Sewing A Bigger Field Bag, Artist Version

The one field bag that I made last January is great for sock projects.  It has been in heavy use for the year.  In fact, there is a sock project in it right now that will go with me shortly for an appointment that guarantees a little wait time.  However, that project is a small repair that won't take long.  The only other knitting project on the go right now is a sweater.  That project is far along, with the sleeves and body attached together.  It simply won't fit into my field bag.  In order to bring it with me, there must be a larger bag.   I looked at the Town Bag, available like the Field Bag, as a pattern from Grainline, but it has a lot more pockets than I need in a knitting bag.  Realizing that led me to look at the fabric that came with my "artist" version of the field bag kit.  

The kit was a present from Christmas 2022.  This project used the Field Bag pattern again, along with the fabric that came with the kit, a canvas painted especially for the bag.  Additionally, it used a yard of duck cloth for the pockets and lining, a yard of webbing for the handles and a small part of a package of cord for the drawstrings.  The painted canvas was a couple of inches wider and longer than the pattern piece, leading me to believe that it could be made into a somewhat larger version of the field bag.  I was correct, but my math was off.  Using the same size pocket meant that the box edges didn't line up properly.

The pocket seam lines are not visible from the outside because they are sewn to a lining (the Field Bag pattern does not call for a lining).  The lining forms the back of the casing for the drawstrings, making it unnecessary to fold the bag fabric over to from the casing.  That makes the bag a little larger, too.  With all these changes, the pocket portion that delineates the fold lines for the bag should have been made larger.  It wasn't off by much, just enough to make the folding a little cumbersome.  However, the sizing is good.  This larger bag easily holds the sweater.  

The handles work very well. They are easy to grab and just long enough. The drawstring does not draw up much, simply because the painted fabric is so stiff.  The fabric was painted with something other than fabric paint.  The end effect is nice, but the fabric is scratchy and somewhat strange to touch.  Perhaps it will soften with use.  Between the stiffness of the outer fabric and the reinforcement of the duck cloth lining, the bag doesn't fall over, even when empty.

Sewing the Seventies with McCall's 5678

McCall's 5678 sounds like a made up pattern number--5,6,7,8--really, McCalls?  Maybe it's my lucky number?  However, the next number is not so encouraging.  There are 10 pattern pieces to the shirt, but two are interfacing pieces.  Of course, a standard shirt pattern with buttons, cuffs, and collar will have that many or more.  Since this is a "Henley" style, half-placket shirt, the front is all one piece.  That may make it simpler.  Simpler still is the absence of a pocket.  Never mind.  There's a similar pattern with a pocket.  It has short sleeves, which is why I didn't choose it for this flannel shirt.  This flannel is appropriate for winter/spring as it is a very light flannel.  That brings me to the details about the pattern and the fabric:  an almost flannel from a fancy New York fabric retailer, Fabrics and Fabrics.  

The plaid flannel yarn-dyed cotton shirting, yellow/teal, 4 1/2 yards, 42" wide, was purchased for a total of $37.80. The pattern is actually 1977, dangerously close to the 80s.  Even so, there are at least a couple of reasons to like the 1977 pattern.  For one, it has the cute little rulers printed on the lengthen/shorten lines. 

For another, the notches are marked and instructed to be cut to the outside of the cut lines, just as I learned to do when I began sewing and as I still prefer to do. 

Third, and this may be a dislike, it has the buttons on the right side.  I was going to change it but my general rule for a toile is to first make it as is and alter later to improve fit or correct problems.  As far as the other shirt pattern that is so similar, the one with the pocket, the buttons are on the left side as is usual for women's clothing.  The placement here must be a design choice.  However, the pattern layout drawings for M5678 also have the plackets cut on doubled fabric in some cases, even though the pattern pieces are marked Cut 1.  Since there is that small error in the layout, the reversed placket could be an error as well.  After some consideration, my final decision was to go with it as is.  Here's that other shirt pattern, the one with the pocket, such a cute pocket.

On the plus side of design in 5678, the shoulder seams sit forward and are enclosed in the back yoke.  Also, there's a collar stand but no collar.  It follows my mandarin collar theme.  

After the right placket (button band) was attached, the plaid was matched by pure luck.  Meaning, it matches because it folds over the opposite way than I thought it did.  There's a lot of top stitching on the band, starting with the tab.

In sewing the button hole band, there is a tab that extends over the outside of the shirt, over a box pleat and over the end of the button band.  In this case, the tab should be the same size as the band to ensure it is wide enough to cover the pleats and the button band.  (Yes, this note is here because I stitched it wrong, resulting in a tab that is 1/8" narrower than the band.  I compensated for the difference by making the pleat narrower.)

The pleat hits me right at my waist.  As a result, the fullness from the pleat is somewhat unflattering. It may draw attention to my belly? If so, it could be stitched down for some distance to minimize the effect.

The shoulder seams and collar went together next.  Finally, the sleeves and the hem.  The sleeves were difficult.  In the end, there were three sleeves cut (living up to the name of this blog).  The fabric was a little off-grain.  The grain line on the pattern matched no other lines on the sleeve.  Due to the pattern lines, the plaid on the shirt would not line up with the plaid on the sleeves.  With all these factors, the best solution was to just try to line up the most obvious point.  The first set of sleeves had the plaid lined up at the sleeve seam notches.  However, once they were both sewn in, the more obvious point was the top of the shoulders--especially since one sleeve matched there better than the other.  With a third sleeve replacing the mismatched one, the obvious mismatch is only a little less obvious.  That is enough for me.  My most successful outcome would be to have the plaid line up across the sleeves and the body.  As it is, it appears to line up at some angles and the plaid is matched across the side seams of the body.

The end of this cut of fabric is off grain and won't be made straight.  Probably hanging it to dry was a bad idea.  It must be washed again and dried flat, perhaps after a bit of a tumble dry.  Even then it may not be usable, which is a disappointment. There's enough for a pair of pants or shorts which would be nice to have if this shirt becomes a secret pajama top.  To save more fabric for a pants project and to avoid using off grain fabric in an obvious spot, there will not be a pocket added to this shirt.  It looks a little too busy for one, anyway.

The really cute buttons were a surprise find at my local fabric store.  They are 3/16" too large and a little too thick.  Since they came 3 to a card, I opted to use plain brown buttons for the cuffs.  

The cuffs were cut a little off grain, along with the sleeves.  The cuffs can only match the sleeves horizontally because the sleeve is gathered. The two sleeves almost ended at the same point in the plaid. One sleeve was sewn 1/8" shorter to make the cuff sit at the same point of the plaid.  The cuffs are lined up along the prominent plaid line (the gold one).  

Heavy duty black thread was used for the cuff buttonholes (dark brown buttons) and Coats and Clark dark blue thread for the placket buttonholes (gold and blue buttons.)  My machine seems more prone to error on successive buttonholes.  It might be best to turn it off or at least clear the stitch between buttonholes.  This mostly means that the machine should be watched closely so it can be turned off once it errors.  If it is caught in time, the stitches are easily picked out and the buttonhole can be redone.  This time, there was only a 1/4" of stitches to be picked out.

It is a little 80s.  There's room for shoulder pads, but -- NO.

The hems are not quite straight on grain but look ok.  The pattern instructions call for the hemming first, then turning under the edge of the slits on each side.  I am not sure that this is my preference, but it does hide the edge of the hem.

All in all, it turned out to be one of my better makes, especially in seasonality.  Plaid shirts and jeans was the uniform of the day wherever I went.

Trying out Simplicity 1887, the pants

Since my original experience with a vintage sewing pattern was very satisfying, I bought a bunch more.  The patterns from the 70's are my home ground, since that is when I first learned to sew.  Besides my familiarity with the older patterns, I suspect that the sizing is a better fit for me.  Mostly, my suspicions are that the length of the skirt and the torso are shorter in these older patterns, while newer ones are sized for taller bodies.  All to say that I am glad to have the option of using patterns from so many different eras and sources.  Sewing has become a nice distraction from life's stressors.

My first choice for vintage sewing fun was a 1950 pattern, McCall's 8246.  Not only does this one predate my other choices, it looks distinctly unfamiliar, right from the start--the fabric.  It was designed for 54" tubular material.  Tubular material is currently available, but it is usually ribbed knit intended for use as cuffs and hems on athletic garments.  There's no information on what tubular material was in the 50s--knit (likely), woven, cotton, wool, or?  With no other guidance than that, I first elected to use a modestly priced cotton flannel for the toile.

It is 3 yards of Shetland Flannel, 100% cotton, made in India, SRKF-13937-12 Grey, Machine wash, cold, delicate cycle, do not bleach, tumble dry low: cool iron, 44"  wide.  Purchased for $6.50/yd, or a total of $17.50 from Hodge Podge fabric shop in Salida, Co.  

Although this thrifty choice would have made an effective toile and been a casual version of the dress, it was too little. There was not enough of this fabric for this pattern, which requires 2 2/3 yards of fabric that is 54" wide or wider.  Although seams can be hidden in the body at the front and back tucks, making it possible to piece the body from two cuts 26" wide, that approach would use all of the Shetland Flannel.   There would be nothing left for the yokes and the sleeves.  Since, admittedly, the flannel is too casual for this dress, that idea was dropped.  

Seeking a good use for the flannel, I read some descriptions and suggestions from sellers of this fabric.  The one that struck me was "pajamas."  Aha.  The idea came to me to continue the pants making and produce pants that feel like pajamas--making "secret pajamas", a term that became popular a couple of years ago, when people were staying home during the pandemic.  Coincidentally, I have a pattern set aside for a skirt that includes pants, rather roomy pleated pants with an elastic waistband.  Not only does it look pajama-y, it will produce a toile that will guide me in the skirt making.

Thus began Simplicity 1887, View A, elastic waist pants with pockets.  The starting size was a 16, the largest size in the size block I purchased--after all, this is a toile.   Even though the fabric shrunk to 42" wide and 2" short of 3 yards long, there was plenty for the size 16 pants cut to the full pattern length (i.e. not shortened).  Leg edges were overcast before sewing together.  Assembly followed the instructions except for cautiously sewing a 3/8" seam at the top of the 4 vertical seams (side seams and center seams).  This resulted in a 44" waist, much larger than needed and too large for the waistband.  

My next step was to sew the standard 5/8" seam in the center and side seams of the pants.  With a 3/8" seam at the waistband side seams, the waistband fit nicely onto the pants and in the end, onto me, due to the elastic in the back.  The elastic is extremely difficult to insert in the two casings by following the instructions.  Whether it was due to the thickness of the fabric, the flimsy elastic, or the tightness of the casing--or the combination of all of those problems, it was hard.  No-roll elastic, a wider casing and starting from the center back instead of the front might work better when I make the skirt.

The pattern piece for the elastic is long enough, probably too long.  With the waist at 32", there was at least 3" extra on the starting end.  Some of that may be because it is underwear elastic, which is more stretchy than no-roll.  It is also more comfy and more prone to twisting.  

Taking up the inseams 1/4" and the side seams 1/2" brought the pants below the waist down to size 14. This is still a very roomy fit with a lot of ease.  The skirt might be best in a size 12, depending on how much stretch there is in the fabric.  The sizing is a little surprising.  Based on my measurements, a size 14 should fit my hips.   The finished hip measurement is 45 1/2".  That's 7 1/2" of ease.  Is so much ease for style, comfort, or movement?  Either reason will do because these pants are truly comfy, warm, secret pajamas.

The pattern leaves the waistband edge turned down and exposed rather than turned up covered by the band.  They suggest machine finishing the edge, but I opted to bind it with some gray seam binding.  Turning it over the edge was a bit tight because it was single fold, but all I had in gray.  

The pants are hemmed at 1 1/4", as recommended, with a blind hem.  They are intended to be ankle length. They are a bit longer on me, with the hem exactly where I prefer it, in the middle of my heel.

Sewing the pants went quickly.  Although the dress could be next, I am considering instead a flannel shirt.  It will be appropriate for Winter through Spring as it is a very light flannel.

Not to worry, That 1950s dress is coming.  I found some 58" wide green lyocell in my fabric stash.  It will serve as the toile of the dress.  This will move the project into my other Spring sewing, which has a theme--Green!  I have stashed four or five pieces of fabric that will bring green to my wardrobe this Spring.

While pondering the possibilities, I had a look through the fabrics I have stashed away.  It adds up to $778 in about 45 pieces.  That's about $17 per project.  It is a frugal amount, but it ranges greatly.  Some pieces are only suitable for toiles, some are quite nice, and some I regret buying. 

And, what did I make in 2023?  The fabric cost totaled $275, producing 18 items, so about $16 each.