Crafting a Rainbow

Pants!

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:01:13 -0400

Pants! I made pants! It took me months of muslins, and the fit is still far from perfect… but they are totally wearable, and therefore good enough for now!

The pattern I’m using is the Style Arc Elle pant. It’s a pull-on, elastic waist pant made for stretch wovens, which is pretty close to my favourite RTW pants. It’s also super basic - no fly, no pockets!

The first time I sewed it up, I was really thrilled! It fit just like my RTW pants! Sweet! But then I start obsessing about the fit problems that my RTW pants share… namely, wrinkles under the butt! I did my research, got help from awesome sewcialists in Pants Club, and made 5 more muslins… and I really thought I’d made some progress! But looking at the pictures you’re about to see, the problems are still there!

Damn you, wrinkles!

Making pants has really helped me understand the, uh, unique features of my legs. Wide hips, broad thighs, full butt, full belly, knock knees, and more! That’s a lot of separate adjustments to do, all of which end up impacting the fit in other areas. It’s a complex geometry problem which I don’t fully understand!

On the plus side, these are currently my most comfortable jeans! I’d worn them a few times since washing when I took these photos, but the denim holds up well. The waistband is so ridiculously high that it never shifts around or sags lower! (The waistband is a great construction detail, btw: It’s a self-fabric rectangle, with inch-wide elastic zigzagged in place. It’s the same circumference as the waist, so it holds snug without pulling tight.)

Even better, the pattern is so simple that I’ve been able to whip up a few pairs already. These capris actually came before the jeans above…

I’ve been adding simple patch pockets to each pair, but it’s surprisingly difficult to figure out just where to put them! These ones are a bit too high, others too wide…

Oh look! Wrinkles!

Here’s what they look like in motion… If this is what they look like most of the time, then I’m happy enough! I don’t think they scream “Homemade!”, and they feel good on.

Somehow I got cocky with these red ones though… I think I overdid a back crotch adjustment, and suddenly nothing lined up! A hot mess all around. Somehow these seem tighter than my other pairs, too, even though they are a very stretchy denim… Next time I’m going to slash and spread to add some ease!

Look! Less wrinkles when I dance!

All in all, I’m really thrilled to have made some functional pants. I’ve got a whole pile of fabric to make more, but I need to figure out some fit things first. Have you made pants? How did it go? If you’ve got any concrete fitting advice to give me, I’d be very happy to hear it!

MMM14-19

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:51:55 -0400

Oh, Me-Made May, you sure do take over! Every time I sit down to blog some newly finished items, I realise that I’ve fallen behind blogging about MMM! Time for another weekly review first, I guess…

This year I pledged to wear MM clothes every day this month, and to create outfits using my self-assigned wardrobe colour palette.

Here goes!

MMM14

4/9 colours, MM Peony dress, refashioned sweater (turned it into a cardigan), and “belt” made from fold-over elastic.

My second ever dress! Made last February sometime… I had to alter the heck out of the pattern to make it work, but I didn’t know ay better back then. Now I shy away from Colette patterns for just that reason. Here’s a post I wrote last fall about my many versions of the Peony pattern, if you are interested…

MMM15:

2/9 colours. MM Renfrew, a la Zoe! This top is made from a really lovely navy double knit… I just wish I could remember where it came from! The stripe fabric is thin and not-so-nice, so I underlined it with a white jersey. Just spray-basted them together with quilting spray, and sewed as one!

MMM16:

Self drafted tee and thrifted chambray shirt (Seriously, blogosphere, I blame YOU for making me want this shirt! Its not a style I would have picked before… but with all the lovely Archers being made, and the obsessive shopping for chambray fabric, when i saw this is just had to give it a go!

Remember how in my last post I said I was going to try to beat my maximum numbers of colours worn? Well, you gave me some great suggestions which I can’t wait to try… but in the mean time, this shirt does all the work!

7/9 colours! Bam! I got this jersey for $3/m last summer. I have to say it’s not the best quality, but come on, that print! It shrank up over time, so I recently replaced the original folded-under hem with a wide band. Now it’s back in rotation!

MMM17:

4/9 colours, MM Renfrew hack tank.

Woohoo! It’s the Friday of the long weekend, and my husband handed me a drink that matches my outfit! (Also, aparently my combo of turquoise pants, electric blue cardi, and blue wall turned the who pic a funny colour!)

MMM18

3/9 colours. MM Style Arc capris (again) and a new Day-to-Night cowl!

Remember when I wishing for something a little more “fun” to wear on weekends? Well, so many of you suggested this pattern from Maria of Denmark that I just had to give it a go! I’d actually made one before for the animal print challenge back in the winter,but the print placement and fabric choices just felt off. It’s a great easy pattern though, so I have happy to make a nicer version!

I think this top is the anti-Cake top: If I tried to do the “Look! No gapping!” pose, you’d all see straight to my belly button! (In other words, when I leave over, the cowl drapes right open and everything is on show! Not that my husband seemed to mind that feature… Did I mention I’ve already made another one? ;)

MMM19

3/9 colours. MM kimono tee (traced from RTW), Style Arc capris (finally photographed and ready to be blogged!), and a polymer clay necklace I made this morning!

It’s a lazy Sunday today, so I actually spent most of the day in Maria of Denmark lounge pants and a sweater knit cardigan. It’s warm during the day, so I switched to this. I spent a couple house this morning making beads with polymer clay and fiddling around with jewellery. (Blog post to follow, eventually!)

***

So here we are, with 11 days left in May… What colours have I worn most?

Navy = jeans, most of the time… and white tend to be mixed in prints, so no surprise there! I really did think I wore more fuschia though, and less emerald… and more grey and red! It’s interesting how evenly worn most of the colours are, in fact! We’ll see what happens for the rest of the month!

P.S. I’ve been having fun making wardrobe colours palettes for a few other bloggers… It’s really neat going through someone else’s blog pics and trying to figure out what colours they are consistently drawn to! If anyone else is interested, I’d be happy to give your colours a try!

MMM11-14

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:36:35 -0400

MMM11

A measly 1 colour from my palette! I really think this purple needs to be added though, because I own an awful lot of RTW tops in this shade!

MM STyle Arc Jeans, cropped out, and appliqued Echino birds on the hoodie.

MMM12

3/9 wardrobe palette colours.

MM flannel scout tee and McCalls cardigan, blogged here.

It snowed ALL DAY! WTF, Canada? It’s May! This was Mother’s Day, so I spent 2 hours each way driving to see my mother-in-law. (And somehow, I just happened to find myself in a fabric store on the way home! ;)

MMM13

4/9 colours. MM Tiramisu dress, blogged here.

This dress is so comfy! It’s a drapy rayon knit, which means that the self-drafted a-line skirt hangs quite close… but it feels comfier than pyjamas!

* * *

Oh, as as an added MMM bonus, my sister just spent 3 days at a conference and happened to wear made-by-me clothes for every day! I’m so excited that she actually wears that things I make… certainly motivates me to make her more! And we’ve cut a deal for her to knit me a cowl for the fall - sweet!

(She is very kindly letting me share her very-early-morning selfies!)

Recognise the green skirt that I wore last week and then promptly gave away? Turns out it’s a much better match for her wardrobe colours, which are slightly warmer than mine… (Those are knitting inspiration pics, BTW…)

So my new goal? Wear an outfit with 5 colours! I’ve had a couple of 4-colour outfits… which makes sense, because I tend to wear either warm or cool tones with a neutral, but not warm and cool at once. Can you picture any 5 of these colours together? Let me know what you think might work!

A Sewcialist Logo WInner!

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:14:38 -0400

Thanks to everyone who voted on the sewcialist logos - We now have a winner!

Thanks to Make Magazine the winner will get

A 1 year subscription to Make magazine generously offered by our official sponsor Make

Thanks to individual donors (this is not coming from Make: Magazine), the winner will also receive:

A $100 cash prize
A custom ipad sleeve

I really loved seeing the votes role in - clearly we all identified with different aspects of the designs! I love that we had so much range in our 6 submissions… and as one of the people donating money to the cash prize, I am very happy that the sewing community had their say!

The winner is…

Joost!

1st Runner up: Anne

2nd Runner up: Sabina

A big congratulations to Joost and all designers for their hard work.

What are you going to do with our new Sewcialists logo? First, head over to Joost’s site and choose your colors.

Then what?

Put it on your blog
Make an iron-on transfer and iron it on a t-shirt or a tote
Sketch it on your Trapper Keeper
Stencil it on your drum head.

The options are endless. What are you going to do with it?

UPDATE: Joost has asked that the prize money be sent to a charity. We’ve chosen From Boston to Bindis. Check out the Indiegogo. It’s a wonderful project. There are 30 days left to donate thru Indiegogo.

MMM5-10

Sun, 12 May 2013 08:27:15 -0400

Wow. MMM is just rushing by this year! Thanks so much for all of your supportive comments when I was whining about job stuff in my last post - It was another rough week this week, but c’est la vie, right? I have faith that this coming week is going to be better! :)

MMM5:

3/9 colours from my wardrobe colour palette.

MM: Style Arc leggings, French terry knit Scout (not-so-woven) tee, and infinity scarf.

Here I am, blatently showing off my sister’s lovely rainbow blanket to distract from a rather basic outfit…

MMM6

3/9 colours from my wardrobe palette

MM Alma blouse, made with reversible Japanese double gauze. Blogged here.

Can’ you believe this is my first time wearing this top? I made it last fall and it’s hung in the closet ever since. I didn’t like all the buttons and plackets and cuffs that I’d had to add after botching a neckline alteration. It’s still not my favourite, but wearing it really helped me appreciate it’s strengths: the double gauze is buttery soft and drapes beautifully over my bumps and lumps, but the darts of the Alma shape it really nicely. I think I need to give some other double gauze a go this month!

MMM7

4/9 colours from my wardrobe palette

MM Tiramisu dress made with ITY border print fabric.

Tiramisu #5 for me! (And #9, if you include sewing for others!) I got so many compliments while wearing this dress - and not one person said, “Hey, don’t you own that dress in another colour?” Phew!

MMM8

3/9 colours… barely!

MM skirt, modified from the Colette Truffle dress.

Oh man, this one *barely* fit the colour palette challenge… and consequently it was SO HARD to make an outfit I liked around this green skirt! I bought the fabric thinking that I could pull out the pops of turquoise and coral in the print, but that wasn’t as easy as I thought. In the end I went with this 9 year old cardigan (from my bridesmaid outfit at my sister’s wedding!) and this 5 years old lace cami from Japan. End result? I felt like it was an outfit I’d have liked 5 years ago.

Don’t worry, there is a happy ending - I gave the skirt that night to my sister, and she loves it!

MMM9

4/9 wardrobe palette colours.

MM sloper dress.

I love this dress! It’s made with a quilting cotton that I stashed just before leaving Japan… and it’s a gaudy, bright, rainbow! I’m such a sucker for bright colours on a dark background.

3/9 colours from my wardrobe palette - though you’d never know the jeans are blue from the picture!

MM Style Arc jeans and self-drafted kimono tee.

Not much to say here… I got less than .7m of this rayon knit for $3 (with printing errors), and just barely squeaked a top out of it. I love the colours, even if my camera didn’t appreciate the saturated colours! :P

********************************************

It’s occurred to me lately that 2 years ago I’d never even THINK of wearing a loose/tent-like top like a Scout tee, and now I wear them all the time! On the other hand, I’ve also realise that my wardrobe is a bit, uh, professional and demure. I don’t have ANY me-made’s that I couldn’t wear to work. I want something for a night out or a day shopping with friends… and more confusingly, I’m not really sure what I would want to wear these days to show a bit of skin. (I’m starting to look forward to my Seamless Pledge ending so I can go buy some clothes and find out!)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a knit top that is a bit more youthful or sexy? Help!

Me-Made May, Days 1-4

Sat, 04 May 2013 20:03:31 -0400

Hurray! It’s time for MMM!

Here’s my pledge this year: ‘I, Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ‘13. I endeavour to wear me-made clothing that matches my personal colour palette for the duration of May 2013’I’ve been honing my palette all year - these are the colours that I love, look good in, and am allowed to stash! My goal for this month is to see if they really are the colours I wear and sew, or if it’s just wishful thinking!

(The eagle-eyed among you might notice that I already tweaked my palette before starting… I had a paler coral in there originally, but I switched it for the cool pink on the right.)

How’s it going? Well, spoiler alert: I’m pretty sure one of those colours does not belong!

Day 1: 2/9 colours, Me-Made head to toe! Renfrew tank, McCall’s cardi, Style Arc jeans, and me-made necklace.

I had to wear blue for a school event on May 1st, which lead to me making a rushed royal blue top the night before… which of course, ended up with a wobbly hem and a weird fit! Doomed to be pyjamas, I think. As I was digging through my (clean) laundry piles looking for something better to wear, I found this cardigan, which doesn’t get much wear…. but score! It worked for this outfit.

Also: LOOK! A remote! I’ve borrowed my dad’s DSLR, tripod and remote to make picture-taking a bit easier. I love getting my husband to take outdoor pics when there’s time, but at least this way I can grab a quick shot before work in the morning!

Day 2: 4/9 colours, MM sleeveless Pendrell blouse

Not much to say - I stashed this fabric just before leaving Japan, and made it up during MMM last year.

Day 3: Water-themed fishy face! 2/9 colours. MM Scout woven tee and Style Arc black pants.

My class had a zoo-themed party today, so I wore this koala top with a very 80’s animal necklace of my mom’s! I got funny looks for other staff all day, but who am I to be shy when there is a dress-up theme?

Day 4: 4/9 colours on a MM Renfrew dress!

Enough of all that coral - time for greens and blues! I didn’t quite buy enough of this fabric, so the skirt is a big snug… emphasizes my gut IRL! Added to which the waistband is think in some spots and thin in other… I think I’m going to have to hack it up and make a peplum tee at some point.

(In other news, I spent the day working on job applications for myself and my husband. His temporary teaching job just ended 2 months earlier than we hoped, and new laws mean that I’ve got all kinds of hoops to jump through just to be eligible to be hired for the same kind of job next year! It’s all pretty frustrating, and means that we’ll be living with my parents for a while longer… They are wonderful, and have already let us live here for two years. Unfortunately work is so hard to come by that two qualified, experienced 30 year-old teachers can’t support themselves! ERGGGGGHHHHH!)

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, clothes. Here are my thoughts so far:

With all kinds of employment drama going on, it feels pretty superficial to think about clothes every day… but on the other hand, it gives me something fun to focus on!
I’m enjoying my palette challenge… but something off with the emerald green. It’s a colour I love, but turns out I don’t really own any! I think it maybe needs to be changed to a more grass green, or even a leaf green… or then again, maybe I just need to sew more with that colour!
I loved participating so much last year… but I have to admit, I’m already finding this year a bit overwhelming! The Flickr group is HUGE!

How do you feel about MMM? Do you get inspired or bored when it takes over the blogosphere? If you participate in it, do you like the daily dress-up or the online community more?

Vote on a Sewcialist Logo!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:53:00 -0400

Hello! It’s time to vote on a Sewcialist Logo! We had 6 entries that met our criteria - Now it’s your turn to pick your favourite! Please consider the following before you cast your vote:

We asked each designer to design an emblem that…

Relates to sewing and the social nature of sewcialists
Is modern, simple, recognizable and memorable
Is useable in black & white as well as in color

You can read the rest of the requirements on the Sewcialists.org site. On this site, you can also find the rest of the Jury Blogs. You are allowed one vote per jury blog. (The Jury itself will not be voting.)

When you vote on our blogs, please make your vote very clear, typing in the # of the entry and the designer’s name.

Included before each design is a portion of the designer’s cover letter to give you context.

Voting closes on May 8th at midnight Eastern time in the United States.

Entry #1- Bev

I chose my designs as a globe representing the world wide sewing community, needle and threads to represent sewing, threads of different colours to represent our differences and a computer mouse to represent our mode of communication.

Entry #2- Gareth

I think that this design shows the close-knit (excuse the pun) nature of

Sewcialists. It places them within the circle created by the threads coming from the needles. I think this nicely sums up the idea of a community brought together by the hobby that they love.

Entry #3- Sabina

I basically wanted to keep the logo very simple and recognisable. Every sewcialist will at some point use a computer to communicate about their creations or engage with other sewcialists. Although there are lots of different hardware options to enable us to do this (smart phones, desk tops, tablets etc etc) I thought the world at large would be able to immediately recognise a standard laptop to represent how the online community interacts.The sewing machine in the middle was the obvious choice to represent what sewcialists do at the very heart of our creativity. It’s actually based on my Janome 525S machine! The dot and dash circle enclosing the logo represents to me the cutting lines on patterns!

Entry #4- Joost

The design uses a button and bobbin to relate to sewing whereas the smiley face speech balloon relates to the social nature of sewcialists.

The button is slightly rotated. It makes it visually more pleasing and reminds us that sewcialists needn’t adhere to the stereotype of off-the-peg garments. The bobbin is half-filled with thread, indicating it’s being used. The friendly chatter that sewcialists engage in online is embodied in the form of a speech balloon/smiley face.

The emblem is simple in its design and its button and bobbin shapes breathe ‘sewing’. The combination of three basic elements makes it memorable, yet distinctive.

The black and white version at the bottom and the color version at the top prove that the logo ‘works’ regardless of colors.

But I don’t like the color!

You don’t have to. You may like the same dress pattern as another sewcialist, but that doesn’t mean you should make it in the same color, right?

The strength of the design is its shape. Only you can choose your prefect colors. So, pick your own colors and make this design your very own sewcialist emblem.

You can do so online at this address:: http://lab.decock.org/sewcialists/

Entry #5- Dylan

Entry #6- Anne

My design is a patchwork globe revolving on an axis which is represented by the dress form. The needle and thread which changes to a computer mouse representing the lines of communication going round the globe linking sewing and the social media.

My idea for this came from the inclusive and diverse nature of the sewcialist community represented by the patchwork pieces of the countries – linked by a common thread – our sewing and means of communication. My favourite author is Anne Tyler who wrote the book A Patchwork Planet so a bit of me. I also wanted to represent all sewers, the dress form for the garment sewers among us and the patchwork, yes you’ve guessed it! for the patchwork community.

The text around the outside gives a vintage feel – I think – to the design. I mention the word Sewcialist at the top and I felt we should aim high – with a bit of humour so a bit tongue in cheek with the proclamation that we will unite the world with our stitches.

Good luck to the designers!

Tell us your favourite with a comment below, including the # of the entry and the designer’s name.

Wanna vote again? Head over to one of these Jury members blogs for more voting. (Remember, one vote per blog!)

Blogging the Unblogged!

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:58:40 -0400

I’m falling way behind here on blogging finished clothes… so buckle up, because I’m going to ramble my way through pants, two tops, a skirt, and leggings! (Lucky for you I don’t have pics yet of the dress or tee!) :P

FO#1: Pavlova Top

Remember how I wasn’t in love with my first Pavlova? Well, I was so inspired by Leila from 3 Dresses, who loves her Pavlova, that I decided to make a second version. Sadly, this one is worse. The stretch of the ties must be the wrong way around, or this just doesn’t have enough give, because they feel tight when I wear it. For some reason, the ties also point off in a strange direction, so I had to take it all apart and cut out a triangle chunk to make them work.

Oh well. It was fun to make, and I finished it just in time to help my team win the Sewalong challenge! Sweet!

FO#2: Truffle Skirt

What’s that I’m wearing with my Pavlova? It’s a new spring skirt!

It’s a simple lined skirt made with (gasp!) quilting cotton from Jay McCarroll’s line. (Remember him from Project Runway S1?) I love the bright colours and graphic pattern. Once again, I used the skirt pieces from the Colette Truffle dress to make the skirt. I tried to shake it up by using a button to close the waistband, but um, yeah… haven’t bought a button yet. The pavlova is holding it closed! (Though my invisible zip is pretty good! Don’t know why I fear those so much! :P)

In theory, I thought this top and skirt might work together because of the little coral paint platters on the skirt print. Looking at the pictures though, I think it will be better with a different colour!

FO#3: Leggings!

Behold! I have made the cake-iest of all cake garments - the humble legging! In fact, I’ve made several pairs… and this is the closest you will ever get to seeing them in full! I used a Style Arc pattern which was really simple and easy. There is no outer side seam - it’s all one piece. (Side note: It takes a terrifying amount of fabric to wrap around my thigh. Shocking!)

Oh, and guess what? This was one of my 2013 Sewing Goals!

Huzzah!

OK, time to wrap this up…

FO#4: Wiksten Tank and FO#5: Capri Jeans!

See how I snuck that in? PANTS! You guys were so encouraging last time I posted about my pants saga (5 muslins!) that i decided just to go for it and make some wearable, imperfect pants. These were made from 2 short scraps of denim, so they had to become shortie pants. The fit is far from perfect, but they are totally wearable and will come in handy during Me Made May!

Just in case one of you has a magic answer…. heres what’s going on in the back. Wrinkles galore! (This is an in-progress pic - now they have pockets!)

If you are interested in stretchy pull-on pants, here’s how the self-fabric waistband works… It’s got unstretched elastic inside which holds it snug without pulling tight. It’s simple and works well, and because the elastic is zigzagged it doesn’t twist around!

Last but not… ok, totally least: a quick Wiksten tank in challis! Lesson learned? I need darts! Quick and fun though, and an easy way to join in the Challis Chalet this month!

Phew! You made it through! Looking back, the common thread with these unblogged garments is that I haven’t worn any of them. Seriously, If I sew it an then ignore it, it’s not a good sign! The leggings get used, and the jeans will in warmer weather… the rest, maybe! How often do you sew up things that turn out to be flawed or uninspiring? What do you do with those “meh” projects?

Me-Made May '13

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:27:34 -0400

Thank you all so much for your great suggestions on my Me-Made pledge! It really helped me get inspired! I ended up deciding on a varient of the wearing-a-rainbow idea…So here’s my pledge:

‘I, Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ‘13. I endeavour to wear me-made clothing that matches my personal colour palette for the duration of May 2013’

There we go! I’ve got 11 shades to choose from… but my goal is to wear at least 2 or 3 colours a day. Even better, I’m going to challenge myself to combine colours in new-to-me ways: coral, pink, and kelly green? Monochromatic shades of turquoise? Why not? It’s time to shake things up! To that end, I’ll also be sewing some new stuff from my stash to round out the rainbow! (Pants, perhaps?)

I’m really curious to see if these are ACTUALLY the colours that I wear! (I know I wear quite a lot of black, for example, but I don’t think it’s all that flattering on me, so I haven’t put it in the palette.) For the pledge, I figure I can still wear colours that aren’t in the palette, as long as at least part of my outfit incorporates these colours.

I’ve got lots to work with - I counted the wintery me-mades in my closet last night, and came up with 30 things that match the palette. Plus I’ve got summer dresses put away downstairs, and some stash to sew up… Here are a few of my choices:

The only thing I haven’t decided is how to incorporate the colour palette into my daily pics. I could get some matching big paint chips, and held them in pics (yay for something to do with my hands!), or I could edit the photos and add colour swatches. What do you think would work better? Have you decided on your own Me-Made May pledge?

Me Made May - What should I pledge?

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:01:05 -0400

It’s almost time for another Me Made May! Last year was my first time participating. I’d only been sewing for about 3 months, but somehow I pulled it off! As many other bloggers have mentioned, it was a really turning point for me: since then, I’ve worn me-mades almost every day!

Last year, I set myself an extra challenge by creating Japanese For Crafters - a Japanese-word-a-day challenge! It was so much fun to coordinate the Japanese word each day with what I was wearing, and I was so happy that people played along by trying out the words when commenting on my pics in the Flickr group! As a total bonus, it gave me something to do with my hands while posing, and made me feel a little less ridiculous getting my picture taken every day.

Here’s a roundup of everything from last year… you can also go check it out on my Flickr stream if you want to read the individual words!

Now my Japanese in’t all that great, and I have no intention of doing the same thing again… but I am looking for a fun project for this year! I really appreciate So Zo’s comments about how it is intended to be a *challenge*. Daily me-mades isn’t really a challenge for me right now, so I want to add an extra level… but I’m really not sure what!

Here’s are some of the ideas that I’ve thought of…

Wear at least 10 me-mades a week (Sounds like a lot of counting…)
Colour-coordinate my clothes, and somehow wear a rainbow over the course of each week? (But I need to be adaptable to weather, so it can’t be set in stone)
Figure out another thing to be photographed with… but what?
Frankly, at this point, I could do a series of 4 OWOPs - One week, One Pattern: All tiramisu’s one week, and all Renfrews the next… But I fear becoming the crazy lady at work! :P

Here’s the problem: I think Japanese for Crafters worked because it built community - It was fun for me, and hopefully fun for people to join in! (I mean, seriously, how many “I love your outfit!” comments can anyone write in a month?) All the ideas I’ve thought of for this year are purely selfish - things that only I would know I was doing, with no added fun for anyone else!

(On the other hand, I don’t want to be rude and attention-grabbing… There’s a wee part of me that feared people would be pissed at me for doing Japanese for Crafters, like I wasn’t following the rules properly or I was being too selfish! I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.)

So what could I do that is more social? Maybe recommend a great blog to go check out every day? A can-you-name-the-pattern guessing game? Or should I just let it rest and not try anything special this year? I’d love your honest advice!

Thanks, sewcialists!

Koalas! Koalas Everywhere!

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:40:25 -0400

Oh HAI! I’m just hanging out in my new Koala top… Striking awkward poses…

…soaking in the early Spring “sunshine”…

Hoping the rest of the snow melts soon!

I finished this top weeks ago, but after getting pumped about spring sewing at the start of the month, I got annoyed that the weather did not comply! Seriously, school bused were cancelled because of ice and snow on Thursday last week, then all schools were SHUT DOWN on Friday because of a huge ice storm. I want SPRING!

In the end, I decided, “Screw it! I’m taking pics outside anyway! In the same place that would be scenic come summer… If only I’d gotten out of bed earlier, I could have caught the entire yard covered in snow. Yay?

Anyway, my shirt: It’s a Grainline Scout Tee (my third!) made from Japanese double gauze that I ordered on Rakuten. It was $9/m, which seems very reasonable to me - I’d never get anything locally of such nice quality for that price! (Buy your own “Koara Chan” gauze here!) The inner layer of fabric is cream, and the outside has the adorable little guys on it. (How did I not notice until now that one of them is wearing a bandana? The cute-o-meter is off the charts!)

If you’ve never sewn with double gauze, you really should give it a try - its buttery soft, and magically both cosy in winter and breezy in summer. It’s best for loose garments like this pattern, or a semi-fitted blouse like the Sewaholic Alma.

There really isn’t much else to say about it… I usually lengthen the pattern, but for some reason this time I cut using the original printout, completely forgetting that I had a modified version traced out! It’s fine when i’m just standing or sitting around, but I’d be flashing some belly if I wore it while doing jumping jacks etc with my class. Time for an undershirt, I guess! ;)

I’ve got another coral top to show you later this week…and a skirt…and a bonus pair of leggings because it was too cold to wear the skirt without them!

On a side note, I’m really fascinated by all the Colette Laurel dresses popping up! I love some of them, and find other less flattering… It’s that great lure of something loose, just like this shirt! I don’t think the Scout tee necessarily brings out any great features of mine, but dang, is it comfy! And hides all forms of muffin-top… I love it. I’m working on a Jiffy shift dress - inspired but the Laurel, but hoping the shape is more flattering on me! (Thought it’s looking nothing like Erika’s hella sexy version right now!)

How do you feel about loose sihouettes? Yes, no, maybe so?

Where did the blogging go?

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:47:39 -0400

Hello, peeps! i’ve been absent around here for a while… ok, only two weeks, really, but that’s a long time for me! I don’t know what happened - I’ve been sewing, but just haven’t felt like photographing or posting anything I make! Tonight I’m not quite sure I have much to say, but I’m making myself write anyway. Twitter can *almost* satisfy my sewcialist tendencies, but it’s time to get back to blogging!

Since Christmas, I’ve really been enjoying using my iPad to record my monthly sewing plans. Not that I stick to the plans very carefully, but they are helpful inspiration when I don’t know what to start next!

Here are my plans from the start of March. Let’s see how many I got done!

Two Pavlova tops? Check. Lounge pants and leggings? Check. Style Arc pants… well, yes and no! I made one muslin and was pretty happy, so I made my next pair wearable and fully finished - my first ever pair of pants! But then I got deeper down the fitting rabbit hole, and became less and less pleased with the fit on my 3rd, 4th, and 5th muslins. Now I’m looking at muslin 6, and wondering if I’ve only made things worse! I’ve been wearing v2 all weekend, and they are comfy and look fine. Should I push for more? I just don’t know. It’s a little depressing, to be honest!

Next up: No, I didn’t make that Grainline Scout tee yet. It’ll come in April, I hope! I did finish the a-lin skirt though, including one of my better zipper attempts, thanks to using fusible webbing for the first time to hold the zip in place!

Hmmm. Yes, I did make my sister a Hollyburn, and the pattern was great to work with. I got as far as muslining and cutting out the bodice of a dress with my Tsuru fabric, but it’s got lots of little pieces and I haven’t been able to face it since! It has the honour or being the very first cut pattern that I’ve hidden away as a UFO!

Oh, and that cowl neck polka dot dress? Well, i didn’t buy tha fabric when I first saw it, because I knew good sales were coming up… but I haven’t found it at any of the other locations I’ve shopped at since, and also haven’t been back to the city where I found it! Lesson learned: Buy the damned fabric when you see it!

So, overall: Some of my plans worked out, some didn’t! I also made a few other things, plus duplicates of the leggings and lounge pants. Not bad!

Now for April! I sketched out a few plans yesterday, including:

Recognise that Scout Tee from last month? I actually made the coral Koala Scout tee yesterday, so that other one should follow soon. I’ve got plans for one more Tira - i just have to figure out how to use my border print ITY without loosing stretch anywhere vital!

The Kimono Sleeve dress is an interesting one for me… it was one of the first patterns I bought, thinking it looked really simple.. then muslined it in jersey and was really disappointed! I’m ready to give it another crack though, even though it looses serious points for not having a size big enough for my butt! Seriously? It’s not THAT big!

Well, hello, Style Arc Pants! Fancy seeing you here again! i’m determined to get it fitting well enough to make some cute and colourful capris for spring. Which leaves me lots of time, since it’s still snowing here!

As for the Jiffy dress… I fell in love with it when Colette Patterns convinced me that a shift would be fun and cute for spring! I have a hard time fitting Colette though, and I prefer the cute French darts on this pattern. I spent today doing a bunch of patterns alterations, and I think I’m ready to cut fashion fabric… but what? I have a nice green and blue gauze in mind, but I don’t know how to work with the permanent crinkles in the fabric. How will I iron my darts? I also can’t decide what to do about lining. I’ll wear it over leggings for school, so it needs something slippery… but I’m considering making an ITY slip instead of a full lining. I hate making breezy sundresses and then sticking in an unbreathable, sweaty lining! Any suggestions?

Hunh - Apparently I DID have a lot fo say! Thanks for reading!

What do you have planned for April?

More Thoughts on Pavlova!

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:00:54 -0400

Yesterday I blogged about the Pavlova skirt I made… now here’s the wrap top from the same pattern!

Since it’s a fairly new pattern, here are my thoughts:

I can’t quite nail down the fit of this pattern. Should it be loose, and cross high over the bust? Should it be snug like mine and wrap underneath? I’m not quite sure what Steph, the designer of Cake Patterns, intended… or what I prefer! I cut this one a size 30 instead of the 35 that was recommended for my measurements. I like how snug and trim it is… but when it’s so tight, it shows back fat and wrinkles from whatever I wear underneath.
Since I was sizing down, I added an inch in length before cutting. It’s still quite short though - So short that I had to really hike up my Pavlova skirt to get the waistband under the top! I’ll add more length next time.
The neck binding. The back of the next is finished with a method that I can’t begin to describe… which confused the hell out of me for a good long time! In the end it was just fine, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get a great finish on it!

4. Hemming and finishing those long ties. This took FOREVER… and was really annoying! The foldover finish is quite deep at the neckline and front crossover… tapering down along the ties. This made it really tough for me to visualise how best to finish it! I applied knit stay tape, but it had to be positioned differently depending how deep the hem was at each point. I also didn’t want a messy finished showing when the ties were hanging down, so I did a double fold hem towards the end of the ties. All in all, not actually hard, but just finickety and annoying after making easy-to-finish Renfrews or Tiras!

5. The pattern include a longer flap in the back which can be tucked in to keep the top in place. I made my “muffin cover” shorter since I’d really like to wear the top over dresses. I freehanded a curve on the back hem with my serger - So what if it’s a bit lopsided?! :P It seems to still stay in place under the wrap ties.

6. Fabric: I used a light jersey with moderate stretch. In a heavier knit I’d definitely size up… but I’d also be afraid that the ties would get bulky and unflattering. I almost used a really stretchy rib knit, but I thought the seaming would be to wobbly. I think it could be really pretty in a drapey rayon knit… but then the back would *really* show everything underneath! I’m not sure what the ideal fabric is, really! (Time to experiment!)

I’ll definitely make the Pavlova top again. It’s flattering and cute, and something I could never draft by hacking my favourite patterns! Truth be told though, I’ve already got my eye on the next Cake pattern: The Hummingbird, which include a peplum teeshirt and a straight skirt with cool drape in the back. Not to mention that I’m still working away on my Cordova jacket, and my 3rd pants muslin… AND my cute Japanese fabric arrived, which I can’t wait to sew! So many distractions!

Help a #Sewcialist!

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 19:57:17 -0400

Meet Sarah.

Sewer, blogger, tweeter, Oona-pants-maker, and hopeful adoptive mother. She and her husband are trying to raise enough money to adopt a child - and you can help!

For 82 days now, Sarah has been wearing her “adoption dress” (seen above) every day. Starting this week, if you donate $10 or more, you can give her a wardrobe theme for a day! (And I’m her first sponser! Keep reading to see what challenge I gave her… Though since you know the name of my blog, you can probably guess!)

As a relative newly-wed and hopeful one-day mother, I can really sypathise with Sarah’s story. In her own words:

“ We have always known that we wanted to have a family someday thinking that, like most people, when the time was right we would just get pregnant. Some things just don’t always work out the way you had thought they would and this was one of them for us. After four years of trying to get pregnant, and no luck, we were faced with a decision. We could either pay, out of pocket, for infertility treatments with no guarantee they would work or we could adopt and be guaranteed to end up with our child. Now both options would cost us roughly the same amount of money. The decision was not a hard one to make. We had always talked about wanting to adopt at some point, so it was easy to see the path we should be on.”

Now, Mr. Crafts and I aren’t ready for kids yet… but like most people, I’ve always assumed that I’d be able to have them if I wanted. I know a lot of you are proud parents, so I hope that you’ll consider supporting her too.

Sure, there are a lot of things we could all spend $10 on… a metre of fabric, a fast-food meal or two starbucks coffees. But with all the wonderful, kind support in the sewing community for new pattern makers, sewing frustrations and behind-the-scenes health struggles, I’m hoping that we can help Sarah’s dreams come true! Head on over to Sarah’s blog and click on the link in her sidebar to make a donation through PayPal!

As I said, I had the honour and pleasure of being Sarah’s first daily sponser today. Since I love all things colourful, I asked her to wear something rainbow. I thought she’d find a few colourful accessories or something, but no - She made the most amazing sequined rainbow skirt!

Isn’t it amazing? I want one too!

If you haven’t clicked over to Sarah’s blog yet, I encourage you to go take a look. If you can, make a donation, leave a comment on her blog, or tweet to spread the word - every little bit helps! :)

Thanks, lovely people.

Mwah!

Thoughts on Pavlova

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 17:21:00 -0400

Move over, Tiramisu! Pavlova is here, and I’m, well… I’m not in love, but sure, I’d go on a second date!

This pattern includes a wrap top and circle skirt. First up: The skirt! I’ve never worn a circle skirt before, so I figured that making a simple knit version was an easy way to try it out.

The beauty of a knit circle skirt is that you can cut it out in one piece, with not seams at all. So simple, and so fast! The bugger of it is that your skirt can only be as long as the fabric allows, which in this case is a little shorter than I normally would choose.

The fabric I used was $3/m on the clearance table. It’s a woven brocade sort of thing… which somehow ends up feeling a little “fancy” for everyday wear! Do you ever have that problem? I wear dresses and skirts all the time, but this is SO lacy and full that I can’t quite work out how to style it.

I did learn a few things along the way though:

1. If you make a knit skirt, cut the waist SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than your measurement on the paper pattern. You really don’t need any ease here, and the fabric will also stretch. I cut mine about 2 sizes smaller, and it’s still a little loose. I used a contrast double knit for the foldover waistband, and even though I fit it to be snug, the weight of the skirt pulls it down on my hips. I ended up threading some elastic through the waistband just to hold it in place.

2. When hemming knit circle skirts, the gathering feature on your serger is your best friend! It makes it really easy to fold up the hem, without needing to constantly ease the fabric around a curve.

The verdict? I think I might offer this skirt to my sister, but I’ll certainly give the pattern another try. It’s handy to have another mix-and-match skirt block in my repetoire - I can see using it to add a circle skirt to a summer sundress, or make a more casual everyday knit skirt. In the mean time, I’m wearing it today, and it is very comfy!

Sewing Dares: 10 Weeks In!

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Hi everyone! Somehow it’s been 3 and a half months since I started handing out Sewing Dares! I’m a little late with this update… and I have to admit, I’m pretty sure some new dares have been handed out and I’ve forgotten to whom! If I’ve missed your sewing dare, please let me know in the comments and I’ll add you to the list! :)

Here are the finished dares so far:

The original dare was for Kristin at K-Line to ~~knit a pair of socks - something she’d planned to do in her NY resolutions.~~ Her dare is most definitely completed… she went from disliking socks-knitting, to grudgingly being fascinated, to liking it, to make more! Tenacity, thy name is Kristin!
The second dare was for Pretty Greivances. ~~She bemoaned a lack of TNT blouse, so I dared her to choose one pattern and make three tops!~~ **Dare Completed!** I like all of her new tops!
Sew Busy Lizzy:Hack a favourite pattern into something new. She’s going to make the Maria of Denmark Day/Night Cowl into a dress, and I know it will be fab! **Dare completed!** But wait! There’s more! One dare was not enough! She’s going to make a bathing suit AND an outfit for her trip to London! That’s bravery!
Unique Schmuck: ~~Oanh is going to~~ ~~make two sundresses from the same pattern, at the same time!~~ **Dare Completed!** Two lovely dresses finished!
Three Dresses Project: Leila is going to (gasp!) use a pattern more than once! **Dare Completed!** In fact, she made multiples of 3 different patterns! :)
Sew Exhausted ~~makes beautiful things for her family - Now she’s been dared to make something nice for herself!~~ **Dare Completed!**
Notches and Notions: ~~Make something using at least 1 of the giant buttons she accidentally ordered for another project~~**Dare Completed**
Maria of Denmark: ~~Make fun underwear and some lounge pants!~~ **Dare Completed!**
House of Pinheiro ~~is going to make a loose-fitting top - with Maria of Denmark’s Kimono Tee PDF pattern to boot!~~ **Dare Completed!**
Stephanie ~~is going to start a blog!~~ **Dare Completed!** Go check our her lovely new blog!
Jen ~~has been dared to be social on Twitter every day for a week.~~ **Dare Completed!** @grainlinestudio was a busy tweeter!
Sew and So ~~is making #onedresstorulethemall - her wedding dress! meanwhile, she’s been dared to join twitter and post a list of things she’ll make once the wedding dress is done!~~ **Dare Completed!** Well done!
My original dare ~~from Pretty Grievances was to mix prints.~~ **Dare Completed!**
PunkMik ~~is going to make something from Gertie’s book - work appropriate for her new job! :)~~ **Dare Completed!**
Handmade by Heather B: ~~Heather is going to make something flirtatious for going out/events. Va-va-voom!~~ **Dare Completed!** It’s really fabulous!
Chris Lucas ~~is going to make herself a cute high-waisted pencil skirt!~~ **Dare Completed!**
Bimble and Pimple: ~~Amanda make a plain single-colour dress! (I trust she will still make it fun though, with texture or shape or trim or something!)~~ **Dare Completed!** I want an exact copy of this skirt!
Ginger Makes is going to bite the bullet and make a bodice sloper! Oh yeah - and ~~she let Oona pick out fabric for her next Mood Network project~~!**Dare Completed!** In glorious, glorious style!
OonaBallona ~~has accepted a dare from GingerMakes and SownBrooklyn to make her dear husband a shirt! Will there be vibrant spandex leggings to match?~~ **Dare Completed** (Or so I’m told!)
~~Jamie at Such a Strange Girl is going to make her first knit top!~~ **Dare Completed** She just posted about it today! Nice timing! :)
~~Sown Brooklyn will make something designed/drawn by one of her kids!~~ **Dare Completed!** Wow. I think this was the toughest of all the sewing dares that I handed out - but she’s done it! A superhero inspired dress based on a drawing of her daughter’s! Go check it out!
Jagoda was dared by Catja from Geometry to make something with her Ikea fabric - and she made floral pants for spring!
Kat from Petticoats and Peplums is sewing matching mother-daughter outfits for herself and her adorable little girl! **DARE COMPLETED!** Oh my gosh. So adorable!
Catja from Gjeometry is making something for herself with Ikea fabric from a recent haul, and also de-fuggifying an 80’s pattern! **Skirt DARE COMPLETED!** It’s so cute on her!
Rachel at My Messings is done hosting her Hollyburn sewalong, and is ready for a dare: To make something, anything, that goes under a dress! **Dare Completed!** Go check out what she has under her dress! ;)

There dares are still in progress:

Hot Mess Heifer is going to make not 1, not 2, but 3 t-shirts! (She already had one cut out - Head start!)
Seamless’ Elena has been dared by SewBusyLizzy to make one dress for work, and style it 4 ways!
Clare from SewDixieLou: Make an everyday, “signature” dress from her vintage stash
Inge from IngeMaat: Remake one of her least “Top 5 Fails” from 2012 into something (anything!) that she loves or is useful.
Erin at Dog Under My Desk is going to sew a t-shirt! (You won’t regret it - T-shirts are my favourite sewing project!)
Amity Originals is going to make trousers! (Brave woman!)
Suzy Sewing is going to do two dares: Make a t-shirt AND use a croquis for sketching dress designs.
My awesomesauce sister Anne is a dye-hard knitter (See what I did there? Hahaha - puns.) She’s going to design and co-sew a knitting project bag! She’s started with a Pinterest board full of ideas…
In return, Oona has challenge ME to make a maxi dress - out of Liberty Lifestyle? Eeek! I’ve also been dared to use piping, and learn to rotate darts.
Buzy Lizzie in Brizzy is going to make a vintage shirtdress!
Buckingham Road has accepted two dares: Make something out of knit, and make pants, a skirt or a dress to go with her fantastic Cordova Jacket!
Thewallinna gave herself a serious challenge: Finish her couture dress!
Falling Through Your Clothes has too much in her stash (poor woman! :P) so she is going to use one piece to sew something for herself, and give away another piece or use it to sew for someone else!
Made with Hugs and Kisses is in training to be a teacher, so I’ve dared her to sew an interview dress!
Suzanne of http://mybeaubaby.blogspot.com/ has been dared by Oona, Ginger and others to make a garment that she’ll proudly show the guts of, perhaps to the point of it being reversible.
Kate took a break from blogging to plan her wedding, but she’s officially Mrs. Nakano now, and she’s got a new blog to match! She’s been dared to make and blog something in the next ten days - by Feb. 13th!
Sally from The Quirky Peach is going to use stash fabric to make one of the new indie patterns she bought recently! She did give it a shot, but wisely tossed it when the fabric wasn’t working out…
Andrea at Stitch Parade is going to make a garment (using a print!) that celebrates her new life this year on the west coast of Canada.
GMarie is going to recreate a RTW dress with red cherries from Vogue 8728!
Hanny Bobbins is going to use her new serger to make a knitting project bag!
Velosewer practically dared herself to make a bra, so I added in the challenge of making matching underwear!
Kirsty from Rocket Sews is going to draft her own knit dress, and maybe even make a tutorial for us!
Erin from Miss Crayola Creepy is going to remake one of the patterns from the Colette Sewing Handbook - I first met her during the sewalong this time last year, so it seems like a perfect dare!
Rochelle from Lucky Lucille (also part of the Colette Sewalong with Erin!) is going to make a vintage playsuit for summer, and then release her first PDF sewing pattern! Go Rochelle!
Becky from Sew-and-So is busy finishing up her wedding dress, but after that, she’s going to indulge/break her stashbusting pledge by buying new fabric and a pattern for something fun!
Dottie Doodle is going to make a comfy outfit for her days working from home that is also cute enough to wear out and about!
SewTell has just moved to a new place, so she’s going to sew some cushions for her couch!
Sandra from Just Sew Sandra is going to pick one of the challenges from the Great British Sewing Bee and try it out herself! Will she finish a project in the time limit? Wait and see! :)

For those of us with incomplete dares hanging over our heads… remember, stop if it’s not fun! If it’s not exciting and motivating, there’s no point, right? We’ll give you a new, more exciting dare instead. This is our hobby, for goodness sakes! :) Make it fun.

If that hasn’t scared you off… There’s always space for new dares! If you want one, just leave a comment below or hollar at my on Twitter. Get the graphic yourself, and start sewing/blogging/daring more sewists!

Happy sewing!

A Tribute to Cake

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:56:00 -0400

3 Tira’s, all in a row!

I think my love for the Tiramisu pattern is pretty well documented… In 2 months, I’ve made EIGHT! Including two each for my mom and sister, pictured above. (Plus, I made a skirt.)

I love this pattern, guys! I can make one in 2 hours if I push hard, and it’s easy to size up and down. The skirt is the perfect amount of twirly, and the bodice works with long or short sleeves. I’ll admit, I only put the pockets in once… but even without them, this pattern is perfection.

Now of course, all good things must come to an end… I mean, I can’t go steady with Tiramisu forever, can I? (Can I?) It’s time to fold up the pieces and try a few other patterns for a while… like the Pavlova, Cordova, and any other -ovas I can get my hands on!

Tiramisu, you’ve been good to me. I’ll come back for you later, I promise! (I’ve got a Christmas fabric all picked out for next year!)

Also awesome? My family. I’m a lucky lady.

Your turn: What pattern have you made the most, and how many times have you made it?

(My winner would have to be Renfrew, which I’ve made at least 14 times… probably more!)

Scout (Knit) Tee

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:00:43 -0400

A new tee, and it’s not a Renfrew! Instead, it’s a version of the Grainline Scout Woven Tee, made in a lovely drapey rayon knit! I’ve been crushing on big loose tees lately - they are a nice counterpoint to slim pants, and cover all manner of sins! ;)

The Scout tee has a high-low hem already, which I exaggerated even more. I saw a coworker in a similar top the day before March break, and surreptitiously checked it out so I could make my own! (Seriously, isn’t that the best part of sewing?)

I tried out a new neckline technique, based on this tutorial from Megan Neilson. Basically, you sew the binding onto the inside of the shirt, then fold it over to the front and topstitch it down. All the edges are enclosed, which is a nice feature. I prefer the ease of a normal (Renfrew-esque) binding, but I think this technique works very well with less-stretchy knits. Just for kicks, I also added a centre seam into the front and back. I cut the pieces out on the fold, and just took a wee tuck along the fold with the serger. With a top this baggy, I knew it wouldn’t affect the fit!

This top started as a sort-of #sewingdare from my sister. She made me this beautiful silk hand-dyed shawl for my wedding… and I LOST it! I found it a few weeks later, all safely wrapped up with other wedding stuff. Since it missed it’s big day, I really wanted to wear the shawl more casually. Something about the shine of it though made it hard to incorporate with my usual floral tops and dresses.

Anne and I brainstormed a lot of potential options (patterns? solids? different necklines?) I remembered this rayon knit in my stash, and thought the shine of the slub knit would be a good fit with the shawl. I didn’t feel right in all solids, but once I put on this wool brooch that I’d made last year, it felt more ME!

‘Fess up: Have you ever copied a garment that you saw on someone in real life? Do you ask people to let you inspect their clothes, or do you try to look surreptitiously?

Bloglovin' It!

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:11:58 -0400

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I’m not sure yet what I’ll use to replace Google Reader, but I thought I’d better claim my blog on Blog Lovin’ anyway…

Inner Workings

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:09:35 -0400

March Break. Desperately needed, never long enough. I’ve spent most of the week in my sewing room though, and it’s be lovely and relaxing. I’m working on my first pair of pants, and my double knit Cordova. (Turns out I *like* the jacket without a collar. Hunh! Thanks so much for all of your opinions on my collar options, though!) Along the way, I finished two jersey tops and my first pair of leggings, and tidied up my sewing room, so that it now looks like this:

And now I’m going to post about something completely different: the inner workings of 2 RTW knit jackets! You see, these two jackets both offer what i want from my Cordova - the comfort of a stretchy coat, with the ease of wearing of a lined jacket! How is that accomplished?

First up: a second-hand swing coat, made of a heavy double knit.

This one has a pretty straight-forward interior. Knit facings, and lots of ease in the woven lining. Interestingly, it has set-in sleeves on the outside, and raglan sleeves on the inside. I wonder why? The bottom back of the lining hangs free, with just one tack on the centre seam to keep it in place.

The second jacket has a few more surprises. This one is from Uniqlo in Japan. I like it so much that I own it in black too! It’s really comfy, thanks to the ingenious lining in the back:

Check that out! The front and sleeves are fully lined in a non-stretch lining, but the back has overlapping shoulder panels that make it sit smoothly over clothes without impeding range of motion!

(Please, please, let me not be the only one who is so nerdily excited by this!)

Each shoulder swoop is cut on the grain (not bias), and is just two pieces sewn together along the curve. They are attached at the neck and shoulder seams, but hang loose from there.

Have you ever seen something like this before? Maybe it’s common - but it’s new to me! I think it would be fairly simple to draft a similar lining on most jacket patterns, though I’d have to stretch my brain a little harder to do it on a princess-seam bodice like the Cordova.

Here’s where my lack of tailoring vocabulary lets me down! All the seams are bound, and the back hem (left picture) looks like it might have been … catch-stitched (?) by hand. In the righthand pictures, you can see how the lining folds down over the sleeve cuff and hems to allow more ease (What is that called?) For a $40 coat, I’m really impressed with the quality of the finishing.

As for my Cordova, I’m planning a hybrid of these techniques. I bought some stretch lining (like normal lining, but with a wee bit of 2-way stretch) that I’m going to use for the sleeves and front lining. I’m not sure about the back though - I’m debating either leaving it unlined, or using a thin jersey “lining” just to hold all the facings in place. It really comes down to what is easiest and seems to make the most sense as I sew!

Now, time to stop blogging and get sewing! Not much vacation left!