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Dualthon Shorts (And A Little Chat About Flatlocking)

 

I've had zero desire to make workout clothing, but I'm a RTW faster and it became something I could no longer avoid.  I chose the Fehr Trade Duathlon pattern in the booty short length and then headed over to www.spandexhouse.com when I saw Claire's peacock fabric. 

The side seams are Supplex.  I've never heard of it before but it's listed on the Fehr Trade site as being ideal. I made an initial pair with just Supplex in an XS based on my measurements.  The Supplex doesn't have as much recovery and it feels more cotton-y than spandex-y if that makes any sense. I switched to an XXS for this pair and it fits more like I think Spandex shorts should fit as it's tighter and the slick material rebounds. 

 

Picking out spandex is much harder than I anticipated.  I told one of my non-sewing friends that it's so hard to pick out spandex for booty shorts because the prints are so loud.  She said, "Those are words I thought I would never hear you say."  I used about 1/2 a yard for this pair.  I was very excited thinking about how cheap workout gear was going to end up being until I got to the checkout and the freight charge for 4 yards of material was $19.50! That's more than the price of the fabric per yard.   

Now about flatlocking:  My Bernina manual lists something called "3 Thread Flatlock" that gives tensions settings for all four threads and "2 Thread Flatlock" that gives tension settings for three threads. I chose the 3 Thread Flatlock option because when I tried to sew with only 3 threads the looper threads kept slipping out.  I don't know about anybody else but threading my serger might be my most un-favorite thing ever.  Recommended tension settings are: left needle 1-2, right needle 1-2, upper looper 3-5 and lower looper 7-9. 

After I sewed right sides together and then pulled the material apart gently to expose the stitching, it looked like this:



I have no idea if that's how it's supposed to look but if it's wrong I suppose I'll find out when my shorts disintegrate. The inside looks like this with a ridge that is flattened against the short.  The seam allowance doesn't stick up.

You'll notice little loops sticking out every once in awhile.  I think that has something to do with moving the fabric around while I sew.  My serger lightbulb burnt out awhile ago.  Instead of getting a new one I just sew in the dark.  :)

 



These come together very quickly.  I love a good sewing challenge but it's also nice when you can go from un-cut fabric to wearable shorts in the time it takes to watch a baseball game.  Speaking of, I've had to resort to carrying my serger into the living room so I can get something done while I watch the Royals play.  Anybody else a Royals fan?!

Also, posing in workout wear feels very odd.  I decided I wanted to try leaping like they do in sportswear magazines but it looked like this so I quickly opted to stand still. 








McCall's 6506

For my first time sewing a Big Four pattern (yes, you read that right: first time ever!) I went with McCall's 6506 which has been lingering in a Pinterest folder forever.  I remember looking at McCall's pattern instructions years ago thinking they looked like a foreign language but now that I have the hang of it I was able to hang in there. If you're learning to sew, using independent pattern designers is well worth the money
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Two issues I had were the armhole facing and sizing. The armhole facing looked odd so I just did bias binding.  I cut a 12 based on my measurements and had to size down to an 8 after the muslin.

I used this rayon challis and was very impressed by the quality for the price.  It's very soft and fluid which is great for wearing but not great for cutting.  That took forever.  It is listed as black and tan on the website but in reality it looks like a blush pink.

I underlined the bodice with broadcloth and lined the skirt with the same.  After basting the pleats on the skirt pieces, I put the pieces on the broadcloth and traced them.  Not very scientific but it worked for me.  The skirt lining is sewn to the front band but then hangs free at the bottom. 

 



 

I widened the front band by just sewing with a narrower seam allowance because the 1/2 inch buttons were going to be too big.  Speaking of buttons, I absolutely destroyed the buttonholes by cutting the stitching with my Clover buttonhole cutter on almost every one of them.  The only way to save them was to zig zag the edges which looks horrendous but the buttons cover up most of the stitching. 

I like the big pockets.  Not so sure about the gigantic collar.  If I had it to do over again I think I would size it down a bit. 

I'm very happy with how this turned out.  I think I'll enjoy wearing it a lot. Now I need to decide what I'm going to sew next.  You might see a pair of jeans, a swimsuit or some running shorts.  Or none of the above. Stay tuned!

Sewaholic Granville #2

I tried to switch up my photo location by standing in front of a barn in the haze and wind.  I think I might just stick to my little wall from now on.  It never lets me down.

I had to squeeze in one last Granville before I start warm weather sewing. I don't have anything new to add, except saying that I don't think I'll get tired of making these or wearing them.   I love a gray/mustard combination in just about anything.  This was supposed to be a nice relaxing sew after my Pavot coat that took an entire month to complete, but I got compulsive about sewing over the last couple of days and stayed up way too late finishing. 

I did two new things with this version: tailors tacks on the bust darts and flat-felling the arm seam.  I think tailors tacks are probably most accurate, but I think I've decided I like drawing on my dart lines better because it gives me a line to follow.  And I had no idea how fiddly the flat-fell seam is on an armhole.  Is it just me or does that take forever? Was I just impatient?

As you can tell, I still have swayback issues which is extra sad because I did a swayback adjustment to the pattern (or so I thought).  I know the point of sewing your own clothes is to get a great fit but I was too lazy to try to fix it for this shirt.  Next time?  Or maybe never? Only time will tell.

The fabric is another Liberty print that I've been hoarding for several months.  The purpose of these next photos is to show my attempt at pattern matching on the pocket flaps.  It's not perfect but I'm satisfied with it.  May and Patrick are always talking about that on The Great British Sewing Bee and so I thought I should give it a go instead of slapping a pocket flap on there and hoping for the best. (***As an aside, I couldn't figure out how people were watching TGBSB season 2 because I couldn't find it when I searched YouTube on my laptop.  I noticed other people struggling as well. Then I thought to use my phone and there it was! Is that a browser issue? I don't know the lingo but help spread the word!)

When I uploaded these pictures I realized they highlighted an issue I had with this fabric.  If you look closely at the stitch lines you can see little loops.  Those don't normally occur with other fabrics.  Does anyone have ideas on why that might be occurring? I messed with tension and inserted a new needle with no luck.  I sew with a Bernina.

Me-Made-May '15

So, Zo..What Do You Know hosts an activity called the Me-Made-May challenge every May.  The objective is to wear one handmade garment every day for the month of May and document it on social networking sites.  Last year I barely had any handmade items so I pledged to wear handmade twice a week.  I was a flurry of sewing activity last summer due to being a RTW Faster, so I've counted 16 warm-weather handmade garments in my closet (so far!).  This year I'm taking the plunge and pledging to wear a handmade garment each day of May.  I'm also going to focus on completing a pair of jeans in May.  I may regret saying that.  If I don't post the finished product by May 31st, kindly forget I ever mentioned it. 

I'm not sure how I'll be documenting this but I know it won't be with a blog post every day.  The Flickr group, perhaps?

In other news, I very recently started an Evolution of a Sewing Goddess Instagram page.  I have one post.  One.  Tune in because you don't want to miss anything! Maybe I'll use Instagram to document Me-Made-May?!

Deer & Doe Pavot Jacket

I think once a year I'm going to take a relatively easy coat pattern and add a bunch of design features that are way above my ability level.  Last year it was the Albion duffel coat.  This year it's the Deer & Doe Pavot jacket.  A contestant on the first season of The Great British Sewing Bee is working his way through a challenge and he says, "God loves a trier."  I had never heard the phrase before but it entered my brain again as I was attempting triangular buttonholes and a lining.

I first saw triangular buttonholes on Pinterest, which referenced  The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction from 1959.  I couldn't work out the instructions in the book and so I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that the Craftsy course Couture Finishing Techniques with Alison Smith has a section on triangular buttonholes.  She also offers instruction on circular buttonholes.  I attempted to make up a flower buttonhole on my own with no success.  She remarks that you should stick with one or two triangular buttonholes on a jacket.  I thought to myself, "I wonder why she said that.  Oh well.  I think I'll do seven."

I tried and tried to get the little puckers out of the corners of the triangle but couldn't pull it off.  I think it had something to do with the fabric I used because on my practice run with muslin I had no issues.  At some point you have to stop fiddling and move towards acceptance.  I do like them though.

I used a gabardine from Mood Fabrics for the body and a wool flannel for the collar (which is unfortunately sticking up in the picture--you can't win them all).  The gabardine was easy to sew with but it's hard to iron out a wrinkle once it's in there.  The lining is a navy-ish acetate also from Mood.  My color inspiration was this coat that Lady Mary wears in Downton Abbey. 

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I am pleased with the fit.  In the pictures it appears that it's tight across the chest but in reality there is a good amount of room.  I didn't make any adjustments to my muslin because I'm getting so much better at measuring beforehand.  There are things that could be better about it (neater buttonholes, better finishing, better handstitching along the hem) but it's a success form me.  I learned a lot and stretched my abilities.  That's always a win, right?

Now for the construction details:

I constructed the entire shell of the coat first, including the facing .  I put in the buttonholes on the front half of the facing and then cut triangles in the back half of the facing as instructed. 

This pattern doesn't include a lining so you have to make your own.  I have never done that before.  Some people say, "I added a lining" like it's no big deal but for me it was a big deal.  If you don't add one the inside of your jacket will look like this (unless you do a different seam finish, of course). 

I used Tilly's tutorial on the Sewaholic website for assistance.  If you look at that first the rest of this will make more sense. 

The front jacket pieces are curved and therefore difficult to tape together.  I marked it little by little as I swung it around from the bottom all the way to the top. 

The facing part was harder to figure out because it folds back on itself and becomes the button band.  I taped the facing on exactly like you would sew it.  You can then feel on top of the paper and trace around the neck facing.  For the front of the coat, I only added 5/8 inch (not 1 1/4 as instructed) and only to the top part of the pattern that is at the neckline.  The inside of the facing extends 5/8 inch past the seamline along the front of the coat, so that's why I didn't add any more to that.  This is what my piece looked like prior to cutting along the single line at the botton and along the middle line at the top:

It was confusing but the measurements worked. 

The back bodice piece is rounded and is also in two pieces.  You are supposed to add an inch to the back bodice to be able to form a pleat in the lining fabric.  After factoring in the 5/8 inch I needed to take out because I was going to put the lining piece on the fold, I added 3/8 inch right in the middle and drew a straight line up from there.  This meant that there was an extra 1/4 inch at the top and bottom but it worked out ok for me. 

For the skirt front, I took off 5/8 inch along the straight front edge because of the facing issue described above.  I did the same for the waistband.

I constructed my entire lining including sleeves prior to putting it in the coat.  I wish I wouldn't have done that.  I intended to follow the protocol used in the Colette Anise jacket I made last year, but then didn't read ahead before construction started.  In that pattern, you sew the body of the lining on first and then hand sew the sleeves along the armhole.  I didn't have that option here because I did French seams throughout my lining.  Instead, I anchored the lining at the top and bottom of the armhole.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my friend's RTW coat was done exactly like that.  I hand sewed my cuffs as well as hand stitching the hem and the hem of the lining. 

Sewaholic Granville

 

After a particularly bad experience with the Papercut Rigel Bomber in January and some of February (which I'm choosing not to talk about in an attempt to forget it happened), I really needed a successful make.  The Sewaholic Granville shirt is my first time ever making a button up shirt with a collar and collar stand and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  There's just something rewarding about working through all of the different steps. If you're contemplating making the Sewaholic Granville shirt but haven't yet, get to it.  You won't be disappointed.  Believe the hype because it's a great pattern.

I made a muslin with a size 6 in the shoulders and grading down to a 0 right under the bust darts because I'm not a pear shape. My next step was to make what was supposed to be a wearable muslin out of a fabric that I absolutely had to have a year ago and recently decided I didn't like all that much.  I thought the 6 was just a tad too big in the shoulders so I went with the 4 instead.  I had a very hard time conceptualizing the collar and collar stand based on the pattern instructions, and consequently ended up destroying that part of the shirt.  If you get nothing else out of this post, get this: I strongly recommend buying Pam Howard's The Classic Tailored Shirt on Craftsy or consulting some other resource that walks you through sewing the collar and stand together as one unit before attaching it to the shirt.  The Granville Pattern instructions don't do this and it's pretty confusing if it's your first time.  Two different ladies from the RTW Fast on Goodbye Valentino suggested the Craftsy course and I can't recommend it enough, especially for beginners.  I was a little concerned when I noticed the segment for the collar was an hour long, but she is one of those instructors that makes it all seem so easy.  The Sewaholic website has several posts on sewing a collar as one unit, but the fabric used is so busy that I had a hard time figuring out what she was doing.  Buy the class!

My fabric is also busy so it's hard to tell what's happening but my collar and stand turned out crisp and neat and made me very happy. 

Sewing on buttons has not been my strong suit even though it seems like that should be the easiest part.  I end up sewing them in the wrong place a lot and then the shirt looks ill-made.  The Craftsy course gives good pointers on that as well and I had no issues with it this time. 

I skipped the beginning segments and went right to the collar portion because I had already completed the shirt up to that point.  I look forward to going back and watching them for my next Granville.  I also didn't watch the portion on sewing in the sleeves until I had already sewn my side seams with French seams.  Pam Howard sews her sleeves onto the shirt without sewing the side seam or sleeve seams first.  I had to set mine in in-the-round.  Which version do you use? Does it make a difference?  I would obviously prefer to do it her way because it seems easier.  Next time!

My wearable muslin had excessive fabric at the lower back.  Swayback adjustments are common for me.  I thought I fixed it with this version but there is still excess fabric back there.  I need to work on that.

I could not figure out how to do the sleeve plackets on my Oakridge blouse.  The Classic Tailored Shirt from Craftsy uses a sleeve placket similar to the Oakridge blouse so I can reference that next time.  I was able to follow the pattern instructions for this shirt.  They look OK but you'll notice I sewed down further in the final step on my left sleeve as opposed to my right.  Just another thing to perfect for next time!

 

This is definitely a shirt that will become a wardrobe staple.  I know many people frown upon quilting cottons for apparel.  I don't use them myself, but does anybody use nice quality quilting cottons for a shirt like this?  I know it's an endless debate but I'm curious what the thoughts are for a button-up shirt.