military-style jacket part 1 - the muslin(s)

I have spent the past 3 days working on muslins for Simplicity 4129. I originally fell in love with this Dolce and Gabbana jacket, but of course could never justify the price - even if it is $2200 cheaper on overstock.com. When I saw Erica B's version I was re-inspired and then realized I had a pattern in my stash that I could use to emulate the D&G version...enter Simplicity 4129 (which is apparently out of print and not available on Simplicity's website - I searched for it). I'm making view D (the green one in the upper-right corner of the photo) with some modifications.



I decided to use some fabric from my stash, a caramel colored sueded poly blend (it doesn't photograph very well in my dimly-lit dining room). It looks and feels just like suede, but it's more forgiving to work with than true synthetic suede (it eases better and doesn't show needle and pin marks like a true synthetic suede would). I decided to not get too crazy in the lining and settled on a chocolate brown Ambiance and then I found some antiqued gold buttons.

Because I didn't want to cut into my fabric without knowing this would fit perfectly, I decided to make a muslin. Three muslins later I am FINALLY ready to cut out the base jacket pieces. I plan on adding pockets to the peplum, possibly pouch pockets like the D&G version, but I haven't decided exactly what I want to add yet. This pattern has been a bear to get to fit properly. I went with my high bust measurement and decided on a size 20 for the first muslin.

Muslin 1: Basic fit was OK. The only alterations I made for this first muslin was lengthening the jacket body by 1 3/4" at the waistline. The bust line and hip area were snug and while the sleeves fit well, the movement was horrible. On to make some additional modifications for the next muslin.

Muslin 2: I did a 1/2" FBA, which only partially fixed the bustline. From the waistline, I widened all pieces to size 22 for extra hip room. For the sleeves, I originally questioned whether the sleeves were really too tight which might account for my movement issues. Not the problem - in fact, altering the sleeves made the sleeves worse!! Off to muslin #3.

Muslin 3: Wearing the second muslin and studying it in the mirror, I realized that my sleeve issue was because the armhole was too low. For muslin #3, I lowered the armhole by 1/2" (an alteration I NEVER have to make), using the method in Fast Fit - except because of the princess seams I decided to make my alteration at the dots on the sleeve cap rather than just above the notches...this way I didn't have to deal with making an alteration to the side pieces. I also needed to figure out what was wrong with the bust area. After looking through my Fast Fit book I decided to check my bust point against the bust point on the pattern - I needed to lower it by 2". I also lengthened the sleeve by 1 1/2" after adding the sleeve cuff. All of these modifications FINALLY made the muslin fit well...

I'm going to cut out the fabric and lining tonight.

Simplicity and a Hot Pattern

Before I get started on my latest projects, I have some exciting news (well, at least for me)...I can wear my SKINNY JEANS again!!!!! This is a big day for me. I still have the little baby bulge that is getting smaller and smaller as time passes, but it was super exciting that I'm now back down to the size I was before I got pregnant...

Now back to our regularly scheduled program!

I've made two skirts and a top this week. I have a whole pile of projects on the table waiting to be cut out, but I have a project due next week for school so in the meantime I'm going to show you one of the skirts and the top.
Up first...Simplicity 4076. I've made the scoop neck version three times now and the wrap version once. I really love both, but the scoop neck has become my TNT t-shirt. It's very flattering and looks great on me. I made it from some white cotton lycra jersey that I got from Timmel Fabrics.

I didn't feel like taking off my PJs to get a picture of me in the top, so you'll have to make do with my unnamed dressform. I added 3" to the length because I like it a little bit longer - especially now with my little bit of baby bulge. I also made a couple of changes specifically to this iteration: I widened the neckband by 1/4". I also redrafted the sleeves, adding some gathers at the cap and a band at the hem. Here is a closeup of the sleeve:

Pattern Review can be found here.

Now for the skirt, I did make another Simplicity 3881, which is my absolute favorite skirt. I'll show that in another post. Today, I'm going to show you my Hot Patterns Denim Diva Flirty Skirt. This was made with some awesomely gorgeous darkwash denim that I got from Gorgeous Fabrics.

I have to say this skirt is awesome. The only modification I made was to take in the side seams a little since my hips aren't as curvy as the pattern was made for. I shortened it by 6" after it was finished because the pattern says it is supposed to hit just at the knee and that's how much I needed to take off to achieve that look. The hem is still pinned up because I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to hem it yet. I did double rows of topstitching in white thread - since I couldn't find any white topstitching thread at Joann's and didn't want to drive across town to Hancock for thread, I used two strands of regular white thread in the needle. I really like how it turned out. I definitely plan on making this again, but next time in a drapier fabric that will allow the A-line to hang a little more relaxed. The pattern review for the skirt can be found here.

Next time I'll show you my 3rd iteration of the Simplicity 3881 skirt!

I'm sewing!

FINALLY!!!! I don't have any pictures to post yet, but I finished one skirt yesterday and I have another skirt and a top cut out and ready to sew. I'll make one big post when I have them all done since they are all patterns I've made before and posted on this blog...

After my two skirts and top are finished, I have a short list of garments that I would like to make next. They include a faux suede military-style jacket (I was inspired by Erica's faux nubuck jacket. I already have the suede and pattern and reading Erica's blog and review cinched the combo for me.

This weekend I helped my mom start a SWAP-style wardrobe plan. It's not complete and for her needs it's not going to be true to the challenge, but it's close. She lives in Northern California and the climate tends to have hot, humid summers and generally mild, sometimes rainy winters. She walks several blocks to the train that she takes to work and is not only in need of some new corporate wear for her new job, but she also needs some outerwear that can handle the elements. Because her new corporate look is going to include jackets and in the winter a warm coat, I decided that this will be her overcoat:

We are going to add a removable hood. Now to find some waterproof rainwear fabric. Mom says we missed the boat on the (Burberry) rainwear from Michael's even though it's still listed on their website. Worst case, we'll just waterproof some other fabric. Since we are entering the hot, humid part of the year we have some time before the cape needs to be completed.

Baby needs to be fed, I have a paper to finish up for school and then back to the sewing room for me! I go back to work in two weeks, so I'm hoping to get as much sewing done as possible between now and then.

up next...skirts!!

So I've lost all of my pregnancy weight, but I'm still not quite back to my pre-pregnancy size. My jeans *almost* fit, but they don't quite look good yet. What's great is that the weather is getting so nice and a couple of skirts I made last summer fit and look good. In honor of this, I'm going to make a couple more of my TNT Simplicity 3881 skirts. Here is the pattern:

and I'm going to make it first from a fabric I bought from Fabric Mart just before I left for my high school reunion (and consequently found out I was pregnant):

Then, I'm going to make it from this really cute pink, green and white floral that I also bought last summer from Gorgeous Fabrics. I don't have a picture of it handy, but I'll show the fabric when I post the finished skirt.

After the skirts are done, I am going to make another Simplicity 4076 t-shirt:

I have some really nice white cotton/lycra that I got from Timmel Fabrics that I had planned on using with this pattern for my now defunct SWAP. I'm going to make a modified version of the short-sleeved scoop neck version. Another TNT t-shirt pattern that will make a really easy transition back into sewing.

Then...I'll unveil my (hopefully not too ambitious) spring/summer 2008 sewing list.

Till then...

new sewing machine and 2008 SWAP

It was probably one of the toughest decisions I've had to make in a while to drop out of the 2008 Timmel SWAP. My sewing machine dying a week before the contest deadline made me feel only slightly better that I wasn't frantically trying to finish up 11 garments with nothing to sew them on! The broken sewing machine problem is no longer, though - thanks to my wonderful hubby, I am now the owner of a brand spaking new Janome HT2008!

I did quite a bit of comparison shopping online and testing at the various dealers in town before deciding on this machine. Of the machines I looked at, my favorites in my price range were the Brother Innovis 80 Project Runway edition, the Viking Emerald 183 and the Janome that I ultimately purchased. I also looked at some Singer, Pfaff and Babylock machines but wasn't as impressed with the models that were available at my local dealers - or the pricetags of some of them. I was most torn between the Janome and the Viking - the Brother was very similar to the Janome in terms of ease of use and available functions, but felt much more portable and not as sturdy as the Janome. The biggest reason I decided not to go with the Viking was that the electronic display wasn't as user-friendly as I had hoped, and it was $200 more than the Janome. If my old Viking feet were compatible with the Emerald, I would have spent the extra money since Viking feet are notoriously expensive...my walking foot cost more than $100! Since the feet were not compatible, I didn't think it was worth it and went with the Janome.

This machine doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles of the higher-end machines, but it also does not have the high-end price tag at $399. What it does have is 50 stitches, including 3 one-step automatic buttonholes and several different utility stitches. These utility stitches include several different stretch stitches, straight stitch variations and overlock/finishing stitches. It even came with a special foot for the overlock stitches. There are also darning, heirloom and decorative stitches - most of these I probably won't use...which is one of the reasons I decided not to go with the more pricey Brother or Viking models - extra stitches = extra cost that I just couldn't justify.

I have to say that so far I really love this machine!! I have only had it a couple of days, but so far it's great. I have only sewed the strap onto my Hooter Hider (nursing cover for baby Andrew), but it sewed through the 6 layers of fabric/interfacing and the rigelene boning like BUTTER!!!!

Now I have so much reason to sew. I go back to work in 3 weeks and would really like to have some new clothes to wear when I go back. Also taking into account that we have decided that hubby is going to stay home with the baby, I am forced to be on a budget - that means I have an even better excuse to sew since I do need new clothes and can't really justify a trip to the mall in my budget since I can sew and have the stash from my original SWAP plan...now to put that plan into action!

So even though I've missed the deadline (and only really completed 2 garments before the baby was born in mid-February), I am now going to work on making the SWAP garments. Instead of doing the original 11-garment plan, I'm going to make mini-wardrobes of 5-6 garments that consist of 2-3 tops, 1-2 bottoms and a jacket. I hope to have at least one or two new outfits to wear when I go back to work. We'll see how that works. Maybe I can get a full mini-wardrobe completed.

RIP dear sewing machines

(you can't see it, but the digital display now reads "666" when it turn it on...I'm sad)
Two down, no more to go.

Until recently, I had two sewing machines. One was a Singer Slant from the 1950s and the other a Husqvarna Viking 960 computerized from the early 80s. Both have stories and now both are dead.

Until about 6 years ago, I was using sewing machines borrowed from my mother or grandmother. That is, until one day when my brother found this old Singer Slant - in a cabinet! - outside his apartment waiting to be taken by the garbage men. He brought it to our mother - a master seamstress and mechanical guru - who oiled the heck out of it, got it moving and gave it to me. It came with EVERY accessory you could imagine, including an original packet of needles (which I have never used, but found interesting). That machine was a workhorse, making several suits and dresses, including my wedding dress! The automatic buttonholer attachment made wonderful buttonholes and I had just about every template for it that existed.

Fast forward to 2 years ago and my mom received a 1980s computerized Viking as a gift for helping a friend move - he was going to sell it in a garage sale until my mom showed interest in it. She gave it to me and that was the quietest, quickest, best machine I could possibly imagine. It came just as the Singer was requiring yet another re-oiling (which would cause fabric to become stained for several weeks if I did not take precautions...it just wasn't worth the work anymore). I retired the Singer and began to sew exclusively on the Viking.

Fast forward to yesterday - after 2 months of getting the hang of being a mom, and overcoming a pretty nasty case of the flu, I finally had some sewing mojo. I decided to start by putting the finishing touches on the hooter hider that has been sitting on my dining room table for weeks. I turn on my machine and it looks like it was possessed!!! All of the digital numbers were showing up as 8's, every LED was lit up (as if I had selected EVERY available stitch to stitch at the same time!). I tried to sew and it went along at a snail's pace - literally it did one stitch per second in this teeny tiny stitch length that I cannot lengthen. So, I decided to break out the Singer that had been recently oiled but not used - it stitched along fine for about 8 stitches and then SNAP - the thread breaks and I have a birds nest of bobbin thread. Tear everything out, put in a different bobbin and rethread...same thing - 10 stitches and then SNAP...this time the needle breaks. I go through this one more time, replacing the needle and have the exact same results. The only thing we can think of is that there is a nick in the bobbin case (something I just had to deal with on my embroidery-only machine last week). The problem is, it will cost $100 to have the local Singer/Viking deal look at EITHER machine - or $150 to diagnose both - and I just don't think it's worth it for machines that are so old and I have no real attachment to.

So...now that I have my sewing mojo back and am dying to jump in and take on some new projects, I am in need of a machine. Nothing too expensive, since hubby and I are on a budget now that we have decided he will stay home with the baby (the cost of daycare and the expense of his commute with the price of gas made that decision easy) but definitely something with some lasting power. Now taking recommendations. In the meantime, I'm off to research new machines!!