Confessions of a Plus Sized, Older, Type A, Overachiever

Well, good day everyone. I'm trying to make some changes in my actions and my reactions to things, and to that end, I think a confession is in order.

I pulled a quote out of a book I'm currently reading that really struck a chord in me. It says "We must always explore the root cause of our actions--to cling to our ignorance is to return to the mud."

Yes, I'm one of those. From where I'm sitting, I can see several quotes that are pinned up to remind me of things...

#1 "If you want to achieve goals you never have before, you simply have to start doing things you've never done before."  Steven Covey

#2 "Endlessly strive for what you would like to do, but also learn to love what must be done."

3. My real bugaboo... "When you don't exercise, your muscles let out a steady trickle of chemicals that tell every cell to decay day after day after day."

4. "Positive"

5. "Imagine"

6. "Something wonderful is about to happen."

7. "Choice!"

All of those things surround my desk every single day. And due to a lot of things, I am a 67 year old, 90 pound overweight plus size woman who WANTS to have perfectly fitting, classically elegant clothing. To that end, most of you know, I've been making almost all of my clothing for the last 15 or so years. I have the pants to the point where I am quite comfortable with the fit. My Pamela's Perfect tee shirt is pretty close to what I want, although after Jo Ann's input I will be increasing the sleeve cap a bit. Woven blouses, and jackets, not so much.

If you've been following me, you know I started a "quick tailored jacket" back around the middle of  March. It was going along quite well until I put the sleeves in on March 25. At that time everything came to a screeching halt. It looked horrible and I couldn't figure out why. It was my TNT jacket pattern that I'd made a few times already. I knew the fit wasn't perfect, but I thought it was good as it could get on my current body. But now a new issue had arisen that I hadn't noticed before.

Well, I reached out to a wonderful friend for some advice. She gave me great information on that problem, and also pointed out multiple other items that needed to be changed in the jacket for the fit to be right.

Here's the list:
1.     Narrow shoulder width by ½ to ¾”
2.     Widen should depth by extending the back shoulder ½” and overlapping the front shoulder ¼” inch at neckline tapering to nothing at the sleeve cap. True neckline.
3.     FBA
4.     Rounded upper back adjustment
5.     Add ½” up from underarm seam in the armscye, true seams.
6.     Widen bicep.
7.     Increase sleeve cap depth by about 1 ½ to 2”.
8.     Make sure sleeve cap seam is about ½” longer on both the front and the back than the armscye seam.
9.     Sway back adjustment, additional 1”, being sure to add back in that 1” at hem line. True seams.
10.  Add 1” above bust at front seam tapering to zero at side seam.
11. Add 1” at waistline front seam tapering to zero at side seam.
12.   Reduce underarm seam if it is too loose.
13.  True up front and back seams, trimming side seams as necessary.

Since I had the jacket basically completed except for hems, buttons and buttonholes, there was no way to go back and do all of those adjustments. In my disillusionment, I thought if I fixed the sleeves I would be okay with the jacket.

Fast forward a month. I'm still procrastinating about the sleeves. I know I need to narrow the shoulder some more, but if I do so, the sleeve cap will once again be too short. Lots more procrastination. Yesterday I finally talk myself into putting the sleeves in and finishing it off. Sleeves in. Hems in. Final press of the sleeves.

Try on again. NOT GOOD. I am totally unhappy with this jacket and KNOW that I will never wear it. I decide in all good conscience to give it to Goodwill so someone who is tiny can make a lovely silk twill something with a beautiful silk charmeuse lining.

That jacket that put a screeching halt to my SWAP is (not quite but soon) no longer on my mind, or on my radar, and is in the box for Goodwill. I am moving on.

BUT... Jo Ann also gave me some great advice on fitting. I am now measuring everything. My front half, my back half, where my boobs sit on my chest wall, how far apart the bust point is from my center front, where my waist falls, and where my hips fall. Front width at the bust, waist, hip, and Back widths at the same spots. I now know that I need to measure the pattern everywhere before I start doing anything else. And write down the measurements so I don't forget what was what and where I was in my process when I got interrupted and stopped to do something else. And to use gingham for my muslins so I can be sure not only my vertical grainlines are straight, but also that my horizontal grainlines are straight.

I knew about the gingham from a long time ago when I was working with Don McCunn of How to Make Sewing Patterns fame, but got lazy and quit doing it when my body changed again for the umpty umpt time.

For now, I will be using some commercial patterns and making adjustments, doing a gingham muslin first, making the changes to the pattern, doing a second muslin to check that out ad infinitum until I get the fit right. I'm really tired of wasting my beautiful collection of fabrics by making things that don't fit. Woven gingham is the best choice for me to use and is certainly cost effective in the long run.

So right now, I am beginning again. My first task is to come up with a sleeveless woven blouse that will work under jackets for work, and alone around the house as we get into our summer weather.

My next post will be my new Kwik Sew 3865 View B. Starting at the beginning. With comments, observations, and probably more than a few pictures! 

Thanks for listening!

I've been blogging but it's all been in my head!

Nothing has reached the paper as yet.

It's been an interesting month to say the least. First we had THE illness. What I thought would be a minor cold turned out to be possibly the worst cold I've ever had in my life. I was down every day with fevers and chills and achiness. It really took a lot out of me. At the same time, my doctors have begun messing with my thyroid dosage again, and that always makes for a fun time. They decided it was too high, so cut to the next lower dosage, and that dropped it so my thyroid hormone level was about 1/3 of my normal. So now we're experimenting trying to get it right again. It's take this amount for 6 weeks, get tested, take another amount for 6 weeks, get tested, etc. until they get it right.

In them meantime, I've been doing some sewing when I can. The cream silk jacket was done using the Nancy Zieman Speed Tailoring book and video. It's an OOP Simplicity, #4273, that has been altered extensively. The cream silk twill is from old stash. Have no idea where or when I bought it, so it's obviously well aged! Silk charmeuse lining fabric is from Sawyer Brooke, purchased in January of 2012 . First thing was to attach fusible tricot to all front pieces, the hems, the upper back, the collar and undercollar. Then in the roll line and the undercollar roll line, a heavier fusible interfacing was used.

I used Pam Erny's Fashion Sewing Supply Pro-Tricot Deluxe as my first layer, and Pro-Weft Supreme for my second layer. I have used her interfacings for years and years and wouldn't use anything else. https://www.fashionsewingsupply.com/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=b94bcdc2856198c9086b19f1956d360f

The sewing progressed as per normal, with several side steps along the way. I finally had it at almost complete around the 23rd of March. At that point in time, I tried it on and felt like I had hit disaster. The sleeves were all wrong, hung wonky, and I knew I would never wear it like that. I couldn't figure out why, and needed help.

I reached out to a wonderful blog world friend for help. I can do multiple things, but figuring out fitting problems on myself is always difficult for me. I just didn't know why it looked like this and/or how to fix it. I do have super large upper arms, a family trait that all my sibs and I deal with. As a small child my mother used to just cut the binding of puffy sleeves of my dresses at the underarm seam so I'd have enough room to move! But I had already altered the sleeves so I had enough width, and I was stumped.

My friend came through like a champ, and I heard something I'd never heard before in my life. My wonderful sewing guru indicated I needed more height in the sleeve cap. In 40+ years of sewing, I'd NEVER heard anyone say you need more sleeve cap height. So her recommendation was to slash the sleeve and put a piece of gingham into the slash, pinning until all the grainlines, both horizontal and vertical were accurate and the sleeve hung properly. She also indicated I need to take width out of the shoulder area, and several things that will be taking place in future versions of this jacket. Keeping in mind that I had barely enough fabric to cut one more sleeve, we're talking maybe an inch extra, I did as she suggested. What a surprise!

It became almost perfect! I do have other "issues" with the jacket that need to be addressed in future versions, but by adding the sleeve height, that solves the most visible and noticeable issue. Today I hope to get my sleeves installed properly and then I can move on! Before I make my next jacket, I'll follow suggestions and do a proper muslin out of gingham so all the issues that have arisen will be addressed in my next jacket.

I haven't liked to make jackets for a long time because they always look "off." The multiple suggestions I have been given for tweaks to the pattern will make such a difference in the look and the fit, you may be seeing a lot of new jackets coming from this sewing room over the next year.

A big thank you once again to my sewing guru, who can name herself if she chooses. She's awesome and generous and brilliant!

More later, hopefully more frequently, and by the way, Happy Easter to all!

Paying it forward and moving on again.

My niece Juli came over last Saturday and we spent the afternoon working out her pattern. The draft worked very well and then we pushed forward with copying off the draft, adding the fly, pockets, and pocket pieces so she could sew together her first ever custom pair of denim trousers. Here's a picture of the draft:

 

 

 

You can see some of the fabric bins in the closet behind her. Oops. A little messy. :P}] She was thrilled with her draft and couldn't stop giggling. She's really excited to have pants that fit her, not only standing, but sitting also, without pulling or cutting into her body. And I do believe there is another convert to sewing custom clothing here. She came not only with the denim for the trousers, but another piece of cotton twill for pants, a rayon knit, and also a piece of woven with polka dots that she loved. She is doing a "sister's week" in August with all of my nieces (six of them!) and their sisters-in-law (2 more) at the beach, so she wants to have some cute new clothes to show off.

 

She'll be back on Sunday when we'll start with her first Pamela's perfect tee shirt, and if time will also will be doing a woven shell probably from the free download of the Polly top at By Hand London. http://byhandlondon.com/products/polly-top I found the pattern from Rhonda's thrifty Thursday post, and think it's really a winner. For younger, svelte figures it will be really cute in the color blocking, and I want to make it up in a solid for me so as not to draw attention to my midsection. I've also sent her the link to the Sorbetto top, so she'll definitely have some options for her shells. We'll also make her a copy of the Margarita top pattern too, because that one IMO is the most versatile of all for knits.

 

Due to the previously mentioned sickness going around, I spent most of the rest of the weekend in bed. I appear to have a sinus infection going on, but I'm not positive of that. I like to let things go if possible because I think it's better to allow my body to cure itself than introducing drugs that cause other issues, but it may get to the point where I need to do something else. We'll see.

 

Because of the illness going on here, I missed my second Block of the Month club class. I did go by Monday after my inspection to pick up my instructions and fabric for the next block. This month it's two blocks instead of one. The first is this called "Chinese Coin" but different than I thought...

 

 

It appears we'll be using the same fabric for all of the blocks, so for right now picture this is the same colors as the last block I did. The second block is called Five Spot Block, and it looks like this:

 

 

Again it will be done in the original reds and whites. I've started the Chinese Coin, and have the first sets of blocks sewn together. I haven't pressed them yet or done the rows, so that may be done later today. We'll see how the day goes.

 

In other news, I've started on the cream silk jacket. I haven't done a tailored jacket in a while, so while foraging in my sewing room, I came across the Nancy Zieman video entitled Speed Tailoring Blazers. Then I realized I not only had the video, but also the written transcript with pictures of the same name. This is a circa 1980s video, so it is interesting to see the hair styles and big shoulder pads, etc., but there is some great information in it. I'll be using the methods from the video and transcript all the way through and anticipate a quick finish for this particular item. She mentions it is easy to speed tailor a blazer in a weekend. We'll see how that goes! LOL

 

Since my jacket pattern has been fitted and made more than a few times, there isn't much to tell as far as alterations. There are so many done that I can't even remember them all, but they have been noted in several previous posts. I do know it has narrower shoulders, wider arms, a sway back adjustment, a FBA, and I'm sure a few others I don't remember. (Last one posted 11/23/11)

 

I did follow the video instructions and made an "interfacing pattern" using waxed paper over the original and a seam gauge set at 1/2" to run along the outside of the pattern to get the interfacing the correct size so it only overlaps the seam allowance by 1/8". The entire front, side front, upper collar, pocket, upper back, and facings have been fused with Pro Tricot Deluxe from Fashion Sewing Supply. I still need to interface the hem lines, and then there will be a second layer of interfacing in several places. I'll keep you in the loop just in case you'd like to do your own speed tailored blazer.

 

That's all for now, but I'll try to keep up to date with my postings as I go through the blazer process. Hope your sewing is moving forward to!

 

 

 

 

 



It's coming along and I'm passing it forward

Good day to you.

I hope you're getting lovely weather wherever in the world you may be. We are finally getting enough rain to hopefully ease the drought conditions here in Northern California, with a few days of sunshine interspersed so we can actually see spring and renewal in our future. I have daffodils, a few tulips, hyacinths, Asiatic lilies, and some mini iris coming up in the yard, and the roses are starting to sprout lots of leaves.

I haven't got a picture of Dale in his shirt yet, as he's gone down hard with a nasty cold and cough. He's spending the majority of his time sleeping trying to get rid of it. Hopefully soon.

I've been moving forward on my SWAP, but it seems to be taking a different direction. I have the grey tropical wool pants from the story board almost complete doing a few minutes here and a few minutes there. There are currently lying on the ironing board with the hems pressed and pinned. Hopefully tonight those will get done. Then I just have to do the waistband and they're good to go. I am not lining them, but will wear them with a pants slip instead.

Next up is going to be a a jacket in a cream colored silk tweed that I've had in my stash FOREVER! I think this goes back to around the time I quit being an outside sales person in 1996. I will use my TNT jacket pattern for this one that is a dramatically altered Simplicity 4273, now OOP. I'll probably add patch pockets, not the original slanted ones, but regular ones because I just NEED pockets! Like a little boy, I always have stuff in them. :P}}

The lining will be a silk charmeuse I bought on a great sale at Sawyer Brook in January 2012. Their description: Elegant silk charmeuse is printed with crosswise stripes seemingly over a large outline floral motif. Florals range from 7 to 9 inches. Mauve, almond, and gunmetal stripes over coffee and mocha outlines. For me, it's rather muted, but I do like it a lot and think it will be fantastic with the cream silk.

That will be moving into place with a matching grey tee and a pale blue silk broadcloth woven shirt from fabric that has also been in my stash for a very long time. That will together make up another capsule for my SWAP.

Looks like I won't make a full SWAP by the end of April, but I am getting garments done that will work in my wardrobe with lots of other pieces, and I'm using up some of my stash in addition to some of the new lovelies I couldn't resist!

I'm also working with my niece Julianne to make a custom pants draft, using the Don McCunn "How to Make Sewing Patterns" method. I have never had this draft not work if the measurements were correct. We have the first draft complete, and this week I'll be stitching up a muslin so she can try it on Saturday when she comes. At that time, we'll drape in the darts, and hopefully cut out her first ever pair of custom pants. She's doing a denim, of course, so I'll keep you posted.

Saturday is also my next 9 patch class. I'm getting lots of fun things fit into my schedule. I'll take the first block for show and tell, and then get the materials for the next one, which will need to be completed by the second week in April.

Need to get some work stuffed into the cracks around the sewing unfortunately, so I'll keep you posted as things come up.

Have a lovely day, whether it be coming into Spring or going into Autumn wherever you are.

More later!

It's been a long, long, time!

I'm a bit behind in my blogging, aren't I? We've had an interesting year around here so far.

The last post was the day after my birthday, and we were heading out to the U C Botanical Garden at Berkeley, and then out to dinner with daughter and granddaughter with their partners. Although between the freeze and the drought, there wasn't a lot of blooming going on, it was a lovely day to be outdoors and a wonderful walk through the gardens. They have the most amazing medicinal herb garden with each plant having a sign that shows what it is used for in traditional Chinese medicine. Fascinating!

Unfortunately, right after that we were hit with flu and colds and allergies and all of that nastiness. I have been sewing, albeit a tiny bit at a time, but it does progress the projects somewhat.

Just a little late with the photo, but here is the previously blogged denim pants with the shirt that gave its left over fabric for the pockets and Hong Kong finish waistband fabric.

 

Sorry about the bad hair. I'm trying to grow it out a bit and it's at that in between stage!

 

Next up was the striped tee. The fabric is a wonderful viscose/elastane knit that feels like silk. It's from my TNT Pamela's Perfect Tee Pattern. Fabric purchased in January of 2012 from Sawyer Brook. Glad to get it complete and in the closet!

 

Geez, I wish my photographer would tell me when things are wrinkled and need to be straightened!

 

After this one I got an unusual request. To preface the request, I have to say my hubby has a unique and quirky sense of humor. He'd seen some Dia de Los Muertos cotton shirts in a shop in Sonoma when he was driving by. He'd stopped to check them out and was horrified that a basic cotton shirt, think Hawaiian style, was $95.00. The salesman told him it was worth it because he had a woman in New Mexico that was custom making the shirts for him.

 

Long story short, he described it to me, we found the fabric on line, and he has a shirt made up. He wanted the shirt to wear for the anniversary of his heart attack and bypass surgery last year! LOL I told you he had a quirky sense of humor!

 

So now I'm moving forward with my garments interspersed with making 9 patch quilt blocks for my block of the month club. It's a new venture for me, and I'm enjoying it. I made the first one, but missed one key direction. The class instructor said to make the blocks about 1/8" larger than called for. Which I did. What I didn't hear or she didn't say, was to cut them back down to 3" squares once put together, so your block winds up 9" X 9". I did a gorgeous job on my block, but unfortunately, it's about 11" X 11"! I've got to redo that this week for next Saturday's class. But it looks good! Here's the prototype just a little larger than it will be once completed again!

 

 

For a non-quilter, I think it's pretty good. I sure hope the next version comes together as good as this one did.

 

Stay tuned, as my SWAP may take a more polished direction with a few different jackets that are less casual than the Stacie Jean jacket and the Style Arc Marie. Our sewing guild is doing tailored jackets this year, and will all be showing them at our annual fashion show next fall. I really don't do tailored jackets much, but I may go with more professional looking patterns instead of my casual ones.

 

Next up will be the grey slacks, and following closely a natural colored silk jacket from my TNT collarless jacket pattern. Then a few tops so I can get some "groupings" completed. I'm looking really hard at Chanel style jackets too!

 

Hope your sewing is going well and you're all staying out of the way of the flu. It's a nasty one!

 

More later!

 

 



Denim Slacks & Mini pocket tutorial

This is my first official entry into the SWAP 2014.

It is a pair of charcoal denim slacks. The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics and described as "Premium Designer Stretch Denim, Dark Wash." Hmmm... maybe my charcoal denim slacks aren't really charcoal. Oh, well. They are what they are and definitely are underway so they will be part of the SWAP. Guess I need to spend the big bucks and get the Pantone swatch card. NOT! I'd never spend that kind of money.

Disclaimer... I am not perfect and do a generally good job that passes for good looking pants, but there are ALWAYS little things that aren't perfect. If you see them, good. If not, know they are there.  In general, I am a self-taught sewer and many things I do may not be standard, and certainly aren't couture, but they do get the job done, and I've been making 99% of my own clothing for at least the last 15 years, and most people don't realize my clothing is self-made.

Anyway, these are my slacks. I have posted before that I love to use a quilting cotton for the pockets with a matching Hong Kong finish on my waistband. Since I have been using a self drafted pattern for a very long time, I don't have any sewing instructions so have made them up as I went along, finding tips here and there, and experimenting. I'm going to share the way I install pockets. I'm definitely not an expert, but these work really well for me.

Once you have your darts sewn and pressed, you will sew your pockets. I use a piece of pocketing that is folded along the inner edge as it's just easier for me. These are left over batik fabric from my Hot Patterns Plain and Simple Princess shirt made in August of 2012. I have the pants drafted with what I've been told is called quarter pockets, where the openings are about 2-2 1/2" along the waistband measuring from the side seam, (measurement depends on your size~ roughly one quarter of your front measurement hence the term quarter pockets.) The pocket opening goes down at a diagonal until they reach the side seam. A good way to check the opening size is to measure the width of your hand, laid flat and add a little extra for ease. Then mark that spot on your side seam remembering to measure down from the waistline and not the seam allowance. From your waist mark to the point you determine will be your pocket opening. You should have a couple of inches of pocketing below the place where the pocket connects to the side seam so your stuff won't fall out of your pockets, and I generally curve the seam down so the stuff stays in the bottom. Here's a picture of my pockets cut out.

I cut my pockets initially with a fold on the inside seam, and the outside seam the same as the pants would be if they didn't have pockets. I have a facing for the opening area that extends about an inch past the pocket opening so if they're open, no one can see your fancy pockets. Once the pockets are cut, you'll attach the facing to the wrong side of the pockets along the outside seam line, and again on the inside seam line. I have serged the interior seam before, but have found after a hundred or so washings, it will ravel anyway, so now I stitch at 1/4", then turn under before sewing to the pocketing. And yes, I do generally wear my pants until they wear out or my size changes, whichever comes first. :P}}

Facings pinned to pockets

Once you have your facings attached to the pocketing, trim the upper piece of the folded pocketing and mark one inch plus the width of your seam allowance towards the side seam from the interior facing edge, then trim that off. Attach your cut edge to the front pocket right side of front to wrong side of pocket. Stitch, press, press open first, then trim and turn.


Pocket Attached

Pocket ready to be trimmed and folded to the interior



Press pocket edge flat, using a clapper if you have one. Let sit until it has cooled. Topstitch along the edge.

 

Topstitching ~ Sorry looks invisible in the picture.

 

Now you'll fold the pocket along the fold line, matching the cut edge at the top and the side seam, with the facing showing at the pocket edge. Pin in place and baste along the topstitching line.

 



Pockets basted into place
 



 

 

Once you have the pockets basted in place, you will pin the inside of the pocket bags and stitch them together. Usually I use a small 1.5 mm stitch and the serge the edges below the stitching for extra strength. If you're usually hard on pockets, you could use a 3 thread back and forth stitch if your machine has one or one of the alternate stitches like the mock overlock stitch.

 

Once your pockets are complete, finish the pants and you're good to go!

 

I hope this is informative, and if you have questions, please let me know. Have a great sewing day!

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 



Hooray!

Happy camper, here. I finished my first 6-Pac within the allotted time frame and actually have 6 garments that will go (and some have already been!) into immediate rotation! Two jackets, two tees, a blouse, and a pair of slacks.

The final garment is my tee shown here and finished a few minutes ago.

Sorry for another hanger shot, but I will get some pictures of things on me soon. This one is a pattern you have seen in multiple iterations. It's my Pamela's Perfect Tee, this time with a V neck and 3/4 sleeves. This is my go to pattern for tee shirts as it's the only one I have found with darts, and I believe that voluptuous women NEED darts in their tee shirts so they don't look like a big wall of fabric. Hopefully the geometric print helps too. :P}}

Details:
Kind of a stash fabric, as it's been in the house since January of last year. Perhaps bought for last year's SWAP that got set aside for other more pressing issues.

It's a Marcy Tilton fabric called Square One French Knit. Noted as "French viscose/spandex knit." It was on half price sale, so it's a big win!

I did use a full width front and back for cutting the pattern flat because of the print. Only notions used were fusible tricot on the hems. I have learned the hard way with rayon knits that an inch to an inch and a half piece of fusible tricot at the hem line makes all the difference in the world in the way it looks and holds up after laundering.

Neckline was done using a technique I learned from a Stretch and Sew Pattern years ago that they call French Trim. It is Pattern #326, and the pattern is called "City Tees."

Here's How if you're interested: Cut a piece of fabric with the stretch going the length of the fabric, 2" wide (5.1 cm) by 31 inches long. Place a pin 3 inches from the center back on each side.  Place a pin 3 1/2" from one end of the strip. Match the pin on the strip to the pin at one neck edge, sew the strip around the front neckline with a 1/4" seam, (.6 cm) stretching the trim ONLY just enough that it starts to cup a little bit. When you get to the other side of the back neck with the pin, stop. Trim the strip 1/2" past the center back of the shirt. Miter the corner by placing the ends , right sides together diagonally and stitch from corner to corner. Trim and press open. Stitch the balance of the back seam. Press towards the seam, then leaving the seam allowance as is, fold the strip over the neck edge leaving about a 1/4 to 3/8" seam, and stitch in the ditch to complete. Trim close to the stitching.

I did it slightly different this time by having my strip 2 1/2" wide, and sewing it doubled like you would a normal piece of ribbing. Then I did the rest the same way, leaving the inside of my tee with a nice folded edge instead of the raw edge.

This makes a marvelous self binding without lots of hassle. I will admit that not being a quilter, it took me a long time to figure out the mitering and get it right. I can't tell you how many I did backwards before I finally "got" it. But now I do it perfectly almost every time.

Here's a pic of my completed Winter 6 Pac:

Count me as one happy sewer today! Now on to the SWAP. First garment will be the charcoal denim trousers as I want to wear them next weekend!

More later!

How Do I Love Thee?

Let me count the ways. I initially found this pattern on Pam Erny's blog, and figured if she liked it, it had to be good. I consider her one of the best shirt makers I've ever seen! Here's Pam's initial post: http://off-the-cuff-style.blogspot.com/search/Label/Patterns There is such a wealth of information on her site, you could spend days! Scroll down to 12/03/06 and you will see a two part tutorial on how to sew this collar. Blue Mooney also did a tutorial on the collar and references Pam's tutorial on July 11, 2010. http://bluemooney.wordpress.com/page/15/ Another website with a wealth of information!

To date, I have made four maybe more, of these shirts, and I see many more in my future. I love it so much. I love the collar. Although difficult to do correctly with a 5/8" seam allowance, following the tutorials and being careful, it comes out just lovely. If you trim the seam allowances to 1/4" it makes it much easier.

I love the princess seams! I think on most of us who are voluptuous they offer so many opportunities for fitting that it just makes life so much easier. I also love that these are shoulder princess seams, so with my narrow shoulders, that is such a fitting bonus too! I think Hot Patterns are drafted with a slightly larger cup size than the big 4, so the bust alteration is much easier. I love the shirttail hem. It is a narrow hem, with just a fold up that winds up being slightly less than 3/8" when you start at the facing with a 5/8" seam. In addition I find the narrow hem to be extremely flattering.

This is the pattern:

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My friend Kathleen commented that she'd looked this up on Pattern Review and all of the comments mentioned that the collar was done differently and referenced Pam's tutorial. If you are a beginner, or not proficient, (note it says Advanced Beginner) I think you could complete the collar using the tutorial and taking your time. Other than that, I find it an easy sew.

 

I will be making one more of these for my SWAP 2014, but think this one may work as one of my wild cards if needed!

 

The unveiling:

 

 

 

Sorry it's just a hangar shot for now, but I'll try to get a better picture later in the week if I can. I lightened it a bit so you could see it easier, (which dulls the colors and the teal doesn't show up much) but think overall it will go with almost anything I wear.

 

Hope you're getting things done too!

 

Now I'm off to the next tee!

 

More later!

 

 

 

Two to share and a teaser.

I finally got the button and actually finished the jacket. So that's here:

I like it pretty well, it's warm, and does the job. I have already made some alterations to the pattern that will be completed prior to the next version being sewn. I have been really ogling my garments to see if and where other alterations should be done to make them fit my body the way I like them to fit. As I was scratching my head over this one, I realized I have a jacket pattern that I started several years ago and have done about four versions, each one getting tweaked a little more. The arm/shoulder/sleeve fit on that one is really close to perfect IMO. So out it came, and I redid that area on this jacket pattern. I cut the armscyes in both front and back at the base of the arm so I don't have excess wads of fabric there. I fixed the sleeve so it should be just right for me. And I remembered I have that other jacket that I can just add lapels and a collar to and have a well fitting blazer. So I'm a happy camper right now.

After all the work on the jacket, I did a quick instant gratification tee as a palette cleanser. It is made out of a fabric that I bought sometime last year ( I THINK) and when I saw Bea Jay's tunic realized I had the same fabric and it would fit well with my Winter 6-Pac. So without further ado:

 

This is my standard TNT Pamela's Perfect Tee pattern. I love it and have made probably 50 tees in various sizes and fabrications. The only problem I have with this is it reminds me of a melting hot fudge sundae and makes me want ice cream! ROFLOL

 

The teaser is the next top up. I was going to work on my tees for my SWAP, and then realized I had lost my mind and nothing had been washed and dried as yet. So instead, I pulled out my HP Plain and Simple Princess shirt and some fabric I've been wanting to make up since 2011, and got that going while I waited for laundry completion. Now it will be a few days until I get back to my SWAP, but I'm happy I'm using this fabric. Here's a quick peak:

 

 

 

It's a piece of quilting cotton, and judging from the color ways indicated along the edge, looks to me like it will go with almost anything I care to put it with. Hopefully I'll have this to show in just a few days, but it may be the weekend again before I get it completed.

 

As always, more later!

 

 



 



5 Days Into 2014 and I'm moving forward with my SWAP - sort of!

I am trying to post more frequently, but sometimes sewing or reading other people's blogs and Stitcher's Guild takes over, I get involved and run out of time to keep myself updated. I find everyone else much more entertaining than me! LOL

I am working on my "wearable muslin" for my Stacie Jean Jacket. I read somewhere, either on some one's blog or on Stitcher's Guild that a sewist didn't understand the need for a wearable muslin. I'm happy for her, but she's either a much more accomplished seamstress than I am, has a more conforming body shape, or just isn't as picky as I am. I seem to always find things AFTER completion of my garment that I would have liked to change. That doesn't mean I won't wear the wearable muslin, it just means it isn't my final pattern or garment.

If you've been following along, you've seen my initial muslin of the Stacie to check shoulder width, and circumference. I used a compilation of my SFD sleeve and the Style Arc sleeve so I wouldn't have to deal with circumference on the arm issues. However, as I am aging and sitting way too much at a computer, I am noticing that my shoulders are moving to a forward position much more rapidly than I would prefer.

Several years ago in a sewing class, I was told to move the shoulder point back in the armscye by 1/4" to get it to fit correctly. Today's is 3/4" and I'm not positive that is exactly enough, but it sure makes a huge difference!  I do try to exercise that area but I'm afraid gravity and age are making more of an impact than anything else. Because I've been noticing a tightness at the back of my sleeves with a little too much fullness at the front, that is one area I have been very concerned about getting right.

So now you get a sneak peak at my progress. If you're looking askance at some of the things like the collar, it's not done yet. Early in the process I realized my wool herringbone was going to be itchy on my tender skin, so am doing a full lining. To that end, the collar is attached to the outer fabric, but the inner collar will be attached to the lining and stab stitched to the actual jacket along the seam line. This photo shoot was to check the placement of the sleeves in the armscye and I think I got it pretty well set for my body.

Enjoy my progress. I hope to have finished pictures of this in a few days!

Pocket flaps

Looks a bit odd before sleeves are added! The blue is my "padding" on my dress form.
 

 

I think the sleeves are in the right spot! Not clipped or pressed yet though!

This will be a good addition to my Winter 6-Pac and I think in the teal silk that this wearable muslin precedes will be great for my SWAP! I can see this jacket becoming a TNT.

 

Have a good Sunday, and as always, there will be more later!



 

A Happy New Year to all my friends!

Overall 2013 was a very good year for many of us, even though there were bumps in the road.

It is with my humble thanks that I wish you all a fabulous New Year. You have enriched my life and I'm glad you are in it.

For 2014 I wish you all the best that life has to offer; great achievements and experiences; pride in yourself and everything you do; success in everything you do; freshness and beauty in your life; good health; lots of love; lots of possibilities; and peace.

Remember, what Walt Disney said:
 "If you can dream it, you can achieve it!"

And I'll end this year with one of my favorite blessings:



And a Happy New Year to you all!

Happy Camper Tonight!

Although I've purchased a few, I haven't done much with my Style Arc patterns up to now. I think that may be changing!

I've spent a few minutes here and there the past week copying off my Stacie Jean Jacket which will be my first entry for the SWAP 2014. I knew with a new pattern and a new to me company, I would have to do a muslin, even though I prefer to just forget them and dive head first into my project.

Yesterday and today I got to work on my muslin a bit. As per usual, I knew I would have to narrow the shoulders and enlarge the sleeves, but since I'm new to Style Arc I wasn't sure what additional changes would be needed. This pattern has multiple pieces, with a front and back yoke, and three front pieces, as well as two back pieces, and lots of curves to make you look great, but trying to compare the pieces with a SFD blueprint was out of the question for me. There are just way too many curves and I couldn't figure out if it was good, bad, or somewhere in between.

At my first comparison, I decided it was going to be too small, so for some unknown reason, I added 1/2" to each seam on the jacket. Remember, there are 3 front and 2 back pieces, so with the 12 seams, I added 6 inches! Oops. Sometimes the brain doesn't engage. So today, I took everything apart, took off all my additional inches, and figured I'd sew it together as drafted and see if I needed all my other usual alterations. Score! It is very close with the first muslin!

The only alteration necessary is a small FBA between the center front and the mid front pieces. I took my seam allowance down from 5/8" to about 1/4" all the way to the bottom. No sway back necessary. No fiddling with all the bits and pieces. The hem line is basically even all the way around. I'm thrilled. I just need to true up all my pieces and be sure I've walked my seams and this will be in production!

After I did the FBA, it looks like this:

I think this will be a big winner in my closet! I'm already seeing it in wool, silk, linen, denim, and many other fabrics both solid and prints. It's the kind of jacket I love wearing, and fits my casual professional work style perfectly! Can't wait to see the completed jacket! Full speed ahead!

More later!

It's Begun!!!

I'm really  hoping to get my SWAP done for 2014. In case you missed it, here is the plan:

 

If you look closely, you will note that the Style Arc Stacie jean jacket was on last year's list and didn't reach achievement. Also, the Hot Patterns Great White Shirt. Those will be completed this year! I have my wearable muslin of the Great White Shirt done in the leaf print shirt of my Winter 6 Pac. The Stacie has begun it's muslin journey. Here's the progress so far:

 

Traced, ready to cut for first muslin fitting

I anticipate having to do at least a few changes to this muslin based on my typical body changes, but as I haven't done that many Style Arc patterns, other than the narrow shoulders and bodacious biceps, I will put the muslin together first and see what additional changes are needed. I expect a sway back adjustment will be needed as well as a possible FBA, but I want to make the muslin first and see how much of each will be needed, as well as any length adjustments that may come up.

 

Stay tuned. I hope this becomes a very interesting year for sewing.