Vogue 8795 Jacket, Complete!

All set! I finished it up today.

Much better now that it's complete, isn't it?

This jacket was a pleasure to put together, despite the exposed separating zipper. I made the jacket 2" longer due to the length of the zipper I was using. Although I added an additional 1" width to the side and arm seams, I ended up not needing most of it.

Here's a closer view of the collar and zipper. The drape is a single layer of the fabric, so that's the reverse side you're seeing, plus the selvedge edge. This photo also shows some sparkle--The fabric has silverly threads knitted in.

All in all, this was a fun project to make and I think there'll be at least one more.

Progress on the Marcy Jacket and a Class

The Vogue 8795 Marcy Tilton jacket is coming along. I've gotten as far as the collar. The zipper is steeping in a cup of hot water to eliminate any residual shrinkage, then I'll proceed with that part. Yes, I'm sewing out of order, but I can't see the guide sheet's purpose in having you assemble the entire jacket then insert the zipper. I want to do side seams after the zipper for two reasons: application will be simpler working on the flat, and I'd like to fine tune the fit.

Anyway, that's progress on the jacket. It still doesn't look like much on the dress form but I don't think it'll take long once the zipper is in

I haven't worked on it much this weekend, because I had a drafting class! Melisa had a class on drafting a skirt sloper Saturday at her store Stitchology, so that was most of the day. It was fun and interesting to start with a blank piece of paper and end up with a basic skirt pattern. And there is no better way to learn how to fit than by watching an expert work with different bodies. I am hoping to construct a "real" skirt soon, because that muslin will never see the light of day!

Another UFO Finished: TSW Ann's Cardigan

I'm not exactly sure how long I've had this one cut out; probably shortly after the first one I made last year. This version has a few variations from the pattern due to the nature of the fabric--a lacy mystery knit in white, green, lavender and navy that I acquired from Walmart some years ago.

I didn't have very much of it and the pattern is pretty busy, so the first thing I did was to eliminate the waist seam by overlapping the upper torso pieces and lower torso pieces at the seamline. Voila, that eliminated some matching. There is no shaping in the waist seam, so doing this didn't affect the fit of the garment at all.

Next, I realized I didn't have much in the way of fabric for the band, so I narrowed it and cut it lengthwise, and instead of folding at center back, I added a seam. And as a result of narrowing the band, I added 1" of  "fit insurance" in the side seams. If you take away from one place, you need to add it somewhere else, right?

I lucked out and found some matching T's at Kohl's this week so I'm good to go.

I already have the next project cut and ready to be sewn-the Vogue 8795 jacket by Marcy Tilton.

I'm using a sweater knit from Gorgeous Fabrics (yes! there's a glint of metallic),

and one of the separating zippers I bought recently at Santa Fe Fabrics.

*****

I've been playing with the blog's layout again. I think I like this one better than the last, although I have lost the "reply" feature on the comments. Stay tuned for more changes as I tweak. Hopefully Google will leave Blogger alone, because I don't want to migrate the blog and its contents. As to Reader, I am annoyed with Google but I guess I'll figure something out. Stupid Google--so much for "not being evil."

TSW Now Shirt and Quincy Pant Photos

Hot off the press, so to speak! I took these just minutes ago with the self timer and tripod, just after getting home from work. I wore the Now Shirt with jeans to the office today and switched into the Quincy Pants and killer booties after getting home.

TSW Now Shirt

I've been on a TNT TSW trend lately, and this project is the latest. I've made the Now Shirt a couple of times before, but the sleeves always felt a bit floppy to me thanks to my bird-wrists.

You can even see a bit of that in the drawing. The Now Shirt is the one on the right. So this time, I tapered the lower sleeve to refine the fit. I also lengthened the body of the shirt 2". The last one was wearable but the longer length is more versatile.

I used a cotton/rayon blend that I bought from Marcy Tilton at the 2009 ASG Conference in Albuquerque. Practically new, considering the size of my stash!

It's a little rumpled, not as much as it looks in the picture but a bit.  Of course, my iron decided to spit something on the front of the shirt when I was touching it up for pictures, so I had to launder it...and I didn't want to risk pressing it before taking a picture.

JAM 4: TSW eShrug Version 2

...and this one's a keeper!

After posting the first one, Terri K and Jane M suggested that fleece might not be the best choice and to try again with a different knit. Since my choices in Albuquerque are limited, I headed to another JoAnn's near Cottonwood Mall. No skull knits there, but they did have an assortment of "mohair" sweater knit in the red tag section. Most of the colors were cheap-looking, and it was obviously not from nature. However, it felt soft and there was black, so I brought some home. It's heathered, with little white fibers among the black, so white cat fur will not show! It only looks gray because I lightened the photo to show detail.

After prewashing and drying, I laid the fabric out Sunday afternoon. It was only 58" wide, just a touch too narrow for the main pattern piece. Don't you hate it when that happens? As it happened, I had read a tutorial about cutting knits crosswise earlier that day, so that's what I did. And it worked! Thanks, Marcy Tilton! The pattern piece also suggested this solution, since two grain lines were provided.

I also changed the sleeve from cap to full length. It suited the fabric and will work better for an upcoming visit to Chicago this weekend. I basically winged it by pinning the original sleeve in place, laying my TNT t-shirt sleeve over to gauge the length, then chalking the new cutting lines right onto the fabric. No pictures since I was working on black in the evening, but if you all want me to, I can work up a little tutorial. What do you think?

As before, the sewing was quick and easy, just shoulders and sleeves. I left the edges raw. Technically, this "mohair" is knitted like french terry; it has a stockinette side and a looped side. There was some shedding around the edges where loops were cut. I ran the shrug through the laundry again after completion, which has solved the problem.

JAM 3: Vogue 8430 by Marcy Tilton

I made this jacket because I had this big piece of polarfleece laying on the Sewing Cave floor, and I didn't even want to attempt to stuff it back into the fabric closet. It's another that I've had in the stash for a while, dating from 2003. It has a base of solid black fleece, but one side has sage green pine trees, stars, swirls, and dots. I'm guessing it's some sort of stencil, because the motifs have a painted texture. Regardless of how it was done, this is the only piece like this I've ever seen.

Because each side of the fleece can stand on its own, I decided to make this a reversible garment by sewing what I call a Raw Edge Flat Fell Seam. Basically, you make it like a normal flat fell seam by sewing the seam edges right sides together and trimming one edge close to the stitching. But instead of folding the wide side under and stitching it in place, I just stitched the wide side down 1/4" from the first line of stitching, then trimmed. It works because the fleece will not ravel and saves bulk on a thick fabric. I used sage thread for the second stitching. It doesn't show up as much as I'd like on the black side, but it does blend nicely on the printed side. I also used sage thread for the sleeve dart and on the zigzag stitching I added around the edge "just because."

It's a little late in the season for polarfleece, but it should be perfect for a retreat I'm taking in Northern New Mexico at the end of the month. I envision it as an extra layer I can throw on in case the lodge is chilly.

I'm not sure I mentioned it when I made the last one, but I lengthened the 2 fronts so they're the same length as the jacket back. This time, I also lengthened the sleeves by 2", short enough to leave as is but also long enough to turn up cuffs if desired. 

I wore the jacket to church on Sunday and made an interesting discovery--it glows in the dark!! That is, the sage green portions do, which makes the fabric even weirder, but that's cool. I wish I knew why it was manufactured this way, and for what purpose. At any rate, the jacket was nice for today's weather in the 50s (Fahrenheit). DH also gave it an unsolicited compliment and since he's not a Fashion guy, that means it looks good on me!

JAM 2: Vogue 8676, Sort of View A

Front

Back

This is the second time I've used this pattern, a modified version of View A for this version. The fabric I used was a double faced merino wool jersey that I bought from Fabric Mart a couple of years ago. Nice stuff, buy it if they still sell it! This piece has been washed and although it generated a ton of fluff in the dryer, there was very little fulling. I'd been searching for the right pattern for this fabric for a while because I wanted to take advantage of contrasting colors of both sides.

Marcy Tilton's notes on the pattern guide sheet recommended using the plain (View B) collar if the fabric doesn't roll when cut. The jersey I used has very little roll, so I took her suggestion. I also changed the sleeve and cuff to View B because I had a short cut (the pattern calls for 2 fabrics for View A), and I was afraid I wouldn't have enough to cut all the little strips cross grain as directed. I also substituted buttons for the fabric "buttons" of the pattern--just a little too-too for me.

Threads published a tutorial by Kenneth King  on its website last week which was very timely, since he discussed using a rotary cutter with a pinking blade to finish exposed seams on a sweater knit. I decided to do the same thing on this jacket, as you'll see in the detail shots below:

 Sleeve and cuff--per the pattern instructions, the cuff's lower edge was cut on the selvedge, then joined to the sleeve by lapping the raw edges. I reversed the cuff to show the contrasting black side.

Collar and shoulder seam--per the pattern instructions, the collar has raw edges and was attached to the jacket with a lapped seam. I added the pinked edges. I changed the sewing of the shoulder seam to show the black, pinked reverse of the fabric.

One of the most striking features of this view is the use of circular motifs, a perfect way to take advantage of the fabric. They were sewn to the jacket by edgestitching the raw edges of the motifs. The accent lines are raw edged cross grain strips that I pinked before sewing down.

Pocket detail

Back detail

Both jackets were really fun to make due to the unusual sewing techniques used. The jacket itself is a fairly basic shape that's flattering to wear, so I'll hang onto this pattern. It will be easy to modify further--maybe next time, I'll make it with traditional sewing techniques!

Owww

I had plans to pose for pictures in the Marcy Tilton jackets today, but umm, change of plans. DH and I were using the tripod to take a self portrait with our cars (long story), and when we were done, I somehow tripped and took a face plant onto the pavement! I have scrapes on my nose, cheekbone, forehead and hands. Thankfully, no serious damage!!

Needless to say, I'd rather heal up a little! So I'll take some pictures of the new coat on Ms. Acme over the weekend. It came out really cute.

JAM 1, Vogue 8676, View B--Complete!

 

I put the finishing touches on this jacket today, so I thought I'd share some quick photos. Rest assured, I'll be modeling it in a future blog post so you can see what it looks like on a person. However, it turned darn cold here in New Mexico overnight, so I was in no mood for modeling today. 

If I do say so myself, I did an awesome job of pattern matching across the front. You can barely see the center opening. The pattern called for functioning buttons and buttonholes, but I didn't want to take that on, especially with a bulky collar right above the first one. Which is not to say you can't sew buttonholes in fleece--I've done it before, just chose not to this time. So there are large snaps underneath the buttons. I also added a fourth closure to the front. The pattern only specifies 3, with the last one hitting at waist level. Really? That doesn't make much sense to me. 

Like most of Marcy Tilton's designs, this one features some atypical sewing techniques. For example, the cuffs feature the raw selvedges of the fabric. The sleeve overlaps a portion of the cuff piece, then both sides of the overlap are edgestitched together.

 

The pattern instructions specify a raw edge for the sleeve edge.  I don't particularly like the raw edges of fleece, so I finished it off with 3 thread serging. 

I also used 3 thread serging to finish off the collar. The instructions tell you to spray baste the 2 collar pieces together, then stitch 1/2" from the edges all the way around. Again, I don't like those raw fleece edges.

 

 

Once the collar is assembled, its edges are lapped over the neck seam, then you sew a line of stitching 1/2" from the lower collar edge. 

Even though it's another black garment, I agree with sdBev-JoplinJacket, who commented:

 

grey and black are the colors we use when projecting sophistication or a certain sexy something. Enjoy your greys. They can say more about you. 

It does look sophisticated, and even kind of cheerful with the art nouveau poppies.

I did enjoy making this pattern, enough that I pulled out another piece of the double faced wool jersey that I used for these projects last winter. The piece I'll use for that version is turquoise aqua and black.

Vogue 8676, View B, Marcy Tilton Jacket

I finally got started on my first jacket for the Jacket a Month Sewalong on Stitcher's Guild.  I'm working on View B, which is the one without the circular motifs.

As it happened, I had a piece of polar fleece that I've been saving for quite a while (2003!), and it's perfect for the pattern. It's a floral, like on the pattern envelope, but neutral colors of black, gray and cream. It seems like I'm sewing and wearing a lot from that color palette lately--probably reflects my mood these days. Hmm.

Like many of Marcy's patterns, the sewing techniques are "different"--lapped seams, raw edges and exposed selvedges. While remaining true to the spirit of the jacket, I've finished it off a little bit more than she specifies, basically because I don't think raw edges on fleece are all that attractive. However, the jacket is easy sewing. Between last night and a little time this morning, it's almost done.

The Winner for Holiday Giveaway 3

... is Joyce in NC! To claim your prize, please email your name and address to me at feralito at msn dot com. I will be out of pocket from December 23-26; if I don't get your address in time I'll mail your prize after Christmas. Joyce, thank you for your address. The package when out in the mail on 12/20 and you should have your prize by the end of the week.

Thanks to everybody for entering! One more change to win!  Holiday Giveaway 4 has been posted, with an extended deadline due to the holiday.

Last Day to Enter Holiday Giveaway 3

It's Saturday, so make a comment on Holiday Giveaway 3 if you've been thinking of entering. Today is the last day to enter!

The rules:

Leave a comment on the Holiday Giveaway 3 post by 12/18/10, today. I'll accept Anonymous responses, but please leave your name somewhere in your comment. One entry per person. I'll randomly draw the winner on Sunday, 12/19/10, and post it on the blog.

Holiday Giveaway 3

 

This giveaway is for the pursemakers among you, consisting of Vogue 8590 designed by Marcy Tilton and Amy Butler's Madison Bag pattern. The Amy Butler pattern has been partially cut but appears to be complete. The Vogue has not been cut. This week's prize also includes a set of leopard print buttons. They were professionally covered for Silverado, a local manufacturer here in Albuquerque.

Only one winner this week!

The rules:

Leave a comment on this post by 12/18/10, next Saturday. I'll accept Anonymous responses, but please leave your name somewhere in your comment. Otherwise, it's too difficult to identify who's who. One entry per person. I'll randomly draw the winner on Sunday, 12/19/10, and post it on the blog.

ASG Conference Vendors: Buttons and Fabrics

Face it, one of the reasons people go to conferences is to acquire interesting items. Sewers being an acquistive bunch, there was plenty of activity in the vendor area. And when your local shopping choices are limited, well, ya know...

Without further ado, here's the first group of acquisitions:

These lovely cobalt ceramic buttons were at a booth occupied by two lovely potters from Waco, Texas, MudButtons and Barbara Francis Pottery. I hope they made some good contacts, as they were nice ladies who had some nice items for sale. Hopefully I'll have some links later as they're not on the vendor list.


More ceramic buttons, these are from South Africa. Courtesy of Londa's Creative Threads.

Rayon from LJ Designs, which is one of two sewing businesses owned by Lyla Messinger. The other one is The Sewing Place. We had a nice time catching up with our lives. Years ago, I helped Lyla with her booth at a sewing expo that used to come here.

These two came from Louis Cutting's Cutting Corners. Unfortunately, Louise no longer has a physical store but she continues to bring high quality fabrics to shows. the black geometric is rayon, and the fuschia and orange floral is silky feeling Swiss cotton voile.

These pieces came from Marcy Tilton. The botanical print is cotton/rayon blend with a wonderful soft hand, and the green is ponte knit that I bought for some of Marcy's pants. I also got to try on Marcy's new Vogue jacket, which was absolutely beautiful.


The Sewing Workshop sells fabrics, in case you didn't know. Linda Lee has a wonderful eye for fabrics, and I find her selections difficult to resist. The first is Donna Karan wool and silk; the second is Swiss embroidered linen (hmmm, another orange and fuschia color scheme); blue linen with a woven stripe; green linen with a woven herringbone.

Linda has begun a new program in coordination with Bernina that went over very well at the conference. Called Project Sewing Workshop, they are kits with lengths of fabric and TSW patterns all packaged in a nice heavy gauge plastic zipper bag. This will enable Bernina dealers to carrya variety of garment fabrics without a large investment in bolts. Look for this to be rolled out nationally in the near future. This was the first consumer show and it was a feeding frenzy at the Sewing Workshop booth. I think she was very happy with the response!

There's more, but I'll continue with the rest later since this is already a long post,

Vogue 8430, Part 2

I'd intended to post an entry about making samples to test seam finishes, etc. But they didn't exactly photograph well. And let me tell you, this pattern goes together so fast that I'm already done!

Here's the red side:



And here's the black side:



And the black side, another way:



The style of this jacket is fairly avant garde, similar to Shirin Guild, Miyake, or Eskandar. It's comfortable to wear, like a sweater. I did make a few changes to the pattern:

• As is typical for me, I cut the neck/shoulders/armscye in size Small and the rest of the garment in size Medium. There's a lot of ease, so I might have been able to do the entire jacket in Small.



• I lengthened the fronts by 1-5/8" so the front and back side seams would match. I figured this would be an easier way to deal with making it reversible, vs. uneven side seams as originally designed.

For the seams, I used a variation of the flat felled seam. A traditional flat fell didn't work well due to the bulk of the fabric. Because it's jersey, I then went with an raw edge flat fell. Better, but still not exactly what I wanted. So, I went with a raw edge fell with a wide and long zig zag, the largest my machine will make. I used coordinating threads, red/orange on top, black in the bobbin so the stitching matches each side of the fabric. The tone-on-tone just looked classier and will be more versatile for the completed reversible garment. Sometimes the raw look requires tempering, you know?

On the jacket edges, I just finished them off by zigzagging right at the edge of the fabric. I don't know if the finish was technically necessary, but I like it better vs. a strictly raw edge.

This is almost an Anthropologie* type of garment, so that's one of the reasons I'm not overly concerned about the rawness. Although the fabric is wool, I also didn't felt it. Felting can take a lot of fabric, in that you're basically shrinking the fabric. You don't know how much it'll shrink to make the felt until you do it, so your yardage potentially runs the risk of going from adequate to not enough in a heartbeat. I only had 3 yards to work with and I didn't want to end up without enough. So the jersey will remain jersey and I'll probably be dry cleaning it. I have cut a couple of samples from the scraps and will launder them to see what happens.

I do have some yardage left over, so I'm also planning on doing more experimenting with it. I also have an aqua/black piece that was originally going to be a second version of this jacket. However, this one is pretty memorable, so I think I'll use that piece for something else. If I make this pattern again, and I think I will, I'd rather make something that will look different from this one instead of a clone. Hopefully FabricMart will continue to carry similar double-faced wool from time to time and I'll be able to obtain even more to (possibly) felt and sew.


*I know I've been shamelessly name-dropping in this entry, but Albuquerque actually has an Anthropologie store now (we've arrived! haha). So of course, I checked it out and actually bought a few pieces even though most of the styles are a little youngish for me. Anyway, raw edges are plentiful and and many of the jackets are made from lightweight boiled wool.

Vogue 8430

I've begun working on the first project of 2009, and it's this Marcy Tilton pattern:



At first, I was a little meh about this one. Then I purchased a couple of pieces of double-faced wool jersey from FabricMart. Hmmm, this could work!

I cut out the pattern from the red and black piece tonight, and I'll be sewing it up this weekend. I'm hoping this will be a fairly simple, easy gratification project. Fingers crossed. We'll see.

By the way, Marcy Tilton has posted several examples of this pattern on her website. So if you're interested in this pattern, check it out.