Sewaholic Cambie dress #2

I dove in to the Sewaholic Cambie dress one more time to see if I liked it more with some modifications.  It felt like this project took forever and I was glad when I reached the finish line.  I'm wearing it to a wedding this weekend and there were times during construction when I felt like the fabric choice was going to make me look like I was IN the wedding as a bridesmaid. My initial thought was, "I'm making a bridesmaid's dress and I'm not a bridesmaid!" but my next thought was, "Hey! I made a bridesmaid's dress!" I'm not worried about that anymore.  I think it turned out well. 

For this version, I omitted the waistband and lengthened the bodice by 1 inch.  I also opted to add some pleats to the neckline and finish it with a tie belt.

 

I used this silk crepe de chine from Mood for the main fabric and this silk organza for the lining.  I've never worked with organza before.  The crepe de chine felt a little slippery when I started.  When I finished working with the organza and went back to the crepe de chine, it was like working with quilting cotton.  Organza is shifty.

 

This was a project where my imagination tacked on a lot of time.  My original thought was to leave the waistline plain like this....

 

...but then I didn't really like the finishing on the waistline (more on that later) and felt I needed to add something.  My first plan was a belt with an enormous flower detail on it.  I started cutting the petals out and then decided against it.  My next plan was to add the same pleating at the neckline to the waistline.  After some texting consultations with a friend and my mom, I decided against that too.  My third idea was just to go with a belt.  The right belt is hard to find.  I did a tie belt on this dress and liked it a lot so I went with it on this one.  I like it.  When in doubt, add a tie belt.  And if I ever find a regular belt I can have two options.

 

 

As you can tell from the above picture, the dart on the main fabric and the dart on the organza didn't line up when I stitched-in-the-ditch.  You can tell in the picture but I'm not so sure it's noticeable in person.  I initially lined up all darts and side seams but that resulted in excess main fabric in the front so the mismatched dart on the left side is what I went with in the end.  I want to be very clear that I cannot stand to stitch-in-the-ditch.  I have an edgestitching foot and I still find it to be a very painful task.  I did it three times and then decided it was good enough. 

 

All seams are French seams except for the waistband.  I initially serged it which led to an incredibly bulky waistband.  I then went back and pinked the edges which helped. 

 

 

I like the pleated detail along the neckline a lot.  My only regret is that I made them a little taller than I should have.  They are prone to falling down a little in the middle.  I catch-stitched them together on the back side and that really helped.  To make the pleats, I cut a very long piece of fabric that was 3 inches wide. I folded this in half lengthwise and pressed.  Starting in the middle and working towards the right side, I pinched fabric together on the backside and folded it to the left. 

I repeated this until I had enough for the right side.  When working towards the left side, I pinched the fabric on the backside and folded it to the right.  I basted the pleats and then basted them again to the front of the dress before sewing the lining and main fabric together.  I serged the raw edge on the shirt end.  When I reached the end, I opened up the last pleat and folded the serged edge back inside the pleats.  I knotted the end of the serged edge so I just tacked that down inside with a hand needle. 

 

It's an easy thing that adds an interesting detail to this neckline.

 

 

I did a rolled hem for the first time on the hem and also along the edges of the tie belt.  I tried and tried to get it to look right on my own but I couldn't figure out why those loops kept showing up to the left of the right needle stitching. 

I posted a question on the RTW Fasters Facebook page and received good feedback about adjusting tension.  However, it still didn't work.  I went to my Bernina dealer for some handholding and when I got there she said she was going to show me how to do a rolled hem but first she needed to find a screwdriver to take the left needle out.  And that's when I knew instantly what my problem was. I unthreaded the needle but didn't take it out, so the loopers were looping as if the left needle was making a stitch.  I was so thankful to have the answer that I didn't bother to be embarrassed. 

 

I said after making my first Cambie that the waistband really bothered me but I've worn it twice so apparently it doesn't bother me that much.  It's fun to see how a different choice of fabric using the same pattern changes the finished look. 

 






 



Me-Made-May'14 Challenge

I wanted to participate in the Me-Made-May challenge last year but I didn't because I have very few summer appropriate articles of handmade clothing.  As of right now I have 3 shirts and 1 dress that I can wear during my regular daily activities (going to parks, hiking through the woods, throwing rocks in ponds, hunting for bugs to put in our bug jars, etc).


I'm a RTW Faster this year and I wanted to use this year to really focus on making clothing that I can wear more than occasionally.  So far I've made two wool coats, a dress, a tshirt and I'm in the process of making a silk dress to wear to a wedding.  I did wear the wool coats a lot in the cold months and I wear the tshirt a lot but the dresses are not everyday dresses. Oops.

I'm not letting my lack of handmade clothing stop me this year. I have decided that I'm going to participate but my focus will be more on making clothing during the month of May that I can actually wear during my regular life instead of attempting to wear an article of clothing I've made every day.  Having said that, this is my pledge:

 I, Andrea of www.evolutionofasewinggoddess.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear handmade two times per week for the duration of May 2014.  Additionally, and most importantly, I will sew at least three articles of clothing suitable for my every day lifestyle and not something that I will wear only occasionally.  

Made-By-Rae backpacks

These were supposed to be Christmas backpacks but I ran out of time during the holiday season so they became Easter backpacks.

I only started following a lot of sewing blogs in the past 6-9 months or so, so I missed out on a lot of great patterns when they were released.  This backpack from Made By Rae was one of them.  My initial intention was to follow the Busy City quilting patterns from Empty Bobbin to make the front end loader and tow truck designs.  I did not realize that the patterns involve paper piecing, which I have never done before.  I stared at the pattern pieces for a couple of days before getting on You Tube.  I get the basic concept but it became clear that in order to get the backpacks done for Easter I would need to draw the trucks freehand instead of piecing them together.  They look homemade up close but that's OK with me.  They ARE homemade!

 

The Easter Bunny left lots of candy in them yesterday but after that's gone I believe we will be using them for supplies when we are out and about.

 

I used a cheap denim from Hancock Fabrics for the exterior.  It was a little flimsy so I lined the bag with flannel that I interfaced with a very stiff iron-on interfacing.  It helped a lot.

 



My boys refuse to wear the most recent article of clothing I've made for them.  This makes me sad but the backpacks were well received. 

Sewaholic Cambie Dress

 

 

I have been meaning to make this dress for months but never got around to it.  I actually made a muslin at the end of last summer but something else took over and I put it on the back burner.  I thought I would really, really, really love it when it was completed but for some reason I'm a little underwhelmed.  There is something about the waistband that I don't like.  I'm thinking about trying it again without the waistband but I don't know how that would impact the design of the dress.  My plan with this pattern was to make an initial version in a summery fabric and then choose a silk fabric for a second version for a wedding.  I'm not sure if I like it well enough to do that.  Decision, decisions.

 

I used a Joel Dewberry rayon challis from www.fabric.com.  I think that rayon challis is my favorite summer fabric. I forgot to take a picture of the lining but it is an extremely cheap voile in the most obnoxious shade of yellow.  I don't remember what project it was intended for but I used it for this one because I didn't want to waste time or money on a lining fabric.  If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have used it.  If I'm taking the time to make something to wear I think it's a good idea to use quality fabric.  You can't see it so I guess that's good!

 

I know a lot of people prefer A-line or fitted skirts but I love a full skirt.  The skirt is so full that you can't even see the pockets.  I actually had to fish around for them so I could put my hands in them.

 

 

 

 

I don't know if the wrinkles in this picture are from the dress lying wrong or if it's due to poor fit.  From the front it seems to fit.  I chose to omit the stitch-in-the-ditch at the waistline, mainly because it's time consuming and I hate it but also because I think the rayon stretched a little and was a smidge bigger than the voile.  When I matched up the waistband seams it resulted in a lot of wrinkling with the main fabric.

 

 

I think I'll wear this to a bridal shower next weekend and see how it goes.  I cut it in a straight 4 with no adjustments.  In the future I think I would maybe use a smaller sideseam allowance to have a bit more breathing room.  It's not uncomfortable as it is now but it would be better with a little more space.

 

 

 Version 2 coming soon.....maybe.

 

 



Sewaholic Renfrew: My first knit project + Several positive comments about Craftsy's Sewing Fashion Knits course

 

 

 

It took me several hours to figure out why I am so insanely proud of the plain V-neck t-shirt I'm modeling in these pictures.  My last couple of projects have been labor intensive wool coats that I have a lot of love for, so I was thinking that this project would be a bit of a let down.  Wrong! When I became obsessed with learning to sew and then joined the RTW fast, I wondered what I was going to do when I needed to replace something simple like a t-shirt.  The answer: Just sit down for a little bit and sew it!  It turns out that you actually CAN sew all your own clothes.  Sometimes it's the little epiphanies that make you the happiest and proudest.

 

There is nothing I can say about sewing this pattern that hasn't been said a million times already.  The purpose of this post is for anyone who is as afraid of knits as I once was.  Don't be!  Holy smokes it's easy!  I wish I had recorded actual sewing time, but that would be hard for me.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can sometimes get a little sidetracked when a text comes through, or someone (ok, one person) hollers at me on Voxer, or I stop to pet my cat, or I go to look something up on the internet and get sidetracked on Yahoo.  Even though this was my first time sewing with a knit I bet actually sewing time was between 1-2 hours including when I had to run to the computer for help.

I had a truckload of anxiety about sewing with knits even though 75% of the stuff I normally wear is a knit. I've had the pattern for months but I thought learning knits would be like learning a foreign language so I avoided it.   I hopped on Craftsy and watched Linda Lee's Sewing Fashion Knits: Beyond The Basics before I even cracked open my pattern.  It was extremely helpful and if you are new to knits I HIGHLY recommend it.  She breaks down preparing fabric, cutting and marking, seam finishes, stabilizing knits, hem finishes and edge finishes.  She takes you through different ways that you can do each of those things.  After watching it through I started to get super confident and thought to myself,  "That doesn't seem that hard.  I probably won't even have to refer back to this class once I start sewing."  Just to be clear, I made it to the second set of steps in the pattern instructions regarding sewing on the neckband before I had to go running back to Linda for help.  She didn't fail me.  Thankfully you can watch the Craftsy classes as many times as you want because I'll be going to Linda's class a lot.

For my bands, I opted to sew on the band, serge the raw edge for a more professional look, and then use a double needle to stitch on both sides of the seam line.  I have to confess that I used to be intimidated when people said they used a twin needle.  Using a twin needle involves buying one, inserting it in your needle slot, threading it, and sewing like normal.  It's that simple.

There are many more knits in my future!  Don't be afraid.  You can do it!

Colette Albion

 

 

 

 Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure they don't teach any of the techniques discussed here in sewing school. 

 

Ahhh, the Colette Albion.  As my husband said last night, sewing this coat was an emotional roller coaster ride for me.  And for him.  I won't lie.  At one point he asked me why I was staring off into space at the dinner table and I said, "Oh I'm just thinking about what to do about that damn coat."  I don't want to ask him how many times I walked into the living room and said, "I hate this coat! It's terrible!" and then walked back into the same living room the next day and said, "I think I'm really going to like my new coat."

 

I initially wasn't going to buy the Albion pattern.  Even though I spend a lot of time in the woods with my kids and the pattern launch was very woodsy, I know from experience that I really don't care for unisex styles.  However, I do love Colette contests (and their patterns, and their blog, and their new sewalongs website, their e-books and pretty much anything else having to do with Colette patterns because that's how I've been learning to sew!).  I went foraging for inspiration on Pinterest and came across this little number.  Could I attempt to copy a $995 Burberry duffel coat?  Sure I could.  Even if it meant sewing multiple extra seams.  Plus I discovered with my Hawthorn that I really like to copycat things I see on the internet. 

 

I ordered a toffee wool flannel from Mood but when it arrived it was very beige-y and I wasn't in love with it.  Enter the burnt orange fabric you see in the above picture. 

 

 

 

I purchased this fabric 2 years ago (I think) during a serious fabric buying binge at Kaplan's Fabrics.  Sadly, they just went out of business.  It is the most lovely shade of burnt orange and is very thick but also pretty drapey.  I don't know what kind of wool it is but it feels almost like velvet.  Does anyone know?  It was extremely expensive and luxurious and I was afraid to use it.  I would unfold it to pet it occasionally, but that's as far as I got.  When I was searching Mood for a different fabric, the orange on my shelf caught my eye and I decided to go with it.

 

I made four muslins.  Let me say that again: I made four muslins.  You get one sideways picture of my initial muslin because I cannot figure out how to make it turn.  As for the subsequent muslins, there are no pictures and it's probably better that way.  I'm not sure I want to re-live all of that.

 

My first muslin was the XS with no alterations.  It was much bigger than I thought it would be and that's when I got a little scared.  Modifications to a pattern are not my strong suit.

 

 

 

I had a terrible time figuring out the zipper on my initial muslin.  The part that threw me was how the left side of the zipper is exposed on the left panel.  That's where the Sewalongs site was so helpful.  You ask and someone answers! After my initial muslin, I took 1.5 inches off the waist on my pattern piece and did a narrow shoulder adjustment of about an inch and a 1/4.  I also attempted to take quite a bit off the sleeves using the adjustment method outlined in the Albion e-book.  Ouch that was hard.  More on my solution to that later.

 

For my second muslin, I sewed up the alterations I made to the initial one.  The waist was suitable but the sleeves were a mess and the back was too roomy. 

 

For my third muslin, I cut the seams for the front top panel, the waist seams and the seams for the back panels as well as another shot at the sleeves.  I'm not sure if you are supposed to follow some logic to making seams in a pattern where there aren't any, but I chose to just cut into my pattern pieces where I thought it looked nice and add a 5/8 seam allowance to each piece.  Worked for me!  For the billowy back part, I graded in the center piece to about 3/4 of an inch at the waistline because there was going to be a seam there anyway.  Had there not been a seam I suppose I would have had to do a swayback adjustment. 

 

As for the sleeves, I read somewhere on the internet that if you're having trouble with sleeves you should use the sleeves from another pattern that you like as a reference.  Instead of using them as a reference, I decided to just substitute the sleeve pattern pieces from another pattern.  Which pattern?  My Anise, of course.  I LOVE that pattern.  Are you supposed to do that?  I'm sure there's probably something technically wrong with how they set in comparison to the rest of the coat but, again, it worked for me and I'm pleased with the outcome.  I lifted the underarm on the Albion pattern by an inch and the Anise sleeves set in there just fine.  The fourth muslin was only for the sleeves. 

 

After four muslins I decided that any further adjustments would have to be done when I was sewing it.  Four was quite enough.  The only thing I ended up doing was starting the grading on the waist an inch under my armole.  When I graded in the waist only the sides near my chest were just too big.

 

 

 

 

I like how the seams jazz up the back.  I also think the front seam makes it look like a dressier jacket.



 

When I sewed with the fashion fabric, I decided that I wanted to install the zipper between the front panel and the facing.  I used this tutorial posted on the Sewalongs site.  http://www.jane-sews.com/2014/02/albion-zipper-tutorial.html. It's a great tutorial. Unfortunately, I did not factor in that moving my zipper meant I would have way over an inch of space across my chest.  When I tried it on after sewing it all together it was very big across the chest.  After despairing for an hour about how my coat was ruined and my husband gently trying to talk me into giving it all up so I could get on with my life, I decided to rip the left zipper out and sew it to the outside of the left panel like it says in the Albion e-book.  I initially thought I would care that it was exposed. If you are worried about that look, I can tell you that I've worn the coat multiple times and it's a non-issue.  You really can't see it when it's zipped and the toggles are buttoned.  The toggles are from Dritz in brown and I bought them online from www.CreateForLess.com. 

 

 

 

I don't plan to walk around with my coat unzipped much either.  This is what it looks like open:

 

 

 

Since my coat is form fitting, I didn't want a flannel lining because I thought it would catch on my pants.  I opted to go for a Liberty of London tana lawn for my lining fabric.  The pattern matched the orange so well I couldn't resist. I would love to order more of the print and use it for a dress.  It's really sweet.

 

 

I opted not to sew on the hood closure.  I'm not sure how much I'll use my hood since I like to wear a hat and I didn't want the tab flopping around.

 

 

The buttons:

 

 

 

This is what my photo shoots really look like:

 

 

 

It is just so COLD.  And speaking of cold, I became obsessed with the fact that my toggles were crooked in my initial photographs so I made my oldest son venture out in THREE degree weather to take pictures of the toggles fastened straight.  Do I look cold?  Because I am.

 

 

 

 

In the end, I'm pleased with my coat.  It was a beast of a project but I like how it turned out. Wish me luck in the contest!

 

 

 

 

 





 

 



 

 

 

 





Colette Anise #2

This is my second go-round with the Colette Anise.  The first one I made last year in corduroy.  It was a strange fabric choice for this jacket but the salesperson at the shop assured me it would be OK.  I don't hate that one, but I like this one much better.  I bought the Anise Companion which makes sewing this jacket very easy.  It gives you a day-by-day plan to finish your jacket in 8 days.  I decided to take 22 days instead.

My parents take each grandkid on a trip after they graduate 8th grade for a treat.  My son and my niece both graduated this year so they planned their trip together to Los Angeles.  I invited myself along and the kids graciously allowed me to stop by Mood LA.  I read reviews on-line that the employees are not so nice, but my experience could not have been more enjoyable.  That probably had something to do with Jose Manuel Gonzales.  He was the nicest salesperson EVER. Ask for him if you go there.  He also teaches classes.  By the way, this was about as well behaved as my son and niece were in the store.  However, it's one of my favorite pictures from our trip.

 

 

I knew I would be overwhelmed by the fabric choices so I went with a list.  Written at the top was "Teal wool = Anise?"  The minute I stepped in the aisle I saw the bolt and loved it.  The $35/yard price tag initially did not love me back.  I can't remember the designer (Carolina Herrera maybe?) but it's a wool/cashmere blend.  I walked around the store trying to decide if I should purchase it or not.  Obviously it came home with me on the plane!  I'm glad it did.  Fabric matters.

 

 

Since I forked over major bucks for the main fabric I was shy about purchasing another expensive fabric for the lining.  Jose found this polyester blend and I love how they look together.  I am a little nervous about how the polyester will handle dry cleaning.  I might not be opening my jacket in public.

I did a swayback adjustment on my initial Anise last year.  I have a long torso and the first one is too short.  I kept the same pattern pieces for this version but I added 2 inches of length.  I don't know if you are supposed to do that after you do a swayback adjustment, but it worked for me.

 

 

I did bound buttonholes for all 8 buttons. 

 

 

 

 

I made my own covered buttons.  It could not have been easier and I will do it again for other projects.  I used the Dritz kit that I found at Hancocks.  I initially wanted to use the wool to make the buttons but it is way too thick.  I was going to opt for a teal cotton from my stash that was suitable.  The day I was going to make the buttons I went to my local Bernina dealer to buy a ruffle foot for the 2nd or 3rd project in my queue.  Fat quarters of teal silk were in a basket by the register and they turned out to be a perfect fit. 

 

This jacket was definitely an investment in time and money but I'm going to wear it for a long time!