Behold my recent PatternReview 2024 Pantone Color of the Year contest entry:
Front and Back “Giorgio’s Top” 312 by Silhouette Patterns The shoulder and sleeve seams often yield fun and unique twists and turns from the print you’re sewing with.
Here is an excerpt of my PatternReview contest entry notes:
When I saw the 2024 Pantone Color of the Year contest come up on Pattern Review I was inspired to make something from this peachy rayon knit print fabric from my stash. The solid peach background has just the right amount of pink and orange to compliment the complexion and seems to fit the Pantone “Peach Fuzz” description well, “ a “peach hue softly nestled between pink and orange.” It is “poetic and romantic, a clean peach tone with a vintage vibe” which “reflects the past yet has been refashioned with a contemporary ambiance.” The print pattern on the fabric also has a vintage feeling and a bit of a contemporary vibe which I like. The design challenge for me personally was how to use the larger scale print on my 5’3 frame without overwhelming me proportionally. Choosing “Giorgio’s Top” by Silhouette Patterns with its Princess Seams really helped break up the print a bit and the kimono sleeve shoulder seams yielded surprising twists and swirl effects as a result. I will definitely get a lot of use from this versatile and comfortable knit top for years to come. It seems to work well for both casual and dressier occasions and will pair well with other items in my wardrobe.
The original fabric. The scale of the chrysanthemum blooms measure approximately 10” in diameter.
When I first saw the pattern envelope the model in the photo was wearing the short sleeve view which didn’t really appeal to me. Then I attended the Minneapolis Sewing Expo and the pattern maker, Peggy Sagers, was wearing an an alternative version featuring the 3/4 length view of this same pattern, much more attractive! It just goes to show that judging a pattern by the envelope photo alone can often be deceptive when it comes to how to most effectively make it your own. This is why I like pattern envelopes that feature more than one view.
When composing today’s post I started to count the number of times I’ve made this particular pattern and I’m estimating it must be more than ten. Here are photos of some of them:
Note the design possibilities of having so many seams. Some planned, some fun surprises. A stripe-like print cut on the bias.I made this one for St. Patrick’s Day. Love how fun it is to make this top with stripes!Note the chevron effect on the sleeves! I chose to hand-baste the seams first for this über-stretchy modal fabric. Wore this one for my yoga class this morning!I posted this version a while back in connection with my capsule wardrobe challenge.
The above versions of this pattern are some of my favorites and I wear them often. I’ve also discovered that this top design works well for my yoga classes too. Very comfortable and flexible for most any position called for.
In conclusion, the benefit of having a “TNT” (tried ‘n true) pattern such as “Giorgio’s Top” is that it is a quick make and a joy to sew. With the right fabric choice, (4-way stretch knits) I’m confident it will most likely turn out well every time.
Last month I was in full Christmas present sewing construction mode (making three men’s shirts) when, upon entering my sewing space, I encountered the following on the floor:
What? Again?!
While it’s true that I’ve made this particular shirt pattern more than 20 times, there are still moments when I’ve found it helpful to review certain construction steps along the way, especially if it’s been a while since I used it. Of course I could most likely have winged it and completed the shirts with relative ease, but seeing the missing part of the instructions was a tad annoying. Then I went upstairs and found the canine pattern guide muncher:
No, I’m not a puppy, I just turned 12.
When I saw that defiant, smug expression I had to laugh.
The pattern I was using was Janet Pray’s Classic Sport Shirt which is unfortunately now out of print.
I love this pattern and have made it many times
I decided to reach out to the pattern maker, Janet Pray at Islander Sewing:
and included details and photos of my little saga. Janet wrote back and said my story and photos made her laugh harder than she had in weeks.
As it happened, even though the Classic Sport Shirt pattern is now out of print, Janet still had copies of the pattern guide and graciously sent me a replacement. She also took a photo of the sewing guide page I had with the missing center section and sent it to me to help tide me over before the replacement guide arrived. Talk about generous and kind! This is one of the things I like about independent pattern companies, personal connections and great communication.
I’m happy to report that with Janet’s help, I was able to finish all three shirts I was making in time for Christmas.
Here is one of them in Forest Green:
I’m still not sure how our sneaky cocker spaniel finagled that folded pattern guide off my cutting table. Given previous pattern tissue mishaps, I’m usually pretty careful about not leaving pattern pieces, sewing guides, (or anything paper-related for that matter) within her destructive scope. I guess this latest caper will remain a mystery for the time being. 🙂
The last time I posted, not much sewing was going on. Thankfully, I’m happy to report that a lot has changed since then.
After all of our remodeling projects were completed last Spring,
New fireplace and hardwood floors
including (among several other projects) clearing and repainting our master closet space, my husband and I made a concerted effort to pull out clothes and shoes to be donated prior to moving everything back. We also participated in a neighborhood garage sale around that same time which provided a perfect opportunity to clear out even more items including a big bag of patterns I intended to sell on eBay but had never gotten around to doing. A wonderful sister-sewist took the whole lot off my hands in one fell swoop. Not to worry, I still have quite a large inventory remaining in my pattern stash. (See my previous post 🙂)
What a joy it was to finally set up my sewing space again at long last, but oddly, I found myself feeling a bit paralyzed about what to make next. There were a couple of semi-completed projects in the queue but no motivation to finish them. Maybe it was because those were winter related items and here it was well into Spring and coming in fast on summer with warmer weather with the promise of new breezy dresses and lighter pants and tops to contemplate making.
My summer dress muslins were completed but I knew I also wanted to make some linen blouses with embroidered embellishments. So I got out my tried-and-true Silhouette Patterns #600 “Classic Blouse” pattern:
which shouldn’t have presented any worries…but, not only were the original tissue pattern pieces pretty mangled, my traced and altered go-to pattern pieces were pretty marked up as well. You might be thinking, why not just trace out a clean version of the altered pattern? Well, not so fast; something was clearly holding me back.
After giving my hesitation some thought, I realized that even though I’d gotten my altered version to a point where it fit me reasonably well, there were still elements I wasn’t happy with, such as the location of the and drape of shoulder seam and sleeve. Even with a 3/8” shoulder slope adjustment, petite length adjustments between the neck and bust apex, and torso length, the drape of the blouse back hem tended to tilt out a bit from the hem. I also wasn’t happy with how the sleeve draped from my shoulder. Maybe it was time to make another muslin before steaming full speed ahead.
Around this same time I saw an advertisement for the GHF Couture masterclass, which covers creating a custom bodice block from one’s specific measurement then learning about the variety of dart manipulation and design choices. I decided to check it out and found the course to be highly useful and informative.
I’ve always liked the concept of having well-fitting blocks (bodice, skirt, pant, jacket) from which to adapt different design elements. In fact, that was my original motivation for developing my “Classic Blouse” block as my go-to pattern and guide for creating several different tops such as tunics, dresses etc..
Since my previous blouse block still had issues, I decided to start afresh, using my current measurements and do a flat pattern bodice block comparison between three different pattern companies. “Design, Cut & Wear Professional”
The bodice block pattern includes long shoulder and waist darts (this one I used for the GHF couture master class) Vogue 1004 (which includes side and waist darts) and “The Dress Kit” Bodice & Skirt blocks from Sure-Fit Designs also with side and waist darts).
Each option yielded new and useful positive fitting results, updated measurement information and fine-tuning.
With both the GHF Masterclass and SureFit Design methods, I managed to create reasonably well fitting bodice blocks, each with helpful reference information to go with moving forward. Vogue 1004 yielded similar results to other Vogue blouse patterns in my stash.
Perhaps most useful and one of my main “ah-ha moment” takeaways from the first two blocks I developed was the expressed importance of really nailing the bust apex location, not only the shoulder to apex, apex to waist and shoulder to waist length measurements, but also the apex to apex width measurement which ultimately affects the location of vertical darts as well.
It seems so obvious to me now, but even after decades of sewing experience, most of us home sewers spend countless hours trying to adapt our commercial patterns to fit whatever the pattern designer’s fit model’s proportions were for that particular pattern, including the height and width location of the darts. Turns out it’s not enough to simply size up or size down in pattern sizes to address circumference and length differences as the location of the bust apex width from center front will not necessarily be lined up correctly. When the apex width measurement isn’t accurate to begin with, the steps to alter, re-drape and fine-tune the fit tend to be much more labor-intensive as a result. Same holds true for just relying on one’s bust circumference measurements to determine pattern size selection.
Another revelation from my recent block comparison effort was something Glenda Sparling of Sure-Fit designs shared in one of her helpful YouTube tutorials regarding the order of shoulder adjustments; first, determine the correct shoulder seam width, then adjust for shoulder slope, followed by a forward shoulder seam location. I also found some excellent tutorials on YouTube from both Sure-Fit designs and JStern Designs about how to adjust the sleeve cap for these types of shoulder adjustments as well. Now I had a workable strategy for that well-draping sleeve I’d been looking for.
Regarding my forward shoulder adjustment; in my case, the back draping issues I’d experienced with my “Classic Blouse” muslin iterations (the CB hem tended to tilt out a bit at the hem which I’d first attempted to remedy by adding more length at the bottom) were not in fact caused by a rounded upper back as I’d originally thought, but rather, in my case, I needed to add 1/2” to my outer back shoulder seam tapering to nothing at the neckline and taking away the same amount from my front shoulder line. (my clue? the back neckline was sitting where it belonged on my neck and not pulling down and back). Previously I’d been taking away an equal amount (3/8-1/2”) from both the front and back outer shoulder seams which seemed to address excessive length in the front but wasn’t quite right in the back. Obviously the front and back pieces weren’t balanced on my body so simply adjusting for a shoulder slope adjustment equally wasn’t the ultimate solution.
So with all this fresh information and utilizing some newly-hewn proportional guidelines, (darts and shoulders) I literally went back to the drawing board and made another muslin of the “Classic Blouse” and guess what? Even though the length and circumferences of my previous attempts were similar, this latest muslin fit much better. I’m happy I spent the time developing something I will use with confidence Even though it slowed down my garment making productivity, it doesn’t feel like a waste of time in the least. I also look forward to sharing one of my new creations using my new and improved blouse (bodice block) in a future post.
In conclusion, it’s probably a good idea to make new pattern blocks every few years to address where our bodies are at that point.
****January 2024
My how time flies!
How did I do with my 2023 resolve not to buy any new patterns? Well, aside from the bodice block patterns, I believe I did fairly well for the first six months. I ultimately ended up with a list of ten or more patterns on my wish list and then found a couple of out of print patterns that really caught my eye on Etsy and Ebay. Knowing these would most likely not be available later, I decided to invest in those in short order. Of course, a couple of hard to pass up sales also came up last Fall so I ultimately decided to purchase a few patterns I knew were different and unique to those already my collection.
I still have my pattern wish list which continues to prove useful in the practice of waiting and reassessing what inspires me and what I’ll actually make.
I’ve also been using the patterns I already have in the last six months and this more conservative approach has yielded more intentional sewing across the board. More on these projects to come in future posts.
May this new year find all “makers” in our world full of inspiration, joy and creativity as we move forward in our craft.
Greetings from the (relatively) chilly Central Coast of California this week. I say chilly with somewhat of a smile of my face after living in Minnesota for twenty two years of my adult life. That’s a cold place in Winter for sure! This said, it was a bit strange to learn that while temperatures were 34 degrees Fahrenheit here just 15 miles away from us a few days ago, temps in Minnesota were hovering in the mid 40s F that same day.
As the title of this blog entry suggests, we’re presently in the midst of a moderately extensive home remodel at the moment including hardwood flooring installation happening on the upper story of our home as I compose this post.
We also don’t have our furnace turned on due to the hardwood sanding action upstairs. It’s currently averaging around 52-57F inside. Thank you Honeywell space heater!
Then I give myself a reality check. These are relatively minor inconveniences when compared with the extreme cold weather, war, earthquake devastation and resulting ongoing heartbreak and hardship currently experienced in such places as Ukraine, Turkey and Syria at present. Contemplating the contrasting situations, it does give one greater perspective. So it’s a little chilly, things are somewhat crowded, we have to put some creative projects on hold and we have to improvise when it comes to preparing meals, we, nonetheless, have much to be grateful for.
My wonderful sewing room currently functions as our sleeping quarters this month, so unfortunately, aside from some hand-mending, not much sewing is going on as of late. I mentioned in a previous blog entry that this particular space has convertible functionalities both as my sewing studio and as a guest room.
In guest room setup.
As I shared before, to make my sewing space less crowed, we invested in a wonderful queen size wall bed (check out https://www.wallbedsbywilding.com/ ) for this room which is amazingly sturdy. Now that my husband and I have the opportunity to try it out for ourselves, we can also attest that it is surprisingly comfortable as well. We’ve always wondered if our respective houseguests were graciously being polite when they reported to have slept well during their stay, now we have first hand knowledge that it’s not bad! In fact, it’s better than many hotels beds we’ve slept on.
When we moved here in 2016, I took extra care to organize all my sewing supplies, machines, fabric, etc., seeing to it that everything had a specific designated place where each belongs during the guest room setup. So far this strategy continues to work well and the conversion process from one function to the other can be effectively achieved in approximately 2-3 hours including vacuuming and cleaning.
Here is a refresher photo of my sewing room in the sewing room configuration:
The “dual mate” Koala sewing cabinet (not sure if it’s made any longer) also has a fold-out drop leaf surface that I use when quilting.
Assuredly, our current home renovation construction mess, living displacement and minor inconveniences are temporary and I look forward to writing another update when my sewing and quilting activities are up and running again.
In the meantime may we all remain safe, warm and well.
Late last September, my sewing friend, Tina and I met up again, this time in the San Fransico Bay Area for a five-day pattern fitting and fabric shopping adventure.
After much research about where to stay, we finally booked a charming little two bedroom houseboat in Sausalito. It was comfortable and cozy and yet we still had room to set up an ironing board, sewing machine and tri-folding full-length mirrors for our pattern-fitting needs.
Is it a surfboard or an ironing board?
This is the same area where Otis Redding wrote his famous song, “Sittin’ by the Dock of the Bay”.
Our main pattern-fitting focus on this particular trip was to experiment with Ruth Collins’ “Top Down Center Out” pants pattern fitting method which we read about in Threads magazine’s Summer 2022 issue. We also watched numerous YouTube tutorials on the subject before we came, with the most helpful being those produced by The Crooked Hem and JSterns designs.
While we are both petite women, Tina and I are blessed with different body shapes, each with our own unique fitting challenges. With over 100 years of sewing experience collectively and after trying practically every pants pattern fitting method available up to this point, often with varying and frustrating results, we were curious about Ruth Collins’ TDCO philosophy.
We arrived on the scene with multiple pre-assembled pant “toiles” (muslins) to fit on each other and I’m happy to report that we came away with largely satisfying and successful results. We also learned a lot in the process. My personal takeaway from our first experimental attempts was that while length and circumference measurements are all well and good, each body and hip shape also affect how the overall pant drapes flatteringly. Making the waistband first and adding 3” more to the top of the pant body gave us lots of room for adjustment, not only for the center front and center back lengths and drape but also the sides. Our final assessment from our initial experimentation is that the TDCO fitting process seems much faster, yields more satisfying and immediate results and is ultimately less fussy and time-consuming where pattern alterations are concerned.
As for fabric shopping, we knew we wanted to visit Britex in San Francisco one day and StoneMountain and Daughter in nearby Berkeley on another.
On our first full day we took the Sausalito ferry over to San Francisco where we visited the amazing Britex fabric fantasyland near Union Square. I scored a beautiful silk chiffon print, some Italian denim blue leather (for a jacket) and a piece of beautiful French cotton shirting that day. “Douglas” was our man and his 30+ plus years of experience with all things Britex did not disappoint.
Heading over to S.F. across the bay.San Francisco Ferry Terminal Britex! Just outside Britex (photo curiosity of Tina)Britex lower level. The upper level has even more amazing fabric as well.
StoneMountain and Daughter Fabric in Berkeley was our destination on day three and it also did not disappoint. We found a huge selection of fabrics there from Japanese indigo, silks, knits, gorgeous cottons of every weight among so many others. Upstairs was the bargain floor with many more treasures to explore. I found some beautiful and unique buttons, an exquisitely soft piece of dusty rose French Terry and a few other high quality solid cotton basics for my stash.
StoneMountain and Daughter in Berkeley, CAThe amazing button wall at StoneMountain. (Photo from their website)
Lastly, as a bittersweet post script to my blog entry about Tina’s and my pattern fitting trip to Santa Cruz and Hart’s Fabrics earlier in 2022, I’m sad to report the beautiful wharf, boardwalk and colorful bungalow hotel where we stayed in nearby Capitola sustained significant damage due to the severe and record-breaking storms we’ve experienced here in California in the last couple of months. Hopefully those iconic parts of that charming little seaside town will be able to build back better and stronger when all is said and done, but without a doubt, that particular trip will remain even more special for my friend and I given the community will never be quite as it was when we were last there.
I’d like to begin this post by saying I love trying new sewing patterns, especially in recent years with the plethora of various Indie patterns being released with each passing month.
As of this writing, beyond the “Big Four” American pattern companies (Butterick/McCalls/Simplicity/Vogue) and long-established International pattern companies such as Burda, Lutterloh, Marfy, New Look and Style to name a few, to my astonishment, I counted a total of almost 1000 Indie pattern companies on PatternReview.com this morning! I knew there were a lot of pattern companies in the world at this point, but not this vast amount of choices.
With the ever-increasing wealth of digital content currently available to the public, it’s not surprising to find some of us garment sewing enthusiasts feeling just a tad overwhelmed with different pattern options at the present time. It reminds me of what video streaming content has become within the last decade. So many choices….so little time.
On to the topic of today’s post. Earlier this Fall, I made a quest to organize all my digital patterns by company and category. I had amassed quite a collection of both copy shop pattern rolls and several print at home, cut and tape digital patterns to sort though. Although some people prefer to store their copy shop rolls in tact, due to space limitations, my preferred method is to cut out the pattern pieces (outside the cutting lines), fold and place in well-labeled, gallon size ziplock bags.
Though definitely a time saver when compared with print at home, cut and tape pdf pattern printing methods, I was, nonetheless, struck by the sometimes extreme amount of wasted surplus paper the copy shop pattern printing method yielded. Of course the amount of wasted paper varies with each pattern company’s copy shop option, but for those with the most excess paper waste, I was able to salvage large sections of blank paper to use for duplicating my more permanent, tried-and-true altered pattern pieces. Even with my intentional paper-saving efforts, when all was said and done, I still managed to fill almost our entire recycling bin with the excess paper scraps accumulated during the week of my mass pattern organization efforts.
One of my many PDF patterns.
Back to pattern storage options, I have a couple of plastic file boxes into which my digital patterns fitefficiently. I created pattern company markers out of card stock paper for easier reference. This organization effort admittedly took more time than anticipated but ultimately yielded a lot of clarification in identifying the patterns I own, while also promoting a sense of forward action in my sewing planning, utilizing what I have on hand and finally making some dreamed-about muslins at long last.
One of my PDF pattern storage boxes.
Lastly, for my personal sewing sanity and realistic prospect of productivity in the new year, I’ve decided to exclusively sew my present pattern stash for 2023 with no new pattern investments until January, 2024. I may attempt to do the same with my fabric stash as well, I haven’t decided yet.
In the meantime, I will mostly likely continue to “shop” and “favorite” various patterns online with the assumption of reassessing “must haves” at the end of the year. On to the 2023 challenge….
The world of Baseball lost one of it’s most treasured voices and truly special human beings last week, long-time Dodgers Sportcaster, Vin Scully.
Vin Scully’s quilt block
The above block is part of a L.A. Dodgers-themed quilted throw I recently completed for my husband’s 70th birthday last June. The pattern is a tee-shirt quilt designed by Angela Walters. In addition to the various Dodgers tee-shirts I collected and made into blocks, I also included several custom machine-embroidered blocks with lists of player rosters, quotes and historical milestones.
Angela Walters’ (AKA “Midnight Quilter”) Tee Shirt Quilt Pattern
What drew me to this particular pattern were the floating (baseball) diamond lines and the various blocks that resemble baseball bases.
For quilting the layers together I decided to underline stitch the lettering and echo stitch around the main images and figures of featured players. The remainder of the quilt employs a free-motion loop meander design with baseballs appearing throughout.
The back of the quilt features a whimsical nod to my husband’s love for Peanuts characters. When I found three Dodgers/Peanut tee-shirts I couldn’t resist including these as well.
It was very rewarding to see the look on my husband’s face when he opened his one-of-kind gift. Suffice to say, the birthday quilt was a hit!
After much procrastination I’m happy to report I finally made my first post-muslin version of the Susan Khalje Couture Circle Skirt Dress pattern I started late last Summer.
After pre-washing and ironing the rayon viscose fashion fabric, rayon lining and cotton voile for the bodice underlining, I decided to cut out the front and back skirt pieces first. The pieces were so large that I had to spread everything out on the floor. When it came to cutting out the bodice pieces on my cutting table, I found the rayon fashion fabric to be so wiggly and unpredictable that I finally discovered basting the cotton voile underlining pieces directly onto the reverse side of the rayon first yielded a much more accurate result.
Center front pieces cut out separately then basting.Basting two layers together first then cutting proved a more accurate method. Sewing bodice pieces together, a slow-going labor of love.
Since I’d already fine-tuned the fitting of the dress bodice during the muslin fitting stage, sewing all the pieces together went very quickly. I then cut out and sewed the bodice lining pieces together and attached per the pattern instructions. My one obvious diversion from pure couture methods came with my decision to use an invisible zipper rather that the hand-sewn zipper application Susan K. recommends.
Now I was ready to put my dress on my dress form and let it hang out for a few days. It’s a good thing I did too because the stretchy nature of rayon viscose fabric combined with much of the skirt being on the bias yielded an extreme serpentine effect:
Dress during the hangout phase.
As mentioned in a previous post, I spent a good deal of time padding out my dress form to more accurately reflect my true proportions. With that step, I was confident that the hemming process would go smoothly and facilitate my ability to mark the hem while the dress was on the mannequin.
I really wanted to employ the machine- sewn narrow hem Susan Khalje recommended for this dress, but found that sewing a straight stitch on the skirt hem yielded yet another serpentine effect. Marking a chalk line, pinning, hand-basting, then ultimately hand-sewing the hem (all five plus yards of it) ended up being the best solution. Thank goodness for podcasts and audio books during this labor of love step.
A true labor of love, the hand-sewn hem.
Making the belt was fairly straightforward but my efforts at making a fabric covered buckle proved laughably unsuccessful. Thankfully I was able to source a beautiful leather-covered coordinating buckle on Etsy.
The first time I wore my wonderfully comfortable new Circle Skirt dress was at Valparaiso University in Indiana where I was teaching and performing with the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival last month. I felt so elegant wearing it and it was fun to walk in too. I look forward to making another one of these soon.
This month I met up again with my trusted sewing friend, Tina, for a couple of intense but ultimately fulfilling days spent fitting garment muslins, analyzing various patterns and comparison of our respective ongoing trial and error processes. We met initially at one of Peggy Sagers’ (Silhouette Patterns) fitting workshops back in 2017 and quickly realized we were on the same page where sewing is concerned. Happily we have kept in touch ever since.
For this particular trip, our chosen destination was Santa Cruz, CA which is almost equidistant between our respective homes. An added bonus; as luck would have it, the weather was perfect.
Each of us brought several works in progress to examine and compare. We also brought books and articles to share. One of the many things things I appreciate about Tina is that she is supportive and respectful of my personal taste and inspiration. She is also honest (and kind) about telling me what is working and what isn’t. It isn’t a matter of “her way or the highway”, I trust her judgement. We are both petite in stature, but with different proportions and body shapes. I also feel I can be honest with her as well. These valued components of our relationship are what seem to make our now two sewing get-togethers successful.
When we weren’t fitting, tweaking muslins and patterns, sharing YouTube tutorials etc.. we enjoyed several tasty meals complete with long conversations about what’s going on in the world, our families and what we’re observing about this particular stage in our lives. We also made time to clear our heads by walking out on the pier, along the boardwalk or exploring the little shops in nearby Capitola where our hotel was located.
On our last day we visited Hart’s fabric store in Santa Cruz which was nothing short of WONDERFUL! From the hartsfabric.com website: “Buy fabric from people who actually sew.” This description was immediately obvious not only by the online fabric selection choices found on their website, but also the minute I set foot into the Hart’s “bricks and mortar” premises. It was my first time there and was astounded by how much beautiful fabric there was to see, touch and feel. One side of the store is devoted to upholstery, home dec and notions. The other side is organized for apparel and quilting fabric. I was amazed to discover one wall near the cutting tables featured a large selection of Liberty of London fabrics. A definite “kid in a candy store” moment for me.
Apparel section at Hart’s Fabrics in Santa Cruz, CA
Tina and I are already planning our next meet-up, this time in the Bay Area where Britex Fabrics in Union Square, San Francisco will be the main event. More posts on that trip to follow.
How is it that it’s the end of November already? With the Thanksgiving holiday happening here in the U.S. next week, I find I’m presently reflecting on things in life I feel most grateful for. The list is long, but what presently comes to mind are loving, personal connections, the gifts of creativity, a sense of purpose and joy, not only with completing projects, but also in the discovery and problem-solving process inherent in learning through trial and error.
Soon on the heels of my “More Free Motion Fun” post last May, I flew to the Midwest for a month away, teaching singing and performing in faculty recitals at the wonderful music academy I’ve had the privilege to be a part of since the summer of 2004.
Upon my arrival back home, I embroidered twelve canvas tote bags for a local non-profit here in town.
Next up was making a trial muslin for Susan Khalje Couture‘s Circle Skirt Dress pattern. But before that happened, I finally padded out my dress form to better resemble my actual body proportions. It only took three years since acquiring this new mannequin! Turns out this process is harder than it looks!
My dress form cover is made from #4200 “Princess Sheath Dress” by Silhouette Patterns
I must say, Susan Khalje’s Patterns are beautifully drafted and I look forward to exploring more of the same.
Inspiration photo from Threads Magazine
Here are the front and back of my Circle Skirt Dress muslin. I’m guessing the fit model for this particular pattern must have been somewhere around 5’8 or taller. For my 5’3 figure, I ended cutting off 4” from the hem.
Great length if making a maxi-dress. Here is my Circle Skirt Dress muslin with the new length and modeled by my newly-customized dress form. Hooray!
After this initial attempt, I am pleased with the fit and looking forward to making my first “real” Circle Skirt Dress using a pretty Rayon print. (see below)
Chosen fabric for my first SKC Circle Skirt Dress. A gorgeous Rayon Viscose woven print found at the newly-launched Closet Core Fabrics http://www.corefabricstore.com
After the Circle Skirt Dress muslin was completed, I then entered the ClosetCore “Pietra” pant-fitting muslin vortex. Four (yes four) muslins later, I believe I’ve finally arrived at a flattering overall fit. (Photos of same to follow in a future post)
Length and circumference adjustments for this particular pant pattern were easy enough to do, but the main challenge for me was achieving the correct proportional balance with crotch-curve angles and length of same between front and back. What finally made the most difference was transferring shaping and dimensions from a well-fitting simple pant block I already had in my pattern stash. Why didn’t I do this first? I was curious to see how this pants pattern would fit right out of the gate. A “blank canvas” if you will.
Judging by the multiple customer reviews I’ve read, even though many people reported the overall rise tended to be a bit on the long side, (it is intended to be a high-waisted style) most reviewers concluded that the “Pietra” pants pattern fit them wonderfully from the get-go. I wanted to see if this applied in my case too. Well, no. The fit model for this pattern is definitely taller, has a longer torso/different crotch-curve shaping and of course, longer legs, no surprise there. (I’m 5’3 with with 28-29” inseam, depending on the style, shoes to be worn etc.) Interestingly enough, most Ready To Wear Petite pants sizes have average inseams of 27”, another example of why one size (petite RTW) doesn’t necessarily fit all.
While the above photo does not feature the “Pietra” pants pattern, this tissue overlay example illustrates what has now become a typical crotch curve adjustment for me. I typically place the well-fitting trouser “block” pattern on the lower layer as this helps me to see what I need to do to alter the new pattern. First I line up the horizontal crotch depth and vertical straight of grain guidelines on each and then I can gauge where and how much I need to extend or subtract at the crotch length area. This pattern reference step tends to save a lot of time for me in the initial muslin making process.
Lastly, I wanted to write about a fun and inspiring thing I did recently; visiting a sewing friend/kindred spirit for a whirlwind couple of days spent fitting patterns and muslins, engaging in great conversations, and enjoying delicious food and drink.
My friend’s wonderfully inviting home is located a five hours drive away, up in the wine country, just North of San Francisco. She and I met in October, 2017 at one of Peggy Sagers’ (Silhouette Patterns) fitting workshops held in the San Jose area. Not only do we share a love and passion for all things sewing, we also love sailing!
As I was packing and preparing for our recent pattern fitting rendezvous, I anticipated we would get much completed, helping each other fit a variety of garments including the hardest of all, pants. While these activities eventually came to fruition, what I hadn’t fully grasped beforehand was the profound sense of personal connection, liberation from ineffective fitting results and ultimate creative renewal such an endeavor would inspire, especially after months of isolation due to our current pandemic. Additionally, it was fun to see all the quilts she’s made, especially those intended for charitable purposes. But the real treat was viewing all the garments she’s created; the bold color combinations, fabric choices, fun buttons, design modifications and her unique take on how to make patterns her own.
During our many conversations, my friend and I shared with each other the realization that while we’d managed to stay productive, making masks, quilts and garments, participating in online sewing classes and contests during this last year and a half, it was also a lonely time in our sewing spaces. We further reflected that we were not unique in this regard and thought about those individuals who lost all motivation for sewing in general. Of course, it goes without saying that many in our world have experienced much worse, personal loss, illness and heartache during this particularly trying period in history.
In light of all expressed above, I continue to remain grateful for the gifts of community, the healing benefits of creativity and personal curiosity, inspiration in unexpected places and the rejuvenating spirit of renewal.
PetiteSewSop 