Florence Shirt in Crinkle Rayon

Finally, it was time to use the last of my precious fabric purchases, one that is notably made in Japan, a Painterly Tracks printed lightly crinkled rayon challis in light sage/gray sage/off-white.  There wasn't much of this lovely fabric, just 2 yards that was 43" wide, from Fabrics and Fabrics at a cost of $26.60.  After washing, it was moderately crinkled.  Since it will have to be ironed flat to apply interfacing, it was ironed lightly before marking and cutting.  From the beginning, this was intended to be used for a Florence shirt.

The Florence paper pattern came printed on heavy paper.  Cutting it to cut out the pieces is hard on my cutters and makes it difficult to cut a larger size later.  Some say it is intended for tracing, but tracing is not my usual method.  In the end, only one pattern piece, the front, was traced off and altered.  

Initially, since the wrong side of the fabric is white, the fabric was marked and cut out roughly. The upper back was cut along the widest line, while the lower back was cut the full width of the fabric.   These pieces were trimmed during the construction.  The other pattern pieces were not altered as much and were cut to a slightly larger size than the first version.  

There were two factors that shaped this haphazard approach.  One, the sizing on this pattern is very fabric dependent.  Two, if the edges are to be serged after sewing, my preference is for a wider seam allowance than the 3/8" set in this pattern.  Now that it is done, this version has helped me to settle on a size X.  If there is another version, the pattern can be cut to that size.  

The pattern pieces were laid out to take advantage of the large print of the fabric.  The bottom front was marked at 14" wide, or 12 1/2" from the printed lines along the selvage edges, placing these lines along the fold line for the placket.  The side seams were tapered outward.  The back pieces were centered on the central design.  Since the fronts were cut along the selvage, a stretch binding was sewn over the selvage.  The binding looks cute and is similar to the treatment on the blue version of this pattern, where there is bias binding along the placket.

Here is a serged seam.  It is sturdy, stretches slightly and looks nice even though the thread is white in the needles and off white on the loopers. This sample persuaded me to use the serger on a few seams.

 

The stitches are quite tidy, with the pressure adjusted to the recommended position, the differential light (.5) and the tension on 3 for the needles and 4 for the loopers (this last is because of the thin fabric).  

The pockets were cut out of scraps, matching the print on the pockets to the print on the front vertically.  There wasn't enough fabric to match them horizontally.  With this large-scale print, the only option was to use the long piece from the middle of the yardage that was left after cutting the two fronts along the selvage and a piece between the back yoke and the sleeve bands to cut two pockets and two linings.  In this light fabric a two-layer pocket should hold its shape better than a single layer with an interfaced top.

In the photos below, the pocket placement is about 1/2" further away from the center front than the pattern indicates.  That change was necessary to align the print vertically.  If they are placed lower, the print aligns more horizontally and will be about where the pockets sit in the first version.  However, the higher placement means that they sit more where a shirt pocket should sit.  The pockets in the first version were lowered to expose the printed panel. 

Sewing the plackets down surprised me by how much the foldline was thrown off by the seam tape applied to the selvage edge.  The foldline was in the middle of the interfacing.  Fortunately, the interfacing is light enough to fold nicely.  Two layers of interfaced fabric made a good weight for the button bands.  

The back yoke seam was sewn on both the machine and the serger, with both seam allowances serged as one so that it could be pressed up towards the back yoke.  Then the shoulder seams were sewn, pressed open and serged before attaching the collar.  The collar was attached according to instructions.  The collar is prepped by sewing a guide line along the fold line of the front, where the collar will be folded over prior to topstitching it to the shirt.  This nicely helps the fold stay a consistent width but leaves the stitching visible on the edge of the collar.  To satisfy my taste, this guide line had to be pulled out before topstitching.  Even though the collar is placed over the seamline before topstitching, the seamline can still be seen in spots.  It seems the traditional method of sewing the collar to the right side of the shirt and hand stitching the wrong side to the neckline seam produces a neater appearance.  

Sleeve bands were cut from the scant remaining fabric, carefully, in order to place the vertical lines of the print along the edge of the band.   Perfecting them meant changing the seam allowance on one to 3/16" to match it to the other that was sewn to the armhole with a 3/8" seam.  Contrary to the pattern instructions, the bands were sewn to the armhole with it open, i.e. prior to sewing the side seams.  Then the side seams were sewn through the band with the band opened out, flaring the seam out a bit at the edge of the band to allow it to turn under nicely.  Next the bands were folded in over the seam line and machine basted in place. 

After stitching in the ditch to secure the bands and removing the basting, there was a little hand sewing to do on the inside.  Probably hand sewing the entire band down would have been quicker.  There's a lot of videos raving about stitching in the ditch, but it is too visible for me to be completely happy with it.  It is tolerable here only because topstitching the band would also be acceptable.  

Hemming was a creative endeavor.  The fronts are a couple of inches longer than the pattern length and the back..the back hem shaping is simply the curve left after the yoke piece was cut.  The hemline is blended into the front hem but the back is several inches longer than the pattern piece.  The hem was turned under an inch and folded to a 5/8" hem that was topstitched down.  It isn't like the hem of either the shirt or the dress, just somewhat similar to RTW shirts.

The button placement chart for the shirt has revealed itself.  It is on the sleeve band piece.  This pattern company is frugal with its paper.  Since the shirt is longer, it could have taken more buttons.  However, 7 is enough.  There is no need for buttons on the bottom few inches of the shirt.  Most likely, it will be worn as an overshirt and left unbuttoned.  

The back was made much larger with the expectation that once washed, this fabric will crinkle and draw in.  It may then stretch back out with wear.  

With this make, the Florence shirt pattern is adjusted to my liking.  I love all the details, the back yoke, the mandarin-style collar, and the sleeve bands.  I also like the simplicity of the cap or dolman sleeves.  Although I am wearing it here with my new Lodo dress, it will look even nicer with my new black pants.  This shirt took 10 days to make, just working on it a little each day, but not every day, during that time span.  The next shirt I make will have set in sleeves, cuffs, and a full collar.  I wonder how long that will take.

Lodo Dress on Serger

This project used 1 1/2 yards Birch Fabrics interlock knit, 95% organic cotton, 5% spandex, 58" wide, purchased from The Confident Stitch for $32.85.  The color is a beautiful sagebrush green and the cotton fabric is as smooth as silk, with 50% crosswise and 20% lengthwise stretch.  Unlike silk, it can be machine washed cold and tumbled dry on low without worry.  

My plan was to use the fabric to make another Lodo dress.  Happily, the leftover rayon twill from my vintage dress project worked for the woven facings recommended by the pattern. Testing stitches on my serger and sewing machine proved that topstitching on the machine at 2.8 looked good.  Serging looked good, once the differential feed was adjusted for this thick fabric.  Stretch stitching is advised in the pattern.  Twin needle stitching was also used in my first Lodo dress.  The only problem with that dress is that the back slit ripped out, even though it was sewn with a stretch stitch. I tested twin needle stitching on my sewing machine but decided that it is not really necessary for the facings, since they are woven.  Based on all this testing, here is the sewing plan I developed:

Serge the back seam, leaving a higher slit. 

That didn't work.  The top of the seam fed unevenly into serger and pulled a thread out of the fabric.  Discouraged, I sewed the back seam on my sewing machine with a stretch stitch and walking foot.  That was slow and stretched the seam out, causing the bumps in the seamline in the above photo.

Reinforce the top of the slit with a woven facing, extending the slit. That was time consuming but should resist ripping.  (The right photo is the extension basted into place, the left is after stitching the slit.)  This step should be replaced with a simple redesign of the back pattern piece, opening the back slit higher.  

Serge the edge of the facings.  That worked even though my serging needs more practice.  Sew the neck facings on with a straight stitch.  Worked well.  Understitch the facings with a straight stitch. Fine, wobbly but worked.   

Serge the shoulder seam, seaming through the facings.  To avoid the difficulty that prevented me from serging the back seam, the shoulder seams were basted together on the machine first at 5/8", allowing me to serge at 3/8".  This worked well.   In retrospect, basting where the seamlines meet is probably all I need to avoid the fabric feeding unevenly into the serger.    Sew the armhole facings and understitch. There is no photo of my uneven understitching here.  It is such slippery material, that rayon twill. The serged edge of the neck facing is visible in the photo below.

Serge the side seams. Actually, stitch the armhole at the start then serge because serging that begins somewhere other than the edge of the seam is a little more difficult.  Starting the side seam at the armhole would remove some of the facing unless the knife is disengaged.  Except for the failure to make the sewing line and the serging line meet, the side seams look good.  A few stitches on the sewing machine brought the serged seam and the sewn seam together.  Although the ends of the long side seam stretched out, they were turned under for the hem and don't show. 

Turn the facings to the inside and top stitch.  Worked fine, simple sewing, see above photo.  

Sew the back slit down and hem with a twin needle stitch.  Other than the usual tension questions the twin needle raises because there is a choice to be made between smooth stitches with loose bobbin thread and tunneling with tight bobbin thread, this worked passably well. There were 2 skipped stitches.  :/  Be warned, any problems with twin needles motivates me to get a coverstitch machine next.

All done and the construction is acceptable.  I am going to love this dress for the fabric alone.  It is about 4-6" longer than I would normally make it but I will enjoy every inch of it.  I will hold off posting the modeled photo until I finish my next project, a shirt that might be worn with it, made from the pretty rayon print draped over the dress in the photo above.

These detailed notes will help me remember how to approach my next sewing project.  Combining the features of my sewing machine and my serger in the most efficient manner is the goal.  Perhaps it may encourage serger use.  At the end of this project, the thread on the loopers was low, providing a reason for me to try changing the thread the easy way.  As I had seen online, and as is detailed in the instruction manual for my serger, I just tied the new thread to the old using a "magic" knot (though any tight knot will do) and pulled the new ones through the machine.  These loopers don't seem to have an eye to thread like the needles do, so the knot pulled through smoothly.  

It is all proof that one can buy a serger, use it, change the thread, clean it, etc. without any instruction.  At this point, serger availability has increased (there was a supply problem after the pandemic) and prices have dropped, making it possible for the average sewist to have one.  They are very helpful in seaming knits and checking fraying.

Dolman Top, Vogue 8952, Serged

You read that right, I now have a serger.  It is a starter model, the same brand as my sewing machine.  It came threaded.  That is a real game changer, making it possible to start playing with it right out of the box, seeing how it meets my needs. One last cool-weather project was next up, a knit top.  Since it is dolman sleeved, meaning the sleeve and body cut as one, it required only 4 seams.  With no sleeves to set in, it was a good project for a first time serging.  

The first step was to prepare my sewing machine for the hemming, the only task it actually had to do.  With a stretch twin needle, a walking foot, and the tension and foot pressure both set to three, the test looked good.  This is a thick pointelle knit that is prone to tunneling with a twin needle.   There was 1.8 yards left at the end of the bolt, meaning I got both 30% off the nearly 2 yard piece and a further reduction on the fraction of a yard for a total of nearly $20.  (The fabric was $20 per yard originally--pretty expensive for JoAnn's.)  However, it is a soft cotton knit in a great spring color and thus worth the price.  

The layout for cutting was tricky.  The combination of the dolman-sleeved pattern, which has the body and sleeve as one large piece, and the fabric, with an obvious textured stripe to match, left only scraps.  They are large scraps, but are so oddly shaped that they may not be useful.  This was definitely not a zero waste project.

After serging the front and back seams, I became cautious and serged the shoulder and side seams with a smaller seam allowance to allow for resewing or reserging.  This initial construction resulted in a neckline that was too wide and low.  Adjustments included taking in about an inch in the front seam at the neck and the same at the shoulders, adding seam tape made from selvedge at the shoulders, and recutting the sides and hem to reduce the flare and length of the back skirt.  After serging all these adjustments, the bottom and sleeves were hemmed on my sewing machine.  

Since the neckline was still low, wide and loose, I opted to add a neckband by sewing it on the machine with a knit zigzag stitch and hand sewing it to the wrong side.  Honestly, I had it set up to attach the neckband on the serger, had it under the presser foot ready to go, and decided against it.   Since there is a back seam, there would have been seven layers of the thick knit fabric at that point.  That would have been way too much fabric to pass under the presser foot.  In a thinner fabric with no back neck seam, serging the neckband on would work.

Now that this top is completed, the pattern's fate is uncertain.  It looks good from the front, but even in a smaller size the back skirt would be too much.  It doesn't flare out as much as it first did before my modifications, and it is about six inches shorter overall than it would be for the size medium.  Still, there is a lot of excess fabric in the back.  

The drape is nice, but it is a bit more than I need.  The dolman sleeves present other issues.  They eat fabric and are bulky under the arms.  But now that it is completed, it has made me realize that I have a couple of printed skirts that look good with it, not to mention the usual blue jeans and maybe my new black pants.  Now that I have that serger going, here comes the rest of my Spring green wardrobe.