furniture, even after several washes. I think it's actually fairly common in darker blue denims (or maybe I tend to buy poor-quality denim) and I'm ok with a small degree of crocking, but if it turns my hands, my sewing machine, or the inside of my dryer an obvious color then I don't want to work with it or wear it because if I do I'll eventually end up with permanent dye someplace I didn't want it. I check for this by rubbing a scrap of light cloth fairly hard on an edge of the fabric. (Not the middle in case it removes dye and leaves a light spot.) This dark wine-colored denim didn't crock at all! Yay! I thought I was home free!<br />
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I washed the fabric once by itself in hot water to get as much shrinkage and excess dye out of the way as possible. I dried it on hot, again to encourage shrinkage, then I repeated the whole process. I hate to waste so much hot water and electricity on pretreating fabric, but better that than a surprise shrinkage after I've put hours into a project (been there, done that). Then I washed it a 3rd time with a load of dark towels and one white washcloth. The dark brown towels weren't affected, the medium blue towel came out of the laundry with a distinct periwinkle cast, and the white washcloth was VERY pink. Obviously this fabric has a bleeding problem, which is when the dye transfers to another fabric when the fabric is wet. I would mostly be washing these jeans with other dark colors, but what about my husband's navy shirts with small white logos? I really can't have those turning pink!<br />
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Lucky I happened to have some Retayne dye fixative on hand. I think RIT makes a fixative as well. The treatment involved hand agitating the fabric and fixative in a large bucket of hot water for 30 minutes (not fun!) but one more wash with another white washcloth showed only the slightest amount of bleeding. As long as I'm careful with the laundry I shouldn't have any more problems.<br />
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<b>The Pattern</b><br />
I've seen a few blog posts by other people who made this pattern and it seemed to run a little big. It's pretty typical for Vogue patterns to have a lot of ease so I thought the size 12 should fit me perfectly even though my measurements put me in a 14. It was close, a 14 might have been too big, but I was VERY glad I added extra wide seam allowances on the side seams.<br />
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The pattern has a couple quirks, namely the position of the inseam and side seam. Compared to other jeans patterns I have, and to RTW jeans, these seams on this pattern sit farther back. I don't know if that was typical in 80's jeans, but I decided to move them to make them more like what I'm used to. On the jeans front piece I moved the inseam stitching line in by 1/2". On the back piece I moved the inseam out by 1/2" and added 1" in width to the entire length of the piece, as well as to the back yoke. This gave me extra seam allowance to work with on the sides.<br />
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Besides that it's a pretty good pattern, better than any other I've made. The back yoke has no dart shaping which I thought was strange, but it works incredibly well on me. The notches are all numbered in order of assembly. Do Vogue patterns still do that? I forgot it was a thing, and I love it. The best feature may be the pocket stay. The innermost pocket piece extends into the fly at center front, which gives a flatter-looking front...<br />
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Also, the jeans front piece is 1/4" wider than the stay, meaning there is more fabric in the outer layer to make a smooth curve around the body, AND it gives a tiny bit of ease in the pocket opening so you can actually uses your pockets! I've seen directions for this, and I've included it in my own self-drafted jeans, but I've never seen it in another pattern. Not that I've used a lot of jeans patterns, but feel free to recommend any that do this because to me it's a mark of a well-drafted pattern.<br />
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The pattern has a contoured waistband, which I didn't use because it was VERY curved. I may actually have a 4" difference between my waist and 1.5" below my waist, but I don't want to emphasize it. Instead I cut a straight waistband, stabilized the upper edge with narrow twill tape, and stretched/steamed the lower edge of the waistband into a curve.<br />
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The fly instructions are really good. I don't think a jeans fly is hard, the main difference is in the quality of instructions. These instructions don't even mention a serger (hello 1980!) which I think is great, because jeans-making shouldn't be limited to serger owners.<br />
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And the best/worst part of the pattern -- the stitching guide for Calvin Klein's back pocket design. Is it right for me to put the Calvin Klein stitching on jeans I made? It kind of feels like I'm being dishonest. But then is it right to use Calvin Klein's pattern and put my own stitching on the pockets? That doesn't feel right either. I did the CK stitch pattern in matching thread so it's not too obvious. I'll have to see how I feel after I wear them a few times.<br />
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A final quick summary of this pattern:<br />
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Pros:<br />
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<li>Pocket stay</li>
<li>Roomy front pockets</li>
<li>Great fly instructions</li>
<li>Calvin Klein back pocket stitch design</li>
<li>Looks nearly identical to high-waist, straight-leg jeans currently on Calvin Klein website</li>
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Cons:</div>
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<li>Overly contoured waistband</li>
<li>Inseam and side seams are set too far back</li>
<li>Front and back inseam are the same length, leaving too much length in back thigh</li>
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Would I make these again? Umm, probably not. The fit still needs a lot of work for me, and the style seems a little frumpy on my short legs. But I'll use some of the features I like in my self-drafted jeans pattern just because it already fits me, and I'll keep trying to create the perfect pair of jeans!</div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-28033548971356110672018-08-16T19:04:00.001-07:002018-08-16T19:05:29.023-07:00Down the Jeans Fitting Rabbit Hole Maybe this post should be called "That time I spent a week tracing patterns and didn't actually make jeans." Regardless, it's been a fun journey, one that's kept me awake at night for the past week, and I think it's been worthwhile.<br />
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It all started because I found this pattern at a used pattern sale:<br />
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I remember seeing this in the pattern catalogs when I was a teenager. I couldn't afford a real pair of Calvin Klein jeans and I wouldn't have been caught dead in a homemade pair. Name brand jeans were a big thing in the 80's. Now that I'm well past that time in my life I've made quite a few pairs of jeans. Nobody has ever asked what brand they are, so I guess they don't care. (And even if they did, I don't.) I don't feel any need to own vintage designer jeans, but I'm curious about the quality of this pattern and let's face it, I have a place in my heart for all things 80's.<br />
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But here's the thing. Most of my me-made jeans are from a self-drafted pattern which I've been slowly perfecting over the past few years. I've bought jeans patterns but then I decide I should stick with the pattern that works instead of starting from scratch. There have been a few exceptions, and I'm going to compare them in this post to see what I can learn from their similarities and differences. The patterns I've purchased and sewn are:<br />
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1. <a href="https://alinadesignco.com/product/chi-town-chinos-full-collection/">Chi-town Chinos by Alina Design Co.</a> which are not jeans, but I made the fitted knee-length shorts so the fit is similar to jeans.<br />
2. <a href="https://store.closetcasepatterns.com/products/morgan-boyfriend-jeans-pattern">Morgan Boyfriend Jeans by Closet Case Patterns</a><br />
3. <a href="http://peppermintmag.com/sewing-school/wide-leg-pants/">The FREE Peppermint Magazine Wide Leg Pants, designed by In The Folds</a> which again are not jeans, but I made the upper part fitted like jeans, the fit is amazing, and I love them with all my heart! Haha, but seriously, see <a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2018/07/peppermint-wide-leg-pants.html">my last post</a> for more details.<br />
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***Time for a giant disclaimer here!! Anything I say in this post about the fit of these patterns is not meant to be a criticism of the patterns. All three are wonderful patterns. They are drafted for different body shapes, not necessarily mine, and isn't it wonderful that there are patterns out there representing so many different shapes? I chose to sew all three pretty much as drafted so I could see what shapes they were designed to fit. ***<br />
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I'm also throwing the Calvin Klein pattern and my own self-drafted jeans into the comparison ring. My whole purpose is to see how the Calvin Klein pattern compares to a variety of other patterns so I can tell if it's worth my time to sew them up or not. So... ready to see where the rabbit hole leads?<br />
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There are dozens of places where jeans can fit wrong -- waist, hips, thighs, calves, length, rise, angle of legs, dart shaping in yoke, back waist gap... the list could go on. My biggest issue with jeans is the way they fit in the back. Because really, isn't that what we all want from a pair of jeans? a nice looking behind? (Or at least one that isn't obviously bad looking?) And there are a lot of measurements involved in getting this perfect fit:<br />
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<b>Rise:</b> The vertical distance from crotch to waist, without going over or around any curves<br />
<b>Crotch length:</b> The distance of the crotch curve from front waist to back waist. I prefer this measurement to be divided into front and back crotch length because some people have more distance around the abdomen and some have more around the behind.<br />
<b>Stride:</b> This is a men's term, but I don't know why women don't use it, or at least some variation. It's the distance from the crotch point, under the bum, and diagonally up to the intersection of the side seam and waist. I think it's technically the amount of fabric you need in that area of your pants to take a step.<br />
<b>Hip Circumference:</b> Usually measured at the widest part of the hip, but that measurement can include the largest part of the abdomen, thighs or behind, or just one or two of the three, and the perfect pattern shape will differ depending on which of those areas needs the extra room.<br />
<b>Hip depth:</b> The distance from the largest part of the hip to the waist, measured against the body. The measurement will be different at center front, side, and center back, depending on where the curviest parts of the body are.<br />
<b>Waist circumference:</b> The distance around the waist.<br />
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To complicate matters, knowing all of your measurements still doesn't always help because different pants and jeans have design differences in rise (front and back), side seam placement, and inseam placement. And to complicate things even further, a change to a pattern for one of these measurements will affect the others.<br />
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I tend to get a lot of folds under my bum and the waist pulls down in back when I sit. Fitting books and tutorials address this in different ways. Some say to add length to the back crotch length by extending the "hook" horizontally, some say to slash from center back seam to side seam and add a wedge, and some use a quick method of extending the center back seam higher then blending the back waist back down to the side seam. Some say to "scoop" the back crotch hook more, but only by 1/4" or so. My favorite methods have to do with "body space" and making sure the depth of your body will fit within the curve of the pattern. There are dozens of tutorials online for using a flexible ruler or foil "rope" to duplicate your body space. However, I've never seen one that explains how close to your body to measure the shape. Maybe some do, but I've never seen it. Probably because there is some personal preference involved. Some people like their pants to have an extreme wedgie while some favor the mono-butt look. (Don't know what that is? Google it!) I'm somewhere in between. Jeans and other close fitting pants generally have a higher, tighter crotch because that allows for greater range of motion. Kind of counter-intuitive, I know, but try to imagine walking in a pair of pants with tight legs and a low crotch -- it really wouldn't be comfortable.<br />
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Umm, this is my shape - side view, cross section, the heavy black line is my waist. Yup, putting that on the internet for the world to see. And to be honest, this shape doesn't fit many RTW clothes. Good thing I can make my own! I have a short rise, I'm pretty shallow front to back, and the fullest part of my bum is lower than average which makes the lowest part of my body space curve fairly wide. I know this is my most challenging area so I set out to find the back crotch curve shape for my body.<br />
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In the interest of research, I traced all 5 patterns mentioned above onto one piece of paper. The Calvin Klein pattern has the crotch line marked on the pattern pieces, perpendicular to the grainline and through the crotch point on both front and back. I marked a crotch line the same way on the other patterns, lined them all up, and here's what I got:<br />
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The first thing I noticed is that the angle from the crotch line to the front inseam is basically the same on every pattern. I don't know the significance of that but it's a bit of knowledge that may come in handy someday. Also, I know these aren't the actual crotch lines on the patterns because the distance from crotch line to waist should be the same on the front and back pieces. That makes the whole similar angle thing more perplexing. But that's a rabbit hole for another day.<br />
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The second thing I noticed is that there is a lot of difference in the crotch curves. Which brings me to the whole point of this project -- which crotch curves fit me best, and why?<br />
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Most tutorials out there will agree that the body space needs to fit within the curve, but they don't agree on how to measure the curve. Some will line the front and back up as above, and some will line up the inseams, which opens up the curve. Some of my patterns have a very sharp angle between crotch and back inseam, so lining up the inseams opens the curves up a ridiculous amount. I finally came across <a href="http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3022">this forum discussion</a> which didn't answer my question, but led me to think the answer lies in lining up the inseams at knee level, not at upper thigh, and observing how much the curve opens up. I measured my patterns' body space width both as arranged above and with the inseams matched at knee level, and while the measurements changed, they kept the same order from smallest to largest body space.<br />
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Here is a comparison of the patterns that fit me best:<br />
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These are my self-drafted jeans (red), which after 8 versions should fit me pretty well, and the Peppermint Wide Leg Pants (green). I lined up the front crotch curve instead of the crotch point so I could compare a little better, and I think I'm on to something! My self-drafted jeans have the tiniest bit of pull across the front crotch, and I can see that the better-fitting curve of the wide leg pants is the slightest bit flatter in that area. I'm currently wearing the wide leg pants, and I noticed this morning that I scooped the back crotch a little too much, resulting in a bit of mono-butt. Overall I was surprised to see how similar these are, but I guess I shouldn't have been since they both fit really well. Between these two patterns I think I've found the perfect crotch curve for me! </div>
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And now for the patterns that don't fit as well:</div>
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The Chi-Town Chinos (blue) have a fairly narrow U-shaped curve that's almost symmetrical front to back. The Morgan Boyfriend Jeans are even narrower with closer to a V shape. I have seen both these patterns on other bodies and they look fantastic, but considering how different they are from my ideal pattern shapes it's pretty easy to see why I don't love the fit on either of these. These shapes make sense with these patterns because the Chi-Towns are drafted as chinos, which should be looser fitting than jeans, and the Morgans are boyfriend jeans, which again are a looser fit. However, both fit me really close in the thighs so for me the crotch needs to fit more closely.<br />
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And now to answer the question this whole journey started with: Is the Calvin Klein pattern worth trying?<br />
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Red is my self-drafted pattern. Brown is Calvin Klein. I think we have a winner! I'll move the inseam forward, but I think all other alterations can be done while baste-fitting. Now I can put my extra patterns away, get off the computer, and start sewing!<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-48139480342046657312018-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:002018-07-03T20:21:19.009-07:00Peppermint Wide Leg Pants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ok, so I never thought I'd wear a pair of wide leg pants. Maybe if I were taller or thinner or younger or hipper, but I was very much convinced they weren't a good match for my body or personality.<br />
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Then a couple months ago my family did a marathon shopping trip to celebrate all our grown children's birthdays. I don't buy clothes, I make them, but in the interest of research I decided I better try on some things out of my comfort zone and maybe expand my horizons a little. I picked up these yellow pants at Madewell, just because I thought it would be funny to try them on.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8OZCAgz6eSM/WzwulpmRqBI/AAAAAAAAfqM/eWCZoBdwjdEpAy9n1Fv3yjeNo4MoXmQbwCLcBGAs/s1600/dressing%2Broom.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1372" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8OZCAgz6eSM/WzwulpmRqBI/AAAAAAAAfqM/eWCZoBdwjdEpAy9n1Fv3yjeNo4MoXmQbwCLcBGAs/s640/dressing%2Broom.jpg" width="548" /></a></div>
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I took this photo in the dressing room and texted it to my daughter in the next dressing room because I was afraid to walk out in public. The pants were so wide! So yellow!!! But oh so comfortable. (And a little bit too big, because since I sew all my clothes I don't know my size, haha!) In the end I left the dressing room and faced the ridicule of my family and even a stranger in the store. Yes, they all laughed, but I convinced my daughter to try on a pair and although we walked out of the store empty handed we were both intrigued.</div>
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I kept thinking about the yellow pants. Maybe even dreaming about them. I looked at patterns and thought about how dumb it would be to expend any money or energy on a pair of pants that I would never wear. Then I saw the <a href="http://peppermintmag.com/sewing-school/wide-leg-pants/">free Peppermint Wide Leg Pants</a> pattern. Did I say free? And there's no shortage of fabric at my house, so with a couple days' effort I could have a free pair of pants. Although I did end up having to buy a zipper -- but still, almost free pants!</div>
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For reference, my hips are 40" and I cut a size D which is for 39" hips. I have no idea how I came to that decision, but I ended up taking the hips in by 1.5" in my muslin (an old sheet with absolutely no stretch) and by another 1.5" in the final pants which have the tiniest bit of stretch. I wanted a really snug fit between the waist and hips. </div>
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The Peppermint Wide Leg Pants are drafted for someone 5'7" tall. I'm 5'6" with a long torso and short legs. I shortened the pants 1" between waist and hip so the bottom of the waistband sits at my waist, and I shortened them by another 1" at the hem. They are longer than capri length but cropped enough that it doesn't look like my pants shrank in the wash. I hope.</div>
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The proportions of the Madewell pants were all wrong on me. I needed a narrower wide leg. After some experimenting with my muslin I decreased the hem circumference from 26 inches to 22.5 inches. Some of that was taken up along the sideseam when I took in the hips, and the rest was taken from the inseam. I basically made a new inseam parallel to the old one from hem to knee, then curved it up to the original crotch point. </div>
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I also went off-pattern with the pockets. I wanted secret pockets, just big enough to hold my phone. With my muslin pinned skin-tight around my body, I slid my phone underneath, nestled it in the hollow between my abdomen and hip bone, and drew a line around it. I used that line to draft the pockets in the perfect size, shape and position. It didn't occur to me that my hand is bigger than my phone, so if I put money or ID in a pocket I may have to take my pants off to get it out. Haha, lesson learned! </div>
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<br /><br />One more note on this pattern, the fly has instructions for a left-hand opening. I did it backward on purpose since I prefer it this way.<div>
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Now that my pants are done, I love them! I may wear them every day for the rest of the summer. And my daughter who also tried on the Madewell pants? She has the Peppermint Wide Leg Pants pattern cut out and ready to go and I shipped some of my extra denim to her.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-52255326656582247492017-12-10T18:02:00.000-08:002017-12-10T18:02:43.438-08:00Back to the 80s<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wYkOXpu3oT4/Wi3iHrXBd6I/AAAAAAAAc4Q/OehEhVImW9wERUBFQxFQI_8OTHkqQ73hQCKgBGAs/s1600/20171203_194928-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wYkOXpu3oT4/Wi3iHrXBd6I/AAAAAAAAc4Q/OehEhVImW9wERUBFQxFQI_8OTHkqQ73hQCKgBGAs/s400/20171203_194928-01.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This story begins with an unfortunate online fabric order. I know, I know, I could order swatches, but when I decide I want fabric I want it NOW! So I ordered 3 yards of Stonewash Blue Tencel Twill from fabric.com. At $18 per yard it was more than I normally spend, but I knew the tencel would be nice, and between the color description and the online swatch (on multiple monitors even) I expected it to be the color of a nicely broken-in denim shirt. Not so. Not a bad color but not at all what I expected. Not quite blue and not quite gray, it reminded me a little bit of Crayola's cadet blue, one of my favorite childhood crayon colors, and a little bit of the French blue commonly seen in 80s kitchen decor. I didn't hate it but I knew I couldn't wear it near my face.</div>
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Maybe it was the 80s kitchen vibe, or maybe the fabric actually whispered to me, but after we stared at each other for a few weeks I realized it wanted to be made into the skirt from out-of-print Vogue 1521, a Perry Ellis pattern I bought in 1986. Now I must admit I love the 80s. I became a teenager in 1980. I graduated from high school and college in the 80s. I got married in 1989. My best growing up and coming of age memories are from the 80s. So maybe it's not that strange that this year as I turned 50 I wanted to make a skirt that would take me back to those days. And I wanted it to work. </div>
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There were two obvious problems from the very beginning. First, I used a size 8 pattern in 1986 and I'm not a size 8 now. It's a one-size pattern. Second, I made the skirt in 1986 and it didn't work for me then. More on that in a minute.</div>
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The first problem wasn't too hard to overcome. I made the waistband longer and decreased the depth of each pleat. It should have been simple to figure out but the waistband opens into the pocket and it took a bit to figure out the relationship between pocket, pleat, waistband and sideseam. I ended up pinning and pleating the pattern pieces so I could visualize it, and in the end it explained problem #2 above.</div>
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In 1986 I made the skirt out of a stiff, heavy cotton. So. Much. Fabric. The pleats are deep, they overlap (unless you're making them shallower to fit a larger waistband), and the pleats on the sides overlap the side seams and pockets, leaving several layers of fabric right at the side. It's an interesting design feature. As in "who would have thought of that?" kind of interesting, not "it's such a great idea to bulk up women's hips" kind of interesting. I never actually wore it back then. I ended up cutting it apart and making a slim-fitting skirt from the abundant amount of fabric. But because I was using a fabric with more drape this time around I somehow thought it would work. No such luck. Again, yards of fabric pleated around my hips and hanging nearly to the floor did my body no favors.</div>
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And here it is, wrinkled, unhemmed, and modeled so elegantly with my pajama top. Because I felt so frumpy in it I didn't feel the need to try to make it look any better.</div>
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I could have cut the skirt apart at this point and had two very large rectangles of usable fabric, but it told me it wanted to be this skirt and who was I to argue? In the end the solution was obvious. I pressed the tops of the pleats as flat as possible and hacked 6" off the hem. I'm still not sure it's "me". I always feel a little funny wearing full skirts, but it's probably something I should embrace during our hot summers. </div>
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Lesson learned: The 80s had great music, movies and memories, but great fashion? Not so much.</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-26432081109770327782017-06-14T09:36:00.001-07:002017-06-14T09:36:59.523-07:00Pattern Testing the Laminaria Swimsuit<div dir="ltr">
I'm a fan of <a href="http://seamstresserin.com/">Seamstress Erin's blog (here)</a>, and a long time ago I signed up with her to be a pattern tester. The call for testers for the <a href="http://seamstresserin.com/shop/laminaria-swimsuit/">Laminaria Swimsuit</a> came at a time when I'd decided I needed to get out of my comfort zone, stretch myself, try new things, and maybe even do something scary. The timing wasn't convenient, I was busy, I had so many excuses... but I did it anyway.</div>
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I wouldn't have chosen to make a swimsuit on my own this summer. I've made swimwear before and it's not hard. In fact you can get really good results without a lot of effort, and the stretch factor makes fitting less of an issue. I really don't wear a swimsuit often though. We have a pool that is unused now that the kids are grown. We visit the beach about once a year but I don't usually get in the water. I'm not much of a swimmer and I'm not comfortable wearing only a little piece of spandex in public so the two ready-to-wear swimsuits I own will probably last another decade at least. </div>
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So why would I test a swimsuit pattern? Just to try something new and different. And it was an amazing experience! There was a private Facebook group where we could share our feedback and experiences. It reminded me of what book clubs must be like for people who enjoy them. (I love to read but it's a personal experience for me, not a social one. I guess I'm a solitary reader and a social sewist.) There was also a little bit of a fear factor involved - allowing a photo of me in a swimsuit to be posted online. Funny that should scare me. I don't have any major body image issues and I don't really care what people think of me, but there is this feeling that a swimsuit "model" should be young and/or thin. (As if mid-weight, middle-aged women don't wear swimsuits? Oh yeah, I don't. Haha.) </div>
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Well, I tried something new (pattern testing), got out of my comfort zone (by adding one more time commitment to my crazy busy life), and scared myself (being seen in public in a swimsuit). And I actually love this swimsuit and feel really comfortable in it. It has good leg coverage without feeling frumpy. The back shows skin but the straps hold everything securely in place. </div>
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This was such a good experience to start getting out of the creative rut I've been in. It's time to start sewing more things that aren't my normal style. It's time to try new things and look at things in a different way. It's time to find joy in the journey, not just the destination, and embrace all the adventure I can find in life.</div>
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Note: This is not an affiliate link, but I like the swimsuit and I'm really grateful to Erin for giving me this experience so I'm happy to send people her way. I did receive the pattern for free but the supplies, time and opinions are my own.</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-91802250385566224832017-04-24T12:36:00.000-07:002017-04-25T18:59:22.257-07:00Breton Tee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's the "simple" project I've been looking forward to after my denim jacket adventure. This should have taken me an afternoon, but that's just not the way my life works.<br />
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First, the fabric. I'm a sucker for stripes. I have waaaaaay too many striped tees but they all seem to be wearing out at the same time so good excuse for a replacement, right? I wanted a Breton-like stripe, with wider white stripes and narrow black stripes. I found the perfect ecru/black St. James ponte at Mood, but I hesitated at the $18/yd price. So I left the tab open in my browser and decided to think on it for a day or two. I finally decided I had to have it, opened the page, and hit order. Only when I got my confirmation did I realize I'd looked at multiple colors and I accidentally ordered the ecru/navy. Which is fine, I wear too much black anyway, and the navy is so dark I might just wear it with black sometimes. The fabric is amazing: rayon/polyester/spandex ponte that feels heavenly. I want to wear it all the time!<br />
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The pattern is self-drafted. I made a top from it a few years ago and I'm kind of heartbroken that it's almost worn out. It was made in a similar ponte and I happily wore it way too much. I didn't baby it, though. It went through the washer and dryer every week for at least a couple years. It was a little bit too short and the sleeves were a little bit too snug. I decided to re-draft the pattern with more length (1") and ease (2"). Big mistake. This fabric stretches and grows like crazy. I hemmed the sleeves and bottom before I did anything else. (There are side slits so the back and front are hemmed separately.) Then I switched the thread from my cover stitch to my sewing machine and did the shoulders, neck, and sleeves. I did try it on at this point to make sure the side seams would be ok, but it seemed like it would be a relaxed fit so I went ahead and sewed up the side seams from wrist to side slit. It was HUGE!! I ended up taking out about 4" in circumference in the bodice and at least an inch in the sleeves, but I left the length because of laziness.<br />
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I've worn this top a couple times but I haven't washed it yet. I hope there's some shrinkage, otherwise I'm going to have to do some major surgery to make it something I'll wear often. And as much as I hate altering anything, I'll do it for this fabric. It's worth it!<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-39808169824283534932017-04-03T14:49:00.001-07:002017-04-03T14:49:10.827-07:00Denim Jacket, Take 2<br />
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I love my white denim jacket and I've been wearing it a fair amount, but I wasn't 100% happy with the pattern or the fit It's actually too small across the hips and I can't fasten the bottom button. There are very few, if any, situations where I would button up the jacket, but it still bothers me. So despite having no need and very little desire for another denim jacket I plowed ahead with number 2.<br />
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I had some dark denim that I bought to make jeans but I hadn't gotten around to using it primarily because even after a few washes it still turns everything it touches, including the inside of my dryer, blue. (BTW, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will remove blue stains from the inside of the dryer.) So first order of business, get rid of some of the dye!<br />
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I didn't want to do anything drastic, just remove the excess dye, so my first instinct was to use Rit Color Remover. I read the directions on the back of the box, filled my garage sink with hot water, got my chemical-resistant rubber gloves out, set the fabric out, then I opened the box and read the complete directions where it says in teeny tiny letters "do <b>not</b> use on<b> blue denim</b>." Not to be deterred I checked the Rit website where it explains that Rit Color Remover does not work on the indigo dye used on denim because it will dissolve the dye into a soluble form, which is then absorbed back into the fabric when the Color Remover is rinsed away. But since I had everything ready to go, and there were no warnings about dangerous chemical reactions or anything like that, I went ahead with my color removal plans to see what would happen.<br />
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After dissolving the Color Remover in the water and adding the denim, the water quickly turned from pale green, to thick pea green, to murky dark blue.<br />
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At least some of the dye was leaving the fabric, right? I stirred the fabric constantly with my gloved hand so the color would be even, and after about 25 minutes fatigue won out and I drained the sink and rinsed the fabric.<br />
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Remember the Dr. Seuss book, "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back"? Remember when the Cat in the Hat left a ring in the tub?<br />
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"A big long pink cat ring!</div>
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It looked like pink ink!</div>
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And I said, 'Will this ever</div>
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Come off? I don't think!'"<br />
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That's what I thought when I looked at the sink!:</div>
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(BTW, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will NOT remove blue stains from a vinyl garage sink. But lots of Comet helps.)</div>
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And the results on the fabric (top is untreated, bottom is after color removal):<br />
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The right side is slightly lighter and the wrong side is considerably bluer. *Sigh* But hey, I was warned, and now I know.</div>
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At this point there wasn't much to do besides use the fabric as-is. There were lots of pattern changes which I won't detail here because for the upcoming version #3 I used all the pieces to make a rough jacket block then redrafted the whole thing.<br />
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Funny thing, on the day I was scouting the mall for the best denim jackets, trying to decide what details I wanted to include in my "final" version, <a href="https://alinadesignco.com/product/hampton-jean-jacket/">Alina Design Co's Hampton Jean Jacket pattern</a> was released. I've got to say, I LOVE all the pictures I've seen of this pattern sewn up. I would buy it, except that I've already invested a lot of hours into coming up with a pattern that fits my body and my needs (except that I neither need nor want another denim jacket, but that's beside the point...). </div>
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By the time I finished my second jacket I pretty much hated it. The fabric was stiff and it turned my fingernails blue every time I worked on it. Which left only one thing to do - bleach the heck out of it. </div>
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If I loved the jacket I probably would have tested some samples in the bleach, but with nothing to lose I jumped right in. I filled a 5-gallon bucket about halfway full with approximately 5 parts hot water and 1 part bleach, mixed it with my gloved hand, and added the jacket which I had previously soaked in water. I kept agitating the jacket with my hand so it would lighten evenly, and the bleach worked so fast I could actually see the fabric getting lighter! After only about 6-7 minutes in the bleach solution my jacket was lighter than I had planned and I was desperately trying to dump out the bucket without hurting myself (safety goggles would have been really helpful!) and get the bleach rinsed out. The jacket went into the washing machine where it was washed in hot water, then dried on high heat, and here it is!:</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgkjVwQI1OU/WOK8NWg8O_I/AAAAAAAAZ_I/aTpJvucErVMC9JtyEjwtuiK7Wr1NgCxsACKgB/s1600/SAM_0371-copy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgkjVwQI1OU/WOK8NWg8O_I/AAAAAAAAZ_I/aTpJvucErVMC9JtyEjwtuiK7Wr1NgCxsACKgB/s320/SAM_0371-copy2.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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Before and after color:<br />
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Ok, I may have used too much bleach but at least I didn't have to wait around for it to work, right? It's not a great color for me so I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of this. But it was absolutely worth all the lessons learned! I've made a lot of pattern changes and pattern #3 is ready to cut out, as soon as I decide what fabric to use. Another white denim jacket? White linen? Blue denim with less bleach? I'll think on that for a few days, and in the meantime I'm working on something quicker and easier to make. </div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-27770289611121468352017-03-07T16:11:00.001-08:002017-03-07T16:11:18.517-08:00Excuses, Excuses... and a Denim Jacket<div dir="ltr">
Dear Blogger, it's been a long time. I've been busy, and I have a lot of really good reasons for ignoring my blog. Yes, really good reasons. First, my sewing room was a mess and I couldn't take photos until I cleaned it. Then I never really learned to use my new camera. Then my sewing room was too dark for photos. Yep, all my excuses revolve around photos. My goal sometime this year is to find and/or set up a spot in my house where it's convenient to take pictures. In the meantime, let me introduce my latest creation with the best photos I can get under the circumstances. </div>
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Here is my new denim jacket, tossed on my sewing room floor:</div>
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<a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2013/07/jacket-express.html">Four years ago I sewed the Islander Jacket Express.</a> The pattern was drafted well, the instructions were thorough, and the Craftsy class was well worth the money. My jacket turned out well, but I never wear it. It isn't quite "me". The collar is too big, the edges are too round and the fit is too boxy. I decided to use the pattern as a starting point for a more traditional-looking denim jacket. And I'm calling this white jacket an overwhelming success.</div>
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Pattern changes:</div>
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Narrower, pointed collar</div>
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Narrower cuffs with square corners</div>
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Reshaped upper pockets and flaps</div>
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Narrower sleeves with higher sleeve cap</div>
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Removed excess length and width from front</div>
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Lengthened jacket and added band at bottom edge</div>
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Placed buttons closer together</div>
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The fit isn't perfect, but it's loose enough through the back and shoulders that I can move my arms freely and it's fitted enough in front that I'm not swimming in it. The fabric is bull denim from JoAnn Fabrics. It's firm enough to hold the shape of the jacket but soft enough to sew through easily and wear comfortably. I don't usually praise fabric from JoAnns, but this denim was perfect for my jacket! </div>
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A close-up shot of my pointy details (so much more "me" than the round collar and pockets):</div>
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I've got a second jacket in the works because I wanted to perfect the fit. It's a different fabric and a whole new set of adventure. More details later... unless I remember all the excuses.</div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-60733743150820193832016-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:002016-03-07T16:45:03.345-08:00Vogue 9099, The Couture Blazer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I should really call this the Very Imperfect Semi-Couture Blazer.</div>
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I was so excited when I bought this pattern. The last time I did any tailoring was in 1984 when I spent the summer working on my 4H project with MUCH help from my mom. I've been wanting a nice blazer for years, but I'm too picky about fit to buy one.</div>
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I wasn't intimidated by the pattern. I can sew at an advanced level when I want to and I'm not afraid to try anything. But OH the hand work involved! It wasn't hard, but SO time consuming. I think I watched at least 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls on Netflix while I made this blazer.</div>
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Before Christmas (and before the Gilmore Girls marathon) I made a muslin, which was a good thing because I totally slashed across the back to add shape and length, I recut the front with a small bust adjustment, and I tried out two different sizes of sleeves. (Turns out I'm a 14 in the shoulders, waist and hips, and a 10 in the arms. Who knew?) I also narrowed the shoulders, which I have never had to do before, and changed the roll line so I could add a 3rd, higher button at the front.<br />
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At first I was stumped by the SBA and how the shoulder dart would work with that. I suppose I could have looked up how to do it but that would take all the fun out of the project, right? Here's what I ended up doing:<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iS6B3iIMTW8/VtuOrCnLaeI/AAAAAAAAF0Q/M23mefNQDj0/s1600/Small%2Bbust%2Badjustment%2Bfor%2Bblazer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iS6B3iIMTW8/VtuOrCnLaeI/AAAAAAAAF0Q/M23mefNQDj0/s1600/Small%2Bbust%2Badjustment%2Bfor%2Bblazer.jpg" /></a><br />
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This isn't meant to be a tutorial but I thought it might be helpful to someone in the same situation. Picture #3 shows what the altered pattern piece looked like. #4 is to show the effect of the alteration. I can't say how this would work for someone else, but it was a life-changing revelation for me and I love the fit of the new pattern piece. (And I probably should mention that I had to change the position of the upper pocket, aligning the grain of the pocket welt with the new grainline of the upper chest.)<br />
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Besides the fitting, here's what I learned from this project:<br />
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1. Hand sewing is not the enemy. Hand basting can be a wonderful thing, and hand stitching in general can be kind of relaxing. That said, I'll skip as much of the hand stitching as possible the next time I make this pattern.<br />
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2. I wouldn't use this pocket flap pattern again. I thought the pockets looked wrong on the pattern envelope and I couldn't quite figure it out. I think the problem is that the flaps are rectangles, folded right sides together and stitched up the sides. I tried to make the underneath half of the rectangles smaller, but in the end the flaps didn't want to curve around the body, even after heavy steaming over a pressing ham, and the sides are stiffer than the bottom edges. Next time I'll cut separate flaps and linings and probably round the corners a bit.<br />
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3. Hand buttonholes? I didn't even try. My machine makes fairly presentable keyhole buttonholes and I'm sure they look better than anything I could attempt by hand.<br />
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4. Next time I'll move the roll line back down and get rid of that top button. I thought it worked better with my shape but after seeing picture I'm not so sure. But then, it's not like I'll really wear it buttoned up... Also, I chose not to lengthen the pattern for my long torso and I should have. Next time for sure.<br />
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5. In the Vogue patterns I've used the sleeve cap seems to be too high with too much ease. Next time I'll see if I can flatten it a little and eliminate most or all of the ease. </div>
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After months of working on this project, I can safely say I don't feel the need to put this much effort into an item of clothing for a very long time.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFxzxsZU0l4/Vtn4tmjq0xI/AAAAAAAAFz8/ZEQLF2CGpz8/s1600/Vogue%2B9099%2BBlazer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFxzxsZU0l4/Vtn4tmjq0xI/AAAAAAAAFz8/ZEQLF2CGpz8/s1600/Vogue%2B9099%2BBlazer.jpg" /></a></div>
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Bloopers:<br />
Yes, I realize the pocket welts are wrong side out. No, I didn't realize it until after they were sewn on, slashed and turned. I'm just going to say I like the contrast and call it a happy accident, because that's what we do when we sew, right?</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-31243386680307326032015-07-24T10:07:00.001-07:002015-07-24T10:07:43.763-07:00A-Frame Skirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1KDuY_Hx770/VbJp861Lf6I/AAAAAAAAFLI/Hc0Ohyljd08/s1600/SAM_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1KDuY_Hx770/VbJp861Lf6I/AAAAAAAAFLI/Hc0Ohyljd08/s640/SAM_0162.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Well, it's been a while! I've been sewing but not blogging. My quest for a great pair of jeans has caused me a lot of frustration but that's a topic for another post.<br />
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In the meantime, some new changes in my life mean I'll be needing a few more skirts. On Wednesday I saw the A-Frame Skirt pattern by Blueprints for Sewing on Pinterest. (Pinned by Indiesew.com - thankyouverymuch!) I've recently decided to do my part in supporting indie pattern designers by buying their patterns so I quickly checked this one out. Not only does the pattern include the really cute pencil skirt that I can't wait to make, but there is also an a-line version for softer, drapier (drapey-er? is this even a word?) fabrics. I just happened to have a few yards of rayon challis sitting in my sewing room waiting to be turned into something... but I couldn't figure out what. Within 30 minutes of seeing that pin, I'd bought the pattern, printed the PDF, and was busy taping it together on my cutting table. I had the skirt cut out and started by that evening.<br />
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On Thursday I finished the skirt, today (Friday) I took the pictures (still trying to figure out my new camera and the remote viewfinder on my phone), and here it is! I made a straight size E since this skirt isn't fitted and I think it fits pretty well. Next time I'll make the waistband a little smaller. Also, the center front piece is cut on the bias which hangs really nice and gives it a little stretch across the font, but I feel like the weight of this fabric pulls the piece down a lot and therefore makes it narrower across the belly than it should be. (That's an issue with my fabric and my body, not with the pattern!) It's not even an issue except for when I put my hands in the pockets and it pulls a little across the front. Next time I might try cutting the center front on the straight grain and see what happens.<br />
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Oh yes, this skirt has pockets! Not that this fabric will hold anything heavier than a lens cap, but it's nice to have a place to put your hands when you don't know what else to do with them.<br />
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I can't wait to make the pencil-skirt version of this pattern!</div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-6721103026349635242014-11-10T14:52:00.003-08:002014-11-10T14:52:59.001-08:00Sewing Jeans, the Second Pair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Second pair of wearable jeans, check! These ones are my version of skinny jeans, which means close-fitting but not super tight. They fit pretty much the way I want right out of the dryer, but after a few hours of wear they stretch out about 10% in width through the hips and thighs. So, do I make my pattern smaller but risk not being able to get them on, do I live with the extra bagginess, or do I use a different fabric? The next pair will have some spandex in them so I'll see how that works. I still have a list of fitting changes to make to the pattern but I feel like each pair should keep getting better. This has been really fun so far and I can't wait to have a whole new jeans wardrobe!</div>
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-41372122548440910972014-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:002014-10-27T09:47:18.498-07:00Sewing Jeans, part 3 - The Finished Product<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yay, the jeans are done! I sewed the back in <a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/sewing-jeans-part-1.html">part 1</a>, the front in <a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/sewing-jeans-part-2.html">part 2</a>, and now it's time to put it all together.<br />
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For the most part this was really easy. I basted the inseam together, all the way from one ankle to the other, with a long machine stitch. The thigh area is longer in the front than in the back so I had to stretch the back A LOT. (Which tested my patience A LOT, but I think the results were worth it.) I then basted the side seams together with the chain stitch on my cover stitch machine. I have to say that's a huge time saver when I know I'm going to remove a basting stitch - as long as I can find the right thread to pull the whole seam disappears in a couple seconds! I tried the jeans on to make sure the fit was good enough, and yes it was!<br />
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I whipped out those chain stitches in the side seams, sewed, serged and topstitched the inseam (and left the basting stitches in place), sewed and serged the sideseams, and wow, they look like jeans! <br />
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The waistband was a little more time consuming. I followed the suggestion in Kenneth King's Jean-ius class on Craftsy and cut a straight waistband then steamed it into a curved shape. It's probably a great idea for someone with a fairly straight waist but I have a lot of curve between my waist and hip so I need a lot of curve in a shaped waistband. Next time I'll try a contoured waistband so I can compare the results.<br />
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Otherwise the waistband went on quickly, except that I somehow made a little mistake on the front edge and forgot to compare the two waistband edges before topstitching, and they are absolutely not the same size. To make things worse, my sewing machine completely refused to make a buttonhole between all those thick seam allowances. I finally just cut it, zigzagged around it the best I could, added a few hand stitches, and called it a day. I know when I'm beat.<br />
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I really like the "boyfriend" fit of these jeans when they're rolled up. Not so much when they're not rolled up. Then they just look big and sloppy. But that's ok, these will be great spring and summer jeans. I've learned some things about how jeans fit my body and I'm already halfway into a slimmer fitting pattern. Regardless of style, these are the best fitting jeans I've ever owned and I'm really looking forward to making some more.</div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-31061257283943228102014-10-20T11:23:00.002-07:002014-10-20T11:23:21.404-07:00Sewing Jeans, part 2I finished the back of the jeans in <a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/sewing-jeans-part-1.html">part 1</a>. Now it's on to the front! <br />
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The front has lots of pieces. So many that it's hard to come up with the right names for all of them (since I'm drafting my own pattern and don't have the luxury of pre-named pieces). Besides the two large front pieces, here's what we have:<br />
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Fly facing<br />
Fly shield<br />
Coin pocket<br />
Side front<br />
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I cut my pocket and pocket facing out of some leftover quilting fabric, partly to add a fun colorful touch to my jeans but mostly because that's what I had on hand. I cut the pieces with the lengthwise grain going across the body, and the pockets extend from the side seam all the way into the center front seam allowances. This should reduce the stretch across my stomach and hold everything in, right?<br />
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Of course since I'm not following a pattern I started putting the pockets together in the wrong order. I should have sewn the coin pocket to the side front, serged the curved edge, then sewn that piece to the pocket. I ended up sewing the side front to the pocket first, then realized I needed to finish the curved edge so I did using a decorative stitch, then I attached the coin pocket. Lesson learned. Next time I'll do it right.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEcDpdx37Zw/VEVHnUSqkLI/AAAAAAAAENs/8WEDAGtEX8Q/s1600/Jeans%2Bfront%2Bpocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEcDpdx37Zw/VEVHnUSqkLI/AAAAAAAAENs/8WEDAGtEX8Q/s1600/Jeans%2Bfront%2Bpocket.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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There's my really cute pocket! Next I stitched the pocket facing to the jeans front along the pocket opening, turned, pressed and topstitched. I attached the pockets to the pocket facings with a french seam along the bottom edge. Then I basted the pockets to the fronts along the front edges. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the WRONG way to offset the seam allowances at center front</td></tr>
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<br />I pretty much followed the directions from my basic pants pattern for the center front / fly. That pattern didn't have jeans-style topstitching so it didn't go as smoothly as I hoped but it worked out in the end. Of course I didn't take notes on how I SHOULD have done it so I get to figure it out again next time! One of the tricky parts was getting the center front and center back seams to meet at the crotch. The center back was between the lines of topstitching and the center front was along the edge of the fly. I compensated for this by having the center front seam allowances match right below the fly, then offset the seam allowances below that so that at the inseam they were the same as the center back: 3/8" seam allowance for the left side, 7/8" for the right side. Of course when I worked all that out in my head I had the left and right mixed up. I even wrote down the wrong directions so I wouldn't get confused, I followed those directions, and I sewed the pieces together wrong. The above picture is proof. But it only took a couple minutes to realize my error and correct it.<br />
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And here is my finished jeans front! I'm so excited that it really looks like a pair of jeans! The finished product is coming soon...</div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-3113314609681103722014-10-13T13:00:00.000-07:002014-10-13T13:00:21.749-07:00Sewing Jeans, part 1My desire to make my own jeans began a couple years ago when I wanted to make a pair of pants. I thought it might be easiest to adjust the fit by comparing a pattern to a pair of pants that already fit. I rarely wear dress pants so I thought I'd start by looking at some jeans that fit well. I had several pairs that seemed to fit, but to make sure I decided I better take some pictures from the back. Yep, I set my camera timer and took some shots of my rear end. And I decided that day to never wear any of my jeans in public again! <br />
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Since then I've worn the offending jeans many times, because, you know, I had to leave the house eventually and a bathrobe just doesn't go over well in the grocery store. But my quest for custom-fit jeans had begun. I bought denim. I bought patterns. I bought two Craftsy classes (but didn't necessarily watch them). And then I waited, but other projects got in the way and the jeans never materialized. Until now, that is.<br />
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Because I like to figure things out on my own and not follow someone else's instructions, I decided the best way for me to start was to make a basic pants pattern, get it to fit, and draft a jeans pattern from that. I used Vogue 1293 for the basic pattern, minus the pockets. They have a lowered waist and the fit is slim and tapered, a fairly good starting point. <br />
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I made my first muslin without any fitting changes. Then the fun began. As with ready-to-wear jeans/pants, the front fit fine but the back didn't. It's really not very fun or easy to fit the back of pants by yourself! With the help of a tripod, camera timer, pins, trial and error, and a whole lot of patience, I managed to somewhat fit the muslin to my body and altered my pattern accordingly.<br />
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Then came muslin #2. I had to talk myself into making several muslins before I even started this project or I totally would have given up at this point. I hate making muslins, which is probably why I have so many nearly-completed projects that I know I'll never wear. #2 didn't look great, but I kept plowing ahead, trying to get a better fit.<br />
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One thing that really helped in this process was that when I got stuck I put the project down and walked away. Usually at night as I was falling asleep I would think of a solution to whatever fitting problem I was having that day.<br />
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By muslin #3 I was almost there, so I tweaked that version of the pattern just a little, drafted the yoke, pockets and fly, called the pattern Jeans #4, and cut it out of denim. For pocket sizes and shapes I sort of measured a few old pairs of jeans and averaged or estimated measurements from there. It work out fairly well, for the most part.<br />
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One thing I learned while measuring my old jeans: in ready-to-wear the center back is between the rows of topstitching, not along the seamline. That's the way I always thought it should be but I'd never actually measured before. I'm not sure how sewing patterns handle this since I've never read the directions for any of the jeans patterns I own, but here's how I handled it: I laid the back pieces (with yoke already sewn in place and topstitched - and in this case the pockets too but that was unnecessary) right sides together, with the right back seam allowance extending 1/2" past the left back seam allowance, stretching slightly to fit. I marked a stitching line at 3/8" on the left back seam allowance (which would be 7/8" on the right back) and stitched along that line.<br />
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After stitching, I folded the excess seam allowance from the right back over the left back seam allowance and pressed in place. Then I folded the whole thing toward the left back and topstitched two rows on the outside. I used my topstitching foot for this, with the first row 4 needle positions to the left of the seamline and the second row 1/4" from the seamline. It actually looks like jeans! Well, except for the weird grainline on the yoke but that will be fixed in the next version.</div>
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And here's the inside. I serged the seam allowances together where the yoke meets the back and pressed them down. I could have done a flat felled seam here as well but that would have created a lot of bulk at the point where the yoke and center back seams meet. I haven't decided for sure how to do it in the future, but for these jeans I'm satisfied with this seam.</div>
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Ok, that's enough for now. More jeans adventures to come soon!</div>
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-30724772404079991742014-10-06T11:33:00.001-07:002014-10-06T11:33:16.883-07:00Sewing with Half a PlanLast fall, Stitcher's Guild announced the annual SWAP (sewing with a plan) contest for 2014. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to 1. actually sew with a plan and 2. make a sewing commitment and work toward a goal. It seemed simple enough: 3 3-packs + 2 wild cards for a total of 11 garments. Honestly, I really needed to do this! I spend most of my time at home wearing things I wouldn't be caught dead in out in public, my closet is getting pretty bare, and I went to Hawaii for a week this summer which meant I'd be seen by other people for a whole week. Definitely a good excuse for new clothes!<br />
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I started with a pretty good plan, I think. 3 pack #1 = two skirts and a top; 3 pack #2 = two knit tops and shorts; 3 pack #3 = 2 button-up shirts and capris; wild card #1 = white denim jacket (for the airplane); wild card #2 = casual dress. I even had a color scheme in mind: "black, white and brights". My go-to colors are pretty much black, white and fuchsia, and a nice bright turquoise could work well in the mix also. So far so good, I was ready to go!<br />
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All of this happened last year, in early winter. The only obstacles left were patterns and fabric. (Hey, at least I had a sewing machine, right?) I have some extreme fitting issues so most patterns require HUGE amounts of adjustments to fit me well. I have one good t-shirt pattern, one adequate button-up shirt pattern, and a great pencil skirt pattern, if only I can remember which one it is. It's way past time to come up with a good pants/shorts pattern, I had a jacket pattern that could be altered fairly easily, and I figured I could wing the rest. So I felt pretty confident about the patterns. <br />
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The fabric on the other hand... I'm pretty sure I live in a fabric desert. It's probably because I'm so close to San Francisco, but I'm nowhere near close enough to just run to the Bay Area for a couple hours of fabric shopping. No, it requires a whole day, and a willing husband to drive me because I don't do traffic. Oh, and I've actually never found a Bay Area fabric store that I absolutely love and can count on to have what I want at a price I can afford. My first breakthrough came in the form of an email from Mood, a half-price sale on a stretch sateen with a black, white and turquoise (sort of) print. The colors were good, the print reminded me of Hawaii, and I could plan the rest of my wardrobe around it. <br />
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Armed with my inspiration fabric, I set out to find some co-ordinates. I planned a fabric shopping trip in Los Angeles in December. I don't know why I expected to find summer fabrics in December, but I did my best and here's what I ended up with:</div>
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1. White stretch denim (ordered online from Fabric.com)</div>
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2. Pink & black striped shirting from Mood LA</div>
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3. Blue - gray striped shirting from Mood LA</div>
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4. Teal-ish stretch denim from Michael Levine</div>
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5. Teal knit from Mood LA</div>
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6. Sateen print from Mood.com</div>
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7. Knit stripe from Mood LA</div>
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8. Knit stripe from Michael Levine</div>
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As of now (October 2014), only 4 of these fabrics have been made into anything. Here are my results (the black capris are previously purchased):</div>
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And here's why I was sewing with only "half a plan":</div>
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1. Because that sounds better than saying "sewing with a poor plan"</div>
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2. I don't wear big prints. Never have, never will. Nothing personal against the prints, it's just not my personality.</div>
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3. Teal is not a bright color and it's not a great color for me, although it definitely looks better in photos than in real life.</div>
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4. The teal top (Vogue 8534) looked like it should fit with no alterations. It didn't. And the more I altered, the worse it got. </div>
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5. The teal skirt (self-drafted) flared from the waist. It should have flared from the hip. The knit is a little heavy so the folds stand out away from my abdomen, adding more bulk than I need or want. It is also, in my daughter's words, a difficult length. What looks great on a fashion model looks frumpy on a middle aged woman with short legs. </div>
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6. The pencil skirt hits at the widest part of my calves. And it's not very pencil-y. I spend much of my skirt-wearing time sitting at church where I teach teenage girls (among other things) to dress modestly and keep their clothing not too short or too tight. I figure they'll go shorter and tighter than I do, and of course skirts look shorter and tighter while sitting. I think in this case I over compensated. </div>
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7. The white denim I ordered ended up looking like polyester gabardine from the 70's. I knew it had some polyester in it when I ordered it, but I expected cotton-wrapped polyester, not textured polyester. I washed it thinking that might help, but it only got spongier. I haven't ordered any fabric online since.</div>
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I didn't complete the SWAP, I have some clothes in my closet I'll never wear and some fabric in my stash I'll never use, but this was a valuable experience and I'm so glad I did it! The t-shirts turned out great. The one with shorter sleeves is nearly worn out because I've worn it so much. The other t-shirt is currently my favorite article of clothing but since it's a medium weight poly/cotton/spandex blend I haven't been able to wear it much in the summer. Once the weather cools off I'll be wearing it all the time. I've actually worn the pencil skirt several times. As long as I don't look in the mirror it's not too bad! It's lined with stretch satin and it's super comfortable and luxurious feeling. I guess I'll keep it until I replace it with something better. The teal skirt might be re-cut into a straight skirt or it might be donated to charity, I haven't decided yet. The teal top... well it's a total loss. I wore it once and felt so self conscious that I'll never wear it again. </div>
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I'm still excited about some of the fabrics, even if they didn't work in my SWAP. If I ever get a good jeans pattern worked out the teal denim will make some amazing skinny jeans. The two shirting fabrics have some potential as well. </div>
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My new plan, which will work much better for my situation, is to come up with a few basic patterns that I can use over and over again, and THEN I'll be ready to tackle a whole wardrobe. First on that agenda: jeans.</div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-2446675441832677812014-04-18T14:00:00.002-07:002014-04-18T14:00:53.752-07:00Optic Neuritis - One Year Later<div dir="ltr">
Last April my life got suddenly complicated (not to mention scary) when I suddenly lost much of the vision in my left eye. That part of the story is <a href="http://inkarensworld.blogspot.com/2013_05_01_archive.html">here</a>. </div>
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Over the past year I've experienced small victories and big frustrations, I've learned to adapt, to be patient, and to have faith. Thankfully I haven't had any kind of relapse or had any other symptoms that would indicate a serious health problem. Each day that passes makes me more confident that my doctor was right, this was a random event, a strange misfire of my immune system, probably triggered by an ordinary virus. I really don't like not having an absolute explanation or definite answers to my many questions but I'm grateful that for now my explanation doesn't include MS or one of the other autoimmune disorders that causes optic neuritis. </div>
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I'd guess I now have about 80% of my vision in my left eye. I can see most details but very little color in the center of my vision. It's like a gray film is in front of my eye. I also see slower in that eye. Not much registers with a quick glance but the longer I look at something the better I can see it. Officially my vision is 20/25 in that eye, good enough to pass the DMV vision test. My field of vision is normal and my eye is working fine but as of December my optic nerve was still not a healthy pink color. Luckily my right eye still works great and in most situations I hardly even notice a problem with my vision. I can drive and do everything else I need to do. I don't feel limited in any way by my unusual way of seeing things. That doesn't mean I can do everything well, but I can do everything I want to do.</div>
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I've started wearing reading glasses a lot and that has felt like a miracle! Ok, so I'm 46 years old and I could have used reading glasses for a few years now but until a year ago my vision was good enough to see small print, just not good enough to see it really clearly and easily. Now without the glasses, for the first time in my life, there are things I just can't see. I have a new level of compassion for people who wear glasses. </div>
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My depth perception is still a little off. I've figure out most things. I can now serve food and eat without spilling although I still don't judge portion sizes very well. I can get things in and out of the oven without burning myself. I have to measure carefully when I'm cooking because if I'm not paying attention I can't tell if something is heaped up in the measuring cup. When someone hands me something I usually reach for it with both hands and that keeps me from missing or dropping it. The only problems I have are when a cashier hands me a receipt (it would look weird to reach for it with both hands) or when I'm working in the garden (lots of abstract shapes at all different depths). I think with my limited depth perception I might actually be able to learn to draw better. I've always had a hard time translating 3D real life into a 2D sketch. It's on my to-do list but I haven't found much time to work on it yet.</div>
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My vision seems to be a little worse in some circumstances. My left eye by itself doesn't seem to be worse, but my two eyes together don't cooperate as well when I'm hot or under a lot of stress. Some lighting conditions cause problems too. I wear sunglasses in bright sunlight and that seems to make my vision almost completely normal. I see even better in the dark where there's less contrast between my two eyes. But somewhere between those two - overcast days or twilight for instance, when it's too dark to wear sunglasses but light enough to cause a little glare in my eye - that's when I have to concentrate really hard to see well. Fluorescent lights cause problems too. The CFL bulbs all over my house don't seem to bother me, but the long fluorescent tube lights in my kitchen are very disorienting. I also have a hard time with the fluorescent lights at grocery stores and at church. I suppose I could wear sunglasses indoors but usually if I feel too disoriented or annoyed I just close my left eye for a few seconds. </div>
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I've discovered two superpowers that I have now. There may be more but I haven't discovered them yet. The first is my built-in sunglass lens. If I walk outside into bright sunlight without my sunglasses I just have to close my right eye and then there's a nice gray film between the sun and me. I know I have to be careful not to damage my eye so I don't actually look straight at the sun or anything, but I might be saving myself some wrinkles by not squinting, right? </div>
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I discovered my second superpower by accident. I've been trying to decide what color to paint a room and I'm notoriously bad at looking at a little paint chip and understanding how dark or light the color will look on a wall. I took some paint chips into my son's room because I like how his bedroom color is not too dark or too light. The paint chips I was comparing were a different color and I was trying (not very successfully) to compare the color values. In a moment of frustration I closed my right eye, and unable to see the colors I immediately saw the perfect value match! Yep, I have a built in value finder. The rest of the world can buy one on Amazon for $10 - $20. That superpower may only have limited usefulness, but I'll take it anyway. </div>
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You know, this past year hasn't been fun at times. In fact, a lot of the time it was really hard and I had to keep reminding myself to just make it through one day at a time. I'm not glad this happened to me, but I'm also not angry or resentful. We all have hard things to deal with. I'd gladly trade my hard things for someone else's easy things, but not for someone else's hard things. I also wouldn't want to give up the things I've learned. I know I have to be stretched, challenged, and pushed to my limits in order to be shaped into the person God wants me to be. I don't know if I'll see any more improvement over the next year. I may get a little more color vision back, and it's even more likely that my brain will ignore my left eye more than it already does. If nothing changes, I'm ok with that too. I've got a great life, I'm healthy, and at 46 I think I can accept that my body doesn't work the way it did 20 years ago. I'll embrace my new superpowers and I won't let a limitation define who I am. </div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-41074933710945553602014-01-31T10:15:00.001-08:002014-01-31T10:15:54.484-08:00Back to sewing with a cozy flannel shirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know, it's been awhile! It's hard to find time for myself in December and January. In my real-life (aka paid) job I'm an accountant for our family business. I won't go into detail, but December and January can get kind of ugly for me. Throw in some dark, cold days and the craziness of Christmas and it's about all I can do to hold on until February, which fortunately is when my work deadlines are past and we start getting a lot of spring-like days.<br />
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I bought some purple and black houndstooth flannel in November and I decided I better get a shirt made out of it while it's still winter. I'm trying to get a "perfect" button-up shirt pattern and I'm happy to say I'm getting closer. I started with the pattern I used last spring for a chambray shirt. I made the shoulders wider, the sleeves narrower, and I redrafted the collar. I cut the front placket on the bias because otherwise I would have had to match the rows of houndstooth all the way across and that just seemed like too much work. <br />
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What I like about this shirt: It fits fairly well. I've got full range of motion in my arms and shoulders, which is something I can never find in purchased tops. The fabric is warm and cozy, perfect for winter. <br />
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What I don't like: The fabric is a little too thick for this type of shirt. The seams are pretty bulky. The collar still wants to stick straight out, even though the under-collar is cut smaller. I'm happy with how the back fits but not how it looks so I'm going to start over on the back piece. (No pictures - that's how much I hate it.) <br />
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I got a tripod for Christmas so I no longer have to balance my camera on furniture. Unfortunately, my pictures still stink because I can't find a room in my house with both bare walls and good lighting, and my camera has some limitations. Excuses? Oh yeah, but it gives me some problems to work on solving!<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-75421584384152243442013-11-22T19:31:00.001-08:002013-11-25T06:43:44.330-08:00What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up? <p dir="ltr">What do I want to be when I grow up? I think I've been asking myself that question probably since I was first aware that someday I would, in fact, grow up. Or maybe since I realized that being "grown up" was different than my current state of being. I can remember at times wanting to be a doctor, a writer, a musician, and a costume designer. In high school I had a lot of different interests and talents so I had many options open to me when I started college. By then I began to focus a little more. For a short time I wanted to be a buyer for Macy's. I was interested in business and fashion, and it seemed like I might end up being something in one or both of those fields. Then as college came to an end, I realized what I really wanted to be when I grew up was a wife and a mother. </p>
<p dir="ltr">At some time in the process of getting married and having children I decided I must be grown up. I had apparently reached that place in my life where I was something. I defined myself by my jobs: a full-time wife and mother and part-time accountant, as well as part-time volunteer at church and school. My favorite job title was Mom. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Now that my children are grown and gone my job description has changed and I'm back to wondering what I want to be when I grow up. I'm a young empty-nester embarking on a new chapter of my life and realizing I still have decades ahead of me to plan for, and I'm supposed to BE something, right? I could have a full-time career for the next 25 years, but what would I do and why don't I know what I want to be? </p>
<p dir="ltr">Today I realized I've been looking for the wrong answers. In fact, my whole framework was wrong. Being grown up isn't some state I will reach and then I'm somehow finished or complete. Growing is a continual process. "Up" isn't an absolute measurement, but somewhere above wherever I am right now. And what I am can't be summed up in a few short titles. </p>
<p dir="ltr">What do I want to be when I grow up? I still don't know all the answers but I have some ideas.  I want to be happy and healthy. I want to be kind and giving. I want to be strong and resilient. I want to be curious and adventurous. I want to be a good example and a good friend. I want to be a wife and a mother and eventually a grandma. Some of those things come easily to me and some are going to take a lot of effort. But that's ok, because I still have a lot of growing up to do. I don't need to be defined by a job or career or title. I want to practice all these qualities, and if the time comes when I am actually grown up I hope I've at least made some progress in becoming what I want to be. </p>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-13678198784955749512013-11-04T12:38:00.003-08:002013-11-04T12:38:40.762-08:00Sewing with Sequins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Maybe the world is coming to an end. I did something that I never thought I'd do - I made myself a sequined top. Not all-over sequins or anything like that, but yes, there are sequins on this shirt. I'm pretty sure I've never worn sequins before, not even for Halloween! I'm NOT a sequin person.<br />
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I really wanted to make another version of my sweatshirt pattern, fix any additional problems that cropped up, and have a final copy of a pattern that I can make again and again. Does that ever really happen, or am I reaching for an impossible dream? The other "impossible" part of that dream would be finding fabric at JoAnns that I love. I looked at several possibilities and kept coming back to this gray knit with lines of black yarns and sequins running through it. I can't say I loved it, but I was definitely intrigued so I bought it.<br />
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The fabric is labeled "66% polyester 34% ". Yep, that's a blank. I took a picture of the bolt end while I was in line waiting for it to be cut but I didn't look at the picture until today so I had no idea I was using a mystery fiber. I think it's rayon from the way it drapes but it don't actually care enough to try to figure it out for real. I planned to make the pattern exactly the same as I did last time and I even found some ribbing that I thought would work better than the ponte did. However, when I hung the fabric over my dressform it told me it wanted to be something a little more drapey. (That was my fabric talking - not the dressform. My dressform has never said a word to me.)<br />
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So, sweatshirt pattern take 2: I moved the sleeve edge of the shoulder seam forward 3/4" (basically by cutting a triangle off the front shoulder and adding it to the back shoulder) and raised the neckline by 3/4" at center front and 1/2" at the shoulders and back. I decided to hem the sleeves and bottom edge instead of using the ribbing so I made those pieces longer. I also made a design change in the back. I hate how knit shirts seem to cling to my lower back when I sit down and then get all bunched up at my back waist when I stand up. I think (but I'm not positive) that it's because there's not enough fabric to fall loosely over my back hips and behind. Since this shirt seemed to want to be loose and drapey anyway, I cut the original back piece into a back yoke, then added 4" at CB to the lower section for a pleat at center back.<br />
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I was a little conflicted about the ribbing at the neckline. I considered cutting a strip of the body fabric, pulling out the black yarns and sequins, and using it for neck binding. The neck edge really wanted to be black, though, so I went ahead with the ribbing. After the shirt was done except for the sleeve and bottom hems I realized I should have done some things differently and I almost threw the whole thing away. In fact, I planned on finishing it on Friday but I just couldn't face it. It was one of those feelings of complete failure that for a day or two made me wonder if I should give up sewing. <br />
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Here's a list of my failures with this project:<br />
1. The neck binding should have been black spandex or something else smooth and shiny. The chunky matte black ribbing (also of unknown fiber content) is too casual compared to the rest of the top.<br />
2. The drop-shoulder pattern worked well in something thick and with a lot of body, but looks sloppy in this soft, drapey fabric.<br />
3. While my goal was to make something that looked like higher-end ready to wear (or at least mid-range) I made something that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Kohls for about $10.<br />
4. Overall, I think I took a fabric with at least a little potential and made something completely frumpy and boring. <br />
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After finishing the project, I'm happy to say that I also have a list of successes:<br />
1. I like the idea of the yoke and pleat in back. I'm not sure how I'll use that in the future but it definitely has some potential.<br />
2. My shoulder seams are in the right place. That part of the pattern is fixed!<br />
3. This top is really comfortable! If I decide to never wear it in public, maybe I'll sleep in it.<br />
4. I kind of like the shirt belted. It's not my normal style so the belt I'm wearing in the pictures is a really cheap one that came with a skirt I bought, but I think I can pull it off.<br />
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A couple more funny or interesting things to note: I have a 6-year-old point and shoot camera that I really loved when it was new. Now my 2 1/2 year old phone takes better pictures, but only when I'm holding it so I can't use it for most of my blog pictures. I also don't have a tripod, so today I used my car bumper. Oh, and I'm wearing sunglasses because I didn't want to put on makeup. Yep, I'm that lazy!</div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-34750725040653672572013-10-17T14:33:00.000-07:002013-10-17T14:33:43.447-07:00This Week in the Sewing Room<div dir="ltr">
I'm having one of those weeks (or maybe months) where my planning is going something like this: I want to finalize my sweatshirt pattern so I need to make another sweatshirt but I can't find any fabric, so I'll spend my time cleaning off my cutting table instead, but it has some unfinished projects sitting on it, so I should work on those, but I need my husband to help me mark some things and he's not home so I can't clean off the table, so I'll clean off the counter but before I can put away the things on the counter I need to make room in the drawers, plus the unfinished sweatshirt pattern is on the counter and if I put it away I'll forget about it... (pause for a deep breath). </div>
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It actually gets worse. I want to paint my sewing room but that would mean moving everything out of the room. Do I really want to tackle that right now? Maybe, because I can move everything into my son's room and he doesn't need his room for another 10 months. But if I'm going to paint I really should do our bathroom door first because that's been at the top of my to-do list (and the top of my don't-want-to-do list) for a couple years. Guilt tells me the bathroom door has to come first and laziness tells me that's probably not going to happen anytime soon. It's no wonder I can't get anything done. My thoughts keep going in circles and I need to just jump in and start somewhere. </div>
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Here's what actually is happening in my sewing room:</div>
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1. I have some fabric prewashed and ready to go for a second try at my sweatshirt and button-up shirt patterns. I think it's safe to say that JoAnns is single-handedly responsible for the overabundance of black in my wardrobe. Is it just me, or does it seem like the colors of most of their fabrics are just a little bit weird? Maybe they were the stylish or trendy colors a couple years ago but now they look a little bit old and tired? Or maybe it's just the fluorescent lights. Whatever it is, it seems like I always end up buying fabric with a lot of black or gray in it because everything else just looks off to me. For now I'll just say that both the fabrics I bought are partly black. Pictures will follow eventually if I ever find my motivation again.</div>
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2. I took my sewing machine into the shop yesterday. It's not running as smoothly as it should. Maybe because it's nearly 20 years old, or maybe because I've been overworking it lately. Nothing is seriously wrong, it just isn't making it's usual happy purring sound when I sew and I miss that. A little TLC at the sewing machine spa should fix everything. Except that I won't see my machine again for FOUR WEEKS!! Luckily I have a "guest" machine in my sewing room and I don't think it's owner will need it back anytime soon.</div>
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3. I bought myself a book for my birthday last month: "The Couture Cardigan Jacket" by Claire Shaeffer. Now I have absolutely no use for a couture cardigan jacket, but I'm getting some ideas about how to adapt this for my lifestyle. Hmm, we'll see if I ever get past the "idea" stage. I can at least read the book at watch the included DVD while I pass the time waiting for my sewing machine to return.</div>
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4. I bought myself another book. (You can never have too many books!) This one is "Draping: the Complete Course" by Karolyn Kiisel. It also came with a DVD. Looks like I better figure out how to use the DVD player. I'm really looking forward to working through this book. I want to get my dressform padded to my size first, but that's the project that actually bogged me down a couple weeks ago and sucked all the motivation out of me. I'm so close to finishing, I should really take a day off from all my other responsibilities and get it done.</div>
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I have plenty of things I should be doing. Sometimes with so many things to choose from it's easiest to do nothing. I'm going to blame it partly on October. I love October in theory. It's warm but not hot, the nights are cool but not freezing. There's not as much yard work. I don't have to run the air conditioner or the heater. It should be the perfect month! But for me, it's not. The ever-shortening days wear on me. I sleep more, I lay around and do nothing more. I feel a little out of sorts. Sorry October, you just don't measure up to April. </div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-40863963999594004572013-09-27T13:50:00.003-07:002013-11-04T12:39:30.982-08:00Fall Sewing - Sweatshirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not a big follower of fashion trends, but have you seen those sweatshirts in the magazines and catalogs made out of something nicer than sweatshirt fleece? That's a trend that I think would work well for me. I want to be casual and comfy but I don't want to look like I just rolled out of bed. It's a great project for fall, am I right?</div>
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I already had the perfect fabric in my stash, a polyester/rayon "sweater knit" in a black and white tweed. It's really terrycloth, which for some reason I didn't realize when I bought it. I love the look of it (and I already have a skirt made out of it) but I can't completely get over the feeling that I'm wearing a towel. By the way, I'm not sure there is really such a thing as tweed terrycloth, but that's what it looks like so that's what I'm calling it.</div>
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What I really needed was a chunky black ribbing to go with it. I found some great ribbing in brown and gray, but no black. I checked all my favorite online fabric sources and still no black. Plan B turned out to be some black Ponte that I found on sale. I wasn't sure it would work for the neck edge. Would it hold the curved shape of the neckline or would it want to stand straight up? I pondered that problem for a long time, and also formulated plans C and D, before I finally just cut a sample and tested it. It seemed to work well enough so my ribbing problem was solved. </div>
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The next challenge was coming up with a pattern. I already have a self-drafted t-shirt pattern so that seemed like a good place to start. I love the raglan-sleeved sweatshirts I've seen in stores but I look terrible in raglan sleeves so that wasn't an option. Dropped shoulders are definitely much better on me so I measured across my shoulders to where I thought I wanted the sleeves to hit and extended the shoulders of my t-shirt pattern by 2 1/4". I also lowered the sleeve cap by about that amount.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b0V3n4xA4Uk/UkXr2K9NkFI/AAAAAAAADG8/abWvP4ZH728/s1600/Pattern+Alterations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b0V3n4xA4Uk/UkXr2K9NkFI/AAAAAAAADG8/abWvP4ZH728/s1600/Pattern+Alterations.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweatshirt pattern on top of t-shirt pattern: I extended the shoulder, lowered the underarm, lowered the neckline (but I wish I hadn't), and widened the bodice. </td></tr>
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I really had no idea how much ease I wanted in the sweatshirt so I took a trip to the mall and tried on a couple. I came up with some general measurements (at least 6" of ease, 14" upper sleeves, bottom band around my hipbones) and adjusted my pattern accordingly. The pattern seemed to come together really well. Almost too well. Could it really be that easy? At this point I started to feel a little panic. What if this project didn't turn out? What if I put in all this time and had nothing to show for it? What if I fail? These are the kinds of thoughts that have haunted me all my life and kept me from trying new things. Time to let go of that. For goodness sake, it's just a sweatshirt! </div>
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I finished the pattern and cut out the fabric. There was one more detail I wanted to add so it wouldn't be too plain. My plan was to sew a 6mm coverstitch along the shoulder and armscye seams, from the wrong side, with wooly nylon thread in the looper. This would give a thick black line of stitching on the right side to set off those seams. I tested the stitch, adjusted the tension, and kept testing, adjusting and practicing until it gave exactly the effect I wanted. Then I stitched the first shoulder seam. It started out great then something went wrong and the rest of the stitches were all loopy. Back to my test fabric (a piece of the sweatshirt fabric). Everything was great on the sample, but it would not work on the sweatshirt! There was no difference between the test piece and the sweatshirt, but apparently my machine could tell the difference and took great pleasure in thwarting my plans. </div>
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Ok, I'm smarter than a machine but I know when to fight for what I want and when to switch gears. Time to save my sanity and try something different. I switched to the narrower 3mm coverstitch, the stitching worked beautifully, and although I still would have preferred the wider stitch I love the finished effect. </div>
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The neckband went on easily. I should have cut the piece a little shorter but it's good enough that I'm not about to redo it. The sleeves turned out to be the perfect length. I pinned the bottom band around my hips, decided where I wanted it to sit, and shortened the sweatshirt to that length. An easy and quick alteration to the original pattern.</div>
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The actual sewing time was really fast. Now that I have a pattern I could whip out a whole wardrobe of these things in no time! I learned a couple things that I'll take into account next time: </div>
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1. The shoulder seams aren't quite in the right spot. I didn't notice on my t-shirts but the extended shoulders accentuate the problem. It doesn't bother me that much because a ready-to-wear sweatshirt would be the same or worse, but I'll fix the pattern for next time. </div>
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2. Ponte doesn't make the best ribbing substitute. It's stiff and doesn't stretch a lot even though it contains spandex. If I push the sleeves up to my elbows I might just cut off my circulation. </div>
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Despite the imperfections I love this sweatshirt! I'm looking forward to wearing it and to making a few more like it.</div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-86283940516116558142013-09-23T13:33:00.003-07:002013-09-23T13:33:42.643-07:00Two More T-shirts <div dir="ltr">
It looks like I don't have much to show for all the time I've spent in my sewing room lately. I've been working hard, just not on things I'm going to share. Those "top secret" projects include some cleaning, organizing, planning and fitting. Not really secret, just not very interesting. </div>
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I did whip out a couple t-shirts a couple of weeks ago. I realized a few weeks ago that while I've been working on perfecting my fitted t-shirt pattern, tees have been getting looser. How did I miss that? I added some ease to my fitted t-shirt pattern and made a black tee out of the two XL Gap shirts I bought last spring. I also played with my sleeve pattern a little, making the sleeve wider and the sleeve cap lower. I didn't love the results so I won't use that sleeve pattern again. I cut the hem and sleeves hems along the existing t-shirt hems and cut down on the sewing time. It still didn't make up for the time I spent taking the shirts apart but it helped. The black tee turned out really good. Not perfect, but certainly something I'll wear often. </div>
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I also made a pink tee from the new front and back patterns but with the previous version of the sleeve. It's a keeper, and probably the last t-shirt I'll make until I start sewing for next spring. It's time to think about sweatshirts, long-sleeved shirts and jackets. </div>
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I think it's about time to have something to show for my sewing time. Hopefully I'll have a finished item of clothing within the next week. </div>
Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-59122276489677517792013-09-03T15:38:00.001-07:002013-09-03T15:38:10.734-07:00Great Gatsby CostumeI've been working on a huge project. Well, the mostly-finished product doesn't look that huge, but the process sure felt like it! What is a mother supposed to do when her daughter says she just might die if she can't be Daisy Buchanan for Halloween? Now, this isn't a grade school aged daughter throwing a bit of a tantrum, but a college student studying costume design who has just seen "The Great Gatsby" for the third time and is having a perfectly understandable emotional response to the amazing costumes in that movie. If that mother is an over-achiever type with some sewing ability, who thinks she can do anything (with sometimes disastrous results) then she drops everything to make a Great Gatsby inspired dress for her daughter.<br />
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You would think that with the popularity of Downton Abbey and The Great Gatsby there would be all kinds of 1920's costume ideas all over Pinterest, but I really didn't have much luck there. I found very predictable-looking flapper dresses, but that's not at all what I wanted. I used to be a costume purist. If something was set in the 1920's I expected the costumes to be authentic to that time period. I got over that last year on my field trip to New York City. One of our stops was at a costume shop, where the owner talked about their design process. He actually used the 1920's as an example, saying that the styles of the 20's were shocking for their time, but the boxy shapes might seem a little frumpy today. If an audience is to get a feel for the mood of a show set in the 1920's, the costumes need to have enough modern influence that the audience can interpret them correctly. Now that I understand that, I can truly appreciate the artistic genius of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. They put more details into one movie than I've ever had in my brain in my entire life. With that in mind, what I wanted was not an authentic 1920's dress, but a dress inspired by both the 20's and by "The Great Gatsby".<br />
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I decided I wanted a bias-cut dress so that it would be somewhat form-fitting, with seams mostly on the straight grain so it would be easier for me to sew. This was my first general idea (and yes, I know I'm not an artist):<br />
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I generally hate dresses with a shorter hemline in front (aka mullet dresses) but for some reason it seemed like that's how this dress should be. I had no idea what to do for the sleeves, I only knew there needed to be sleeves and I figured I'd slap a square piece of fabric on the shoulder, with one corner hanging down the arm, and see what happened. </div>
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I have a duct tape "double" of my daughter so I draped this basic design on the form, first in paper then in rayon challis. It turned out that my design lines wouldn't quite work right on my short-waisted daughter so I had to make some changes, but I kept the general idea. This was the first attempt, sort of:</div>
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This is actually the back of the dress. I put it on the dress form backwards because the front looked so horribly bad but I wanted to text a picture to my daughter. The bodice looks basically the same either way, but the "mullet" hemline? Well, it turned out looking more like a "pageboy" hemline. My measurements made sense when I drafted the skirt pattern, but between the diagonal hip yoke and the effect of the bias the skirt ended up being nearly straight across in front, above the knee, then curving sharply down to the back where again it was almost straight across. Epic fail, but at least it was an easy fix. Luckily at this point in the process my daughter came home for a 2-week summer break so she could help with and try on the final product.<br />
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We made some design changes, re-cut some pattern pieces, and added some trim, beads, and sequins. There were small challenges along the way but we muddled our way through them. My daughter made the headband that's hanging around the neck of the dressform. She didn't finish the beading before she went back to school but I'm sure she'll be able to finish it before Halloween. The dress is certainly not perfect, but I actually think it's beautiful, and it was really fun to be able to stretch my draping skills to the limit and to work together on a project with my daughter. <br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3162639671776255766.post-48010347586658779692013-08-12T11:10:00.004-07:002013-08-15T09:59:22.846-07:00Flashback: 1983 Wool Suit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thirty years ago this week I waying to finish my annual 4-H project. l finished this suit on the morning of August 15, 1983, just in time to model it for the judges later that day. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of my 15-year-old self in the outfit, but believe it or not I still have the suit in my closet. It's been badly moth eaten over the years and is way past salvaging, but I can't bring myself to throw it away because of all the good memories attached to it. That suit earned me trips to the State Fair and the State Make-it-with-Wool contest. I wore it quite a bit and I got a lot of compliments. I should point out that a lot of credit goes to my Mom who spent many summers patiently helping my sister and me with 4-H projects. She was my source of all sewing information and I learned far more from her than I ever have from magazines, college classes and online tutorials. <br>
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Here's a picture of the original pattern. My pattern might possibly be buried in a drawer somewhere in my parents' house but most likely it was thrown away years ago.<br>
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We found the fabric at our usual source, the Pendleton Woolen Mills outlet in Pendleton, Oregon. Back then they gave customers Pendleton labels to sew in their garments. I bought some wool there last summer as we were traveling in the area and I don't think they do that anymore. Too bad.<br>
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Look at all those bound buttonholes. They are pretty dang good for a 15-year-old! <br>
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The pockets are real, not just "fake pocket" flaps. <br>
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I'm a lot bigger now than I was at 15 but surprisingly I can still almost get into the jacket. Sure I can't button it, but the front edges almost meet if I tug a little. The skirt has a 24" waist. There's no way it will ever fit me again. <br>
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It doesn't fit me perfectly in the back, but better than anything else I've sewn for myself in the past 30 years so I may use it in my quest for a fitting shell. Or maybe it just looks like it fits because it's so tight? And yeah I know the skirt CB seam is in the wrong place and it hangs weird, but that's because it's waaay too small and only held in place by a pin at the hip.<br>
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It's kind of sad that I haven't made myself anything that ambitious in the 30 years since, but I guess I know I could if I really wanted to, right? Maybe this suit will inspire me over the coming months and I'll see what I can do now.<br>
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<br></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15043166649203315385noreply@blogger.com0