Continuing the navy blues in Simplicity 9018

As the weather turned cooler this year, a shortage of long sleeve knit shirts in my closet became noticeable.  That meant a look at the fabrics and patterns I have accumulated.   Simplicity 9018 provided a mock turtleneck top, a look that is trending this fall.  The pattern has simple, casual separates for knit fabrics.   A recent addition to my fabric collection is 2 yards of Art Gallery Fabrics Gentle Draft Knit in Moonrise, 95% cotton, 5% spandex, 58" wide.  This came from  the Confident Stitch in Montana at a price of $37.80.    Pattern calls for 1 5/8 yards for the long sleeve top.  This version was cut on the medium size, grading to the large just above the waist.  There was about 3/4 of a yard of fabric remaining. 

The size lines are not marked on the left side of the neck piece.  Before I realized this, I cut along the line that is near the small dot for the size M.  This makes it 7/8" too short.  A narrower seam left it only 3/8" too short.  It is actually a nice fit, requiring just a little easing required to sew it to the neckline.

  

It is all sewn with a stretch stitch (lighting stitch, i.e. it looks like lightning bolts) on a tiny BP needle with less pressure--all because this fabric is very cushy and stretchy.   In the end, I resorted to the walking foot to get a smooth seam.  The regular foot stretched the fabric and made the seam ruffle.

Using a 3/8" seam allowance on the sides provided even more ease, but it was necessary to grade to a 5/8" allowance at the armholes so the sleeves fit.  

The sleeves went in well.  The hem length is per pattern.  It is hemmed with a wavy stitch, to match the print in fabric.  This stitch stretches better than plain top stitching and is inspired by quilting bloggers, who often match the stitch to the print.

Score! The 1977 Vintage Jacket Idea is Revived

On a spur-of-the-moment browse through a local sewing machine shop, I found some really good cotton for the second version of the jacket that I couldn't complete with the railroad twill. Now it will have railroad twill trim. The main fabric is a deep navy blue, with a texture a bit similar to a pique. It's 100% cotton, 56" wide. I bought the 1 1/2 yards left on the end of the bolt. Although I usually try to avoid the bolt ends because they often have wrinkles that won't come out, this cotton washed out smooth.

I have made this pattern once before, out of leftover fabric. For that first trial, there was not enough to make the pockets. Thus, the pockets for this pattern are a first time make. After a couple of mock-ups, I worked out how to attach the bias binding and reduce the bulk at the corners where the pocket will be top-stitched to the jacket. The railroad twill is heavy fabric, so top-stitching through multiple layers of twill and the textured cotton would have been difficult. I opted to hand sew the binding to the jacket at the pocket edges. I also finessed the edges of the binding by folding it over and stitching it right sides together before sewing the binding down by hand on the wrong side. I found that trimming the main fabric away from this seam at the corners reduced the bulk.

Most of the construction went smoothly according to the detailed vintage pattern instructions, which I found very helpful. The corners of the front yoke are reinforced with a bias square where it joins the front placket. The body is gathered and attached to the yokes for both the front and the back. The shoulders and side seams are sewn together. The hem is blind hemmed, but with the dark fabric, a topstitched hem was hardly visible. The collar pieces are attached to the jacket and to the facing and the jacket and facing are basted together before binding. Button loops are attached to the front and hand sewn to the facing after the binding is applied to the fronts. The pockets are constructed and sewn on. Finally, the cuff and sleeves are sewn together and sewn to the body. Prior to all this sewing however, came my only mistake, resulting in the interfacing being fused to the wrong piece. Oops.

Placket interfaced correctly in first jacket

That's right (i.e.wrong). I fused the interfacing to the facing rather than the jacket. I did it correctly the first time I followed this pattern, but not this time. The interfacing should be attached to the jacket over the placket seam. Since I did not think it would hold in place with the fusing to the seam, I fused it neatly to the facing, forgetting to check my first version. The old instructions call for a sewn in interfacing which would probably be better for this jacket. However, I wanted to use some black fusible interfacing I bought on a whim when interfacing was on sale. I didn't think I would have another project that would use this interfacing since it is very heavy, even though it is labeled feather weight. I have had fusible interfacing bubble after washing on other projects.

Facing interfaced, placket bare in second jacket

I reasoned that attaching it to the facing would hide any bubbling. Once I realized what I had done wrong, I followed through and used the interfaced collar piece as the facing. Now that it is all constructed, I can't see that it made any difference in the fit or drape of the jacket.

Finished Placket

The sleeves are also a first make, since the original version has long sleeves.  The short sleeve pieces were missing from the first pattern (a size 14) I purchased. This version uses the short sleeve pattern pieces from a size 12 pattern. There's a small difference in the fit, but not enough to warrant an adjustment. The contrast on the short sleeve is actually a lining on the inside hem. After it is sewn on, a cuff is turned up to allow the contrasting fabric to show. It would have a smoother appearance if the trim was sewn to the outside of the sleeve. The advantage to the contrast lining is that it offers choices on the depth of the cuff and even to not have a cuff.

Sleeve Cuff

There's a lot of details, hand sewing and facing in this rather casual jacket. It is probably not something I will make often, but it has a very cute vintage appeal, especially with the short sleeves, quirky pockets and toggle buttons. It was gratifying to be able to use the buttons from the Netherlands since the binding has an off-white background.

That's a final look at the vintage jacket. It's part of a complete coordinating set, with t-shirt and skirt. In navy blue, it works with a few other items I have sewn. I have one other piece of navy fabric to use. It will be up next.

The Florence Shirt by Jalie, a troublesome toile

It seemed like it would be fun to sew up a shirt in a paneled print, playing with the print, placing a stripe here, a rectangle there.  However, this wonderful slinky rayon crepe was a nightmare to cut, only somewhat manageable with a rotary cutter on a single layer.   Luckily, it was easy to sew and a dream to wear.  It does seem a bit crinkly, so it might stretch out with washing and wearing, as crinkle rayons do.  

The 6 24" panels of Dark Navy/Camel/Pearl White/Multi 100% Rayon Diamond Framework Print Challis, 56" wide, were $24, bought from Fabric Mart for McCall's 7650. That pattern lists rayon challis.  However, this is more of a rayon crepe.  It would work for that pattern, but I was discouraged from making that dress by some pattern reviews.  The dress back has no structure to support a drapey rayon fabric.  

Florence Shirt by Jalie in Rayon 

The Florence Shirt has structure in its collar, back yoke and plackets.  For further support, the pocket instructions prompted me to interface the pocket hem as well as the usual interfacing on the collar and plackets.  As additional support, bias binding was added to the pocket hem, plackets and shoulders.  There won't be any unraveling there.  The neck and sleeve edges have bands that enclose the seam allowances.  At least, the collar is intended to enclose the allowance, the sleeve bands are not.  However, it was a simple mod to turn the band seam allowance down and stitch in the ditch to secure it over the sleeve seam allowance.  The side seams were pinked and pressed open.  French seams would have been better there, but there's not enough seam allowance for that.

The 3/8" seam allowance is the start of my issues with the Jalie pattern format.  A 3/8" allowance is good for knits because it saves a bit of fabric and the trouble of trimming.  With woven fabrics, edge treatments, either French seams, Hong Kong finishes, or overcast edges, are often needed.  A 5/8" seam allowance is essential for these finishes.  Additionally, because the pattern is intended to be traced off, the paper is too thick for cutting.  The instructions are clear and helpful.  Some minor steps are omitted, such as seam finishes, pressing directions, etc.   For example, the buttonholes are not marked on the pattern piece.  A chart is provided for button placement for the dress option.  If there is one for the shirt, it is lost now.  (The buttonhole layout is my own, I explain below.)   For those who like to trace patterns to save the original, don't mind a narrow seam allowance, and never refer to instructions, the format is good.  The design is great and overcomes the pattern's shortfalls.

The construction is easy to understand.  Assembly went as directed, with only one mistake on my part--attaching the collar in reverse of the instructions.  The instructions are to sew the inner collar facing onto the shirt, then top stitch down the collar on the right side.  Instead, I sewed the right side of the collar down, then top stitched the collar, catching the facing in the top stitching.  As a result, I had to hand sew down a portion of the collar that did not get caught in the top stitching.  The instructed method would have been easier.  

3/8" buttons
(The diagonals are part of the pockets!)

In spite of a vague memory of a chart for button placement for the shirt, I could only find one for the dress.  Even though the dress button placement chart was helpful, there's fewer buttons on the shirt.  With my placement, there are fewer buttons than recommended for the shirt.  However, that is not the only buttonhole problem.  Even after realizing that the buttons are to be sewn horizontally for the collar and vertically for the band, I still forgot and sewed them all horizontally.  It seemed the correct way because the buttonholes for my Vogue top are vertical and the buttons make them gape out around the thread shank.  That could be caused by the 4-hole buttons, but also by the direction of the slide.  These are two-hole buttons.  It just seems to me that for the horizontal shank created by the two-hole button, it is better to allow the button to slide to the end of the buttonhole where it naturally wants to sit.  There is a round-ended buttonhole style in my machine that is recommended for lightweight fabrics.  These would be an option for a repeat of this pattern.  Will there be a repeat?  Look:  

On the end result, wow.  The drape, the fit, the back pleat, are all winners.  Both the plackets and the collar are smooth and a perfect fit.  Truly the only detraction is the print.  The print of the fabric is busy.  The pockets are of questionable use and my decision to bias cut them and place the largest design across the diagonal was overkill.  Nonetheless, the pockets are striking and may add more to the shirt than I realize.  They are definitely a wow.  But a wow that I need to become comfortable with.  The back is fabulous enough to compensate for the overwhelming pockets.  Not bad for a toile, especially one that used only half of the fabric.

p.s. Those are the pants from my last post.

I Dare Pants with New Look 6458

I have not worn pants for a few years now.  I just gave them up once I deemed jeans were no longer comfortable.  True, I did buy a couple of pairs of cotton cropped trousers when they first came into fashion.  They hang in my closet still because I successfully upcycled a pair of double-gauze capris into a skirt when upcycling was how I sewed.  I keep thinking I will upcycle the trousers into skirts, but pause when I remember that upcycling is more work than cutting and sewing.  After all, the garment has to be almost completely taken apart before the cutting and sewing starts.  That is an extra step.  It might be good for the planet if the end result is wearable, but wearability is more of a risk when there is no pattern to follow.  

Once I dropped upcycling, I started buying fabric and patterns, concentrating on the main gap in my wardrobe--skirts.  Since my entire wardrobe was built around blue jeans and tops, the economical approach was to add skirts.  I tried to by skirts but found it difficult.  A case in point were the 3  hours I spent at a San Francisco area outlet mall that yielded only two skirts, both gray.  I figured if I can't find skirts in any store in a big city mall, skirts are just not available.  After that, I began upcycling jeans into skirts and fell into sewing full tilt during the lockdown.  Now, I have a fairly full closet.  (Which is why there's been no sewing since June.)  However, there are no pants in it.  At least, none that I wear.  With cold weather approaching, I dared to try sewing a pair of warm, comfy pants. 

My wearable toile used 3 yards Prussian Blue Poly/Lycra brushed sweater knit.  ($3/yd., 58" wide. $9 FM)  The only pants pattern I have for knit fabric came with one of my most-used basic skirt, top and dress patterns, New Look 6458.  Since I have used this pattern repeatedly, I felt confident with a size 16.  A size 14 would be a more flattering fit, but these should be comfy, not cute.  Well, cute won't hurt, but a brushed "sweater" knit does not promise a flattering fit.  If I like these and wear them, there's other knits in my stash that can be cut to a size 14.  

Once cut, there were no markings to be transferred.  The pieces went together in less than an hour, even with the oh-so slow stretch stitch.  For the waistband and hems, there was a heavy ribbed knit fabric from JA, 1 yard Cream athleisure rib, 43", 90% nylon/10% spandex, $10.46.  The cuffs and waistband used less than 5", call it $2, for a total of $12.50 or so.  Although the ribbing is labeled machine wash gentle cold, tumble dry low, the brushed poly knit is gentle wash.  I washed them in cold water, shorter cycle and hung to dry.  There's no agitator in my top loader so it is gentle enough.  

My new stretch twin needle performed well as long as there was the stiffer ribbing under the needle in the mix somewhere to reduce the tunneling.  The hems are twin needled, but the less visible waistband was attached with a stretch zig-zag stitch.  The three layers of the seam allowances were stitched together with the same in an effort to keep them turned in the proper direction--down for the waistband, up for the hems.  

All in all, a neat and comfortable finish.  Matching the ribbing color to the main fabric would dress it up a bit, but this one is fine for these casual pants.  

Here is a flat lay for now, there will be another photo of these pants when the coordinating shirt is done.

McCalls 8053 as a summer tunic

My inspiration:

These are the pattern photos for the Tosca tunic by Tessuti.

My fabric:

Crinkle Gauze, rayon/cotton, sheer, yarn dyed woven plaid large checks in black on white. 44" 4 yards, $7.99 reg, $2/yard on sale, $8 total. 

My pattern:

McCall's 8053, a simple straight dress with short sleeves.  It has darts, which the Tosca does not have. The sleeve piece from my recent vintage jacket pattern was used to lengthen the pattern's sleeves.

This pattern has a neck facing or a neck binding.  Since my fabric is the type that rolls and stretches and loses its shape way too easily, the facing offered a simpler means of finishing the neck. In a fabric with more body, the binding would be a better imitation of the Tosca. This fabric needed shoulder stabilization with an extra bit of woven fabric sewn into the french seams. The floppy fabric is also the reason there are no pockets. It just isn't worth it because they couldn't hold anything without sagging. This fabric, I am told, will s t r e t c h. (See this post by another sewing blogger.)

In my experience, it really wasn't that difficult to sew, even with french seams to control the fraying. In fact, in most cases, it was so malleable that setting in the sleeves and matching the plaid across seams was easier than with a straight woven fabric. It is definitely a very forgiving fabric! The sleeve length was just a wild guess in this case, cut along the "lengthen or shorten here" double line in the jacket sleeve. However, it is long enough to have a deep hem that can be cuffed up.

Or not.

In spite of the differences, I am really pleased with this dress. I can see that the fabric is not as fine as the crinkle linen that was used for the Tessuti sample, but since this rayon/cotton is more opaque, I prefer it as a more practical, age-appropriate garment. True, it isn't as long as the Tosca, but that was my decision. I opted for a more conventional length, to be worn without an underskirt.

Still, I couldn't resist trying, with the aid of photo editing tricks, to imitate the modeled sample.

I don't mind making myself look older and grayer, but I couldn't find an editing tool for the glasses and the short hair cut.😂

Combining New Look 6511 and McCalls 8197

Detour: While waiting for the white, summery fabrics to get washed and dried, this make combines the sleeves and skirt from McCalls 8197 with the bodice from New Look 6511, and adds pockets, to make a full coverage dress from a sedate sateen. Hopefully, cooler weather is not too far off. 🥺

The McCalls pattern is cute, but it requires an invisible zipper in the back. Something with a single button in the back is easier to put on. Using the simpler bodice also avoids the zipper, the bodice lining, and the low-cut neck. It also lowers the empire waist and thereby lengthens the dress. The fabric came from Fabric Mart, 3 1/2 yards of cute brown/black print Sateen; cost: $15.75; 58" wide; 20 oz. It is like a lawn, so quite light.

The armhole of the size 16 in the McCalls (the smallest size in the pattern block I have) is similar enough to the armhole of the size 14 in the New Look. The sleeves fit well enough. Both patterns specify sateen, thus this soft and light fabric worked just fine. Per the instructions for the McCalls, the neck is bias bound. That too worked well because the sateen is heavy enough to not need a lining. The pocket piece is from McCalls 8192, a pattern that has fitting issues with the princess seams. The bodice of the New Look pattern is a much better fit, especially since its armhole darts really work well for me. The skirt is the longest option in the McCalls pattern, combined with the ruffle for the shortest version. Even with all this extra coverage, there is still over 1/2 yard of this sateen left.

I really like it. I should look for more sateen.

Using Vogue 9258 to make a white summer top

A simple black skirt meets a fancy white and black top. Will they be compatible? Read this to find out! Vogue 9258 is the subject of a few reviews that indicate it runs small. For that reason, my first version was quickly sewn up in a Feathery Leaf Sketch Printed Linen, 2 yards, 42" wide, $21.   This fabric was listed as a misprint and was offered at a discount by Fabrics and Fabrics. My assumption was that there was an error in the appearance of the print, one that I could perhaps cut around. Instead, it is too much ink throughout the printed motif. There was so much dye or ink applied in this print that the black areas are stiff. After washing, the white softened a bit but the black remained stiff. Since the pattern sketch of this Vogue top appears to show it standing away from the body, i.e. not draping, this linen seemed a logical choice for a wearable toile. There was one benefit from the excess ink in that it secured the cut edges, making it possible to get by with simply pinking the edges instead of a more time-consuming finish. (I had tried open flat fell, and had considered overcast or bias-bound finishing before realizing that the edges just weren't raveling.) With that, it sewed together quite quickly.

The size 16, the largest size in this bundled size, looks ok, but a size 14 will definitely work for the next version. The only modification I made was to move the dart point down by 1". This make used purchased single fold bias binding and 4 buttons from my button box, that is it.I like it well enough. I might make it again, but I would rather try the version without buttons. That one has a keyhole opening in the back, with a single button.