Remy Raglan brings me back to garment sewing

Sew House Seven had a sale on their patterns, prompting me to purchase a couple of patterns I had been wanting, the Remy Raglan and a dress (more on that later if I get energetic).  I was energetic enough to get a toile of the raglan sewn together.  I like the pattern and I expect it will be a frequently sewn garment for me if I can find suitable fabric.  It was written for a very lightweight linen.  However, I have no linen clothes I really like except for a heavyweight linen dress.  I might be looking at cotton blends or a rayon for the good version.

The fabric for the toile is a cotton bought on impulse when I placed an order with Made with Harmony last year.  (Woven Elements Prairie Plaid Green, 2 yards, 42" wide, cold water wash, dry on low $16.)  I wanted some of the eyelet I saw on Instagram but it was sold out.  However, they had many other quite nice looking fabrics, allowing me to quickly put an order together.  That order included this length of cotton.  The 2 yards was more than I needed for the short sleeved version but it gave me plenty of room to match the plaid.  Now that I am quilting, I don't mind leftover cotton or even cotton-like fabric because I can use it in a quilt.

In lieu of a label, I added a small friendship star on the back.

I tried to follow the pattern closely but I had to deviate in some of the finishing simply because the fabric is a heavier weight than recommended for the pattern.  I cut the bias binding for the neckline from a very light poly/cotton blend remnant I found at Hobby Lobby.  I serged the seam allowances instead of sewing French seams.  Otherwise, I did follow the pattern in a size 10.  

It was a quick sew, and a satisfying result, proving that the Remy Raglan is going to be an easy, functional addition to my pattern collection.  

Sew House Seven patterns offer both a regular and a curvy fit size groups. Their notes say the curvy fit offers a fuller bust, waist, and hips (through an outward tapered side seam) with a more fitted underarm.  The photo above tempts me to try a size 14 curvy fit (the smallest in that group), even though a bust dart or a different bra would really solve that problem.  Since the curvy fit pattern is included separately in the paper pattern, a future curvy toile is a possibility.

Completed my first quilt

The first quilt that I have ever made is now complete. It began as a small project in April, just cutting and machine sewing half square triangles from scraps of fabric. In about a month, the plan developed to make sawtooth star blocks, as explained in my earlier posts.  

The first blocks were constructed with quilting cotton that was left after making toiles of patterns.  There's fabric that was made into an a-line skirt (quilting cotton from JoAnn Fabrics); some that was used as bias binding (purchased as a remnant from Taos Adobe Quilting ($4); some leftover fabric from three dresses from JoAnn Fabrics, and more of the same from Hobby Lobby; leftovers from toddler harem pants, a lightweight cotton from Hobby Lobby.  These scraps produced over a half dozen quilt blocks that were 16" square.  

Finishing out the blocks in the same sawtooth star pattern required more fabric.  Quilting cotton somewhat similar to the scraps was purchased at Santa Fe Quilting and Hacer.  That amounted to 1 1/2 yards for about $20.  

With the additional fabric, the number of blocks grew to 10.  Rather than throw one out, I added two "accent blocks" to make a 12 block quilt.  The star studded fabric for the two extra blocks came from Swanson thrift for $8.  

Before managing to construct twelve blocks, the plan was to enlarge the quilt to add sashing between the blocks.  To this end, a trip Taos Adobe Quilting yielded 2 1/2 yards of black and brown print intended for sashing for about $30.  Once all twelve blocks were laid out together, my fascination with the resulting patterns decided me against sashing.  In the end, some of the black fabric was used for the border.  

After considering several  fabrics, the star studded aqua fabric was used for the binding.  

Adding $50 for the backing to these purchases and $256 for batting and quilting makes a total of $360.  

 

I just finished hand sewing the binding down today.  It went into the washer and dryer immediately.  I couldn't wait to get rid of the starch I had added to make the pre-washed fabrics easier to quilt.  The starch and the dense quilting made the quilt feel very stiff.  It is softer now and will soften more with use and washing, if it gets used.  I have mixed feelings about the quilt.  It doesn't fit the decor of any bedroom.  I chose the backing to coordinate with a couch.  That's where I will put it this fall.  Maybe someone will want to wrap up in it.  In the meantime, it is hanging from the loft.

I learned a lot making this quilt, how to cut and piece fabrics into half square triangles, how to arrange those triangles and sew them into quilt blocks, how to get the points of the triangles to "kiss", and a little about how to improvise a quilt block.  I learned about the feel of quilting fabrics, the weight and degree of opaqueness or translucency, and the amount of fraying.  I thought I could use my color sense, honed from years of knitting and sewing apparel, to concoct a nice looking quilt.  I see now I have a lot more to learn about quilting.  In the end, what matters is that I achieved my original goal, to see if I would like to make a  quilted jacket.

The fabric would make a good jacket.  That's something I may work in this winter, a quilted jacket.  I have two other quilts to make, one underway and one I will put off until next summer.  With my experience in making  this quilt, I will know how to instruct the longarmer if I have it quilted.  I also have some experience in both machine and hand quilting in the quilt repair I undertook.  I think I will be better prepared to make a decent quilt that will coordinate with one or two of the bedrooms.  And, along the way, I may make that quilted jacket I have been craving for years.

Dimensions once washed and dried are 58" wide by 74" long.