The Fall Capsule Collection (Plus The Summer Series): New Things, Made on an Aptly-Named Weekend

OMG, people. My currrent job is nothing if not hopping. I am not complaining. I spend all days working with people to solve problems. I talk on the phone constantly - just like in a movie montage but with less attractiveness and more accountability. Happily, we generally solve the problems. But at the end of the day I wither like a flower that needs water. And, by water, I mean a Cab Sauv. And TV. And the floor (for yoga). (In truth, sometimes, these days I get home and keep working.)

Currently, I'm about 10 posts behind in telling you the absurd number things that are exciting me lately:

• How I've solved the plain beige bra conundrum. You have to read it to believe it.

• How I don't like Fantasie Vivienne or Elodie

• How I've come up with my next "knitting collection"

• How I'm going to get around having made a bunch of T shirts with fabric having the wrong weight and drape (Loss leader: It involves buying fabric)

• How there's this pattern I found (sewing) that I'm really tempted to buy! (Spoiler Alert: It's expensive)

• How I returned my latest purchases on the basis that I can't justify the cost ($325.00) given that I have so many clothes, I can't even wear them all. Not to mention that I could so make both of those items in a weekend - though that sweater fabric is delicious and one of a kind. OK, really that's all there is to that story. No need to turn it into a drama.

• How Gillian made me a fab colour palette that will, no doubt, turn into the backbone of my next sewing collection

• How I'm really psyched about the new season of lingerie - There are pictures!

And then there's the fact that I still haven't updated you on the outcome of my crafting weekend. Let's properly cross this one off the list.

To clarify - I sewed 5 garments and finished a triangle shawl. In case you're wondering, that amounts to LONG WEEKEND INSANITY.

I showed the new shawl blocking in my last post, though it now looks exactly like this (the version I made for my mother in the spring):

The sewn garments are, frankly boring to photo. I made 2 pairs of black yoga pants that are indistinguishable (though one pair is more poorly constructed than the other) and 3 tops.

Here's the scoop on the tops (and let me assure you, the Tshirt sewing is NOT over):

I have no idea what made me think that I could use a) exceedingly firm ponte (without enough of it to cut even my regular size, much less a slightly bigger size to account for additional ease) and b) exceedingly flimsy Tencel (which I've officially decided was crap fabric - this shit has disintegrated everytime I've sewn with it?!)

I ended up with a really nice, orange shell to fit a child (or a very narrow, slender grown up). And a blue exercise shell that was almost too drapey to hold itself up under my arms, especially in light of the fact that I didn't make the armhole binding strips small enough to accommodate the world's stretchiest textile. And a blue Tshirt that fits like something your mother would wear.

Lessons Learned:

• Using up scraps of fabric, just to use them up, yields dubious results.
• Drapey, thin fabrics make crappy t shirts - whether you sew them or buy them.
• If you don't have enough fabric, and you don't sew for children, just put that scrap in a bag and say goodbye.

BUT, to address my armhole raising experiment: It worked. It would have been perfect if that blue fabric had had any structure or if I'd made the armhole binding about an inch tighter. I will make another of these shells, but likely only when I have that amount of extra fabric - of the correct properties - lying around.

Mind you, I'm just getting started with the T shirts...

So, I've got all the yoga pants I'll need for 2 yrs, a couple of sleeping and yoga tops, a new shawl - and a plan. Not bad for a long weekend, don't you agree?

The Fall Capsule Collection: Factory-Style

Sometimes I'm oddly optimistic. For example, I somehow thought I'd have enough of all of my chosen fabric remnants to make garments willy-nilly. Um, here's a mathy little fact:

•  I make knits to fit about 34 inches across (accounting for negative ease). The armsyce requires a few extra inches of witdth, let's call it 36 inches all in, aka a yard of width required.
• Most knits are cut on the fold for a seam free front and back. In light of this, I need 18 inches of width (and 22 inches of length, FWIW) to get a shirt front or back. 
• If I use a 60 inch-width of fabric, that means I've got quite a bit of excess remaining, but not enough to cut another front or back. That would take 12 more inches and fabrics come in standard lengths. 72 inches is one I've rarely seen.

The upshot is that I generally end up with almost enough to make 2 t-shirts with a yard of 60"-wide fabric. But not.

This means I'm kind of fucked for V8323 with most of the fabric ends I have. It needs 2 yards of 60"-wide fabric (I double checked). Hmmm. In fact, I've got barely enough of most of my knits to make a T shirt or exercise shell.

Enter (potentially misguided) resourcefulness:

This represents 2 pairs of yoga pants, 2 KS3115 shells and a T shirt, made from my sloper...

 What you should know is this:

• Only the yoga pants and one of the T shirts is actually "cut according to the directions".

• The orange exercise shell is an XS (approx) in the back because that's all the fabric I had. Given that it's a firm ponte, it's quite possible that it will be too small.

• The light blue exercise shell has a deep slice (width wise, of course) at the waist along the side seam. I'm going to use fusible interfacing to adjoin it, and I also tried to cut it out to the best of my ability, but this is also fucking with size.

• On the blue shell, I also cut the binding in half width pieces, which will need to be joined before I attach them to the armholes and neckline. This is cuz there wasn't a piece of that fabric vaguely wide enough by the time I cut the second bodice shell. I even had to shorten the armhole binding (shorter than the new shortened length I determined when I made the last shell). I hope it will be long enough in light of the fact that this fabric is VERY stretchy.

So, there you go. I've got an altered list of items here - you may note that I'm making more yoga pants than originally intended and I've added a whole extra garment (the exercise shell). So, things are on a slight detour but it's all for the greater good, I suspect.

Today's questions: How much fabric do you need to make a T shirt? Do you find the whole fabric thing terribly wasteful, no matter how hard you try? Whatcha think of all of this? Do tell!

The Fall Capsule Collection: More About KS3115 V Neck Top

So, it appears that I do have a knit top sloper (though I suggested to Susan, in comments, that I do not). See, while I haven't really given much thought to my, hard won, T shirt sloper for like, over a year, technically, it does give me key info about the armsyce curve I require on a dart-free, knit top.

And really, what's KS3115, the V neck, if not a dartfree, knit top?

What I discovered is fascinating!

Y'all know - and pls. read this for more context - that I reverted from a weird small-med mash-up, back to a small for my next version of the KS, V-neck exercise top. When I was trying to figure out whether I'd have enough fabric to make shells and t shirts from my fabric remnants (post on this will follow), I ended up comparing the T shirt sloper to the size small, V neck top pattern and I realized a couple of key deets:

• Both tops are effectively the same in width and in length - eerily so. They also have almost identical shoulder seams.

• The only visible difference (aside from neckline, which is alterable depending on the version of a T shirt one chooses to make) is in the shape and depth of the armsyce. 

Man, those two armsyces are on different planets! No wonder KS3115 doesn't fit. Even with my reversion to the size small, the armholes are SO low and wide!

So, here's my fix (as yet untested in the exercise shell - though it does work for the, made-in-the-past, T shirt pattern):

Much as one must often alter a crotch curve (see here) one must also consider the best shape and depth of armhole. I've added about 2 inches of height to the side seam at the underarm and I've narrowed the side seams by about 1/2 inch. Having said this, and you can sort of see it in the first photo, when I reverted to the KS3115 size small, I actually left about 1/3 inch extra seam allowance on the front and back side seams as I wasn't convinced that it wouldn't be too small. (You can see it on the original pattern back piece but, the front piece is a tracing of the original so those seam lines aren't there.)

It seems that I'm slightly larger than a Kwik Sew small, but nowhere near as wide as the Kwik Sew medium - which is quite a bit wider than the small, truth be told. I love that my T shirt sloper corroborated this exactly in its dimensions. How fun is that?

So, I've cut out lots of patterns - T shirts and KS 3115 exercise tops (see tomorrow's post for more deets). It remains to be seen if they fit though, if my t shirt sloper is anything to go by - and I did spend lots of time on it a while ago - then this armhole should give me the look I want without mega-gaping at the front.

Thoughts or feelings??

The Fall Capsule Collection: A Bit About My Pants Sloper

A couple of years ago I made a pants sloper. I learned, during that process - which, while painful, was in NO way even half as challenging as making a standard woven top (for me, given my body type) - that I don't need to shorten the legs of pants (my legs are proportionately long) but the rise of pants.

You see, my lower torso is very short and, between my navel and base of my crotch, I am a couple of inches shorter than the length of your average commercial pattern. So, these days, when I cut out a new pants pattern, I always compare the crotch length to that of my sloper. Inevitably I remove the same 2 inches at the lengthen-shorten line. Not a prob.

My crotch curve is also not standard - odds are that yours isn't either. I need to add a bit of fabric onto the front and back crotch seams to give a small amount of extra room given that a) I need to accommodate the bump of my lower abdomen and b) I have a relatively round derriere. Having said this, my legs and hips are proportionately slender.

Given all this, I usually cut a size to suit my legs and hips and then I add a bit of fabric to the crotch curve while shortening the crotch length substantially. Depending on whether my fabric has some stretch to it, I may also add an inch to the waistband measurement. I do this on a case-by-case basis.

For Kwik Sew 3115 (yoga pants), for which I cut a medium, I made my usual alterations to the crotch curve and length. Interestingly, I didn't need to shorten the pants legs even 1 cm. Thing is, during the version that I made last weekend, I shortened things about half an inch too much, so the crotch of the pants is going up my butt slightly, and there's also some camel-toe action happening. It's not extreme, but for my next go-round, I've added back 0.5 inch of length to the crotch and shortened the hem by the same half an inch.

Even with a firm knit, these pants are not tight in my upper leg or hip, in the way some yoga pants are deliberately designed to fit. They skim. But since I'm sleeping in them - as well as doing everything else chez moi - I don't feel the urge to narrow the hip or leg.

Point is, I've opted for a medium, rather than a small, to better suit my waist measurement and to give me a flow-y fit.

One other thing I've done - to accommodate that lower ab bump (I will disclose that my whole abdominal area has been a ball of mushness for the last while - I sense it's hormonal and I am working to strengthen my core) is to cut a slightly longer piece of elastic (1 inch longer than the pattern calls for) and - this is key - I use 2"-wide elastic, not the 3/8" width that the Kwik Sew pattern calls for.

Why? Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's a bit weird and wussy to have a skinny piece of elastic sewn into the top of a 2.25 inch wide waistband. It also does nothing to support one's waist and below. The thicker elastic gives a nice, smooth waistline.

But...

It's harder to insert, for sure.

What I do (and keep in mind that all elastic has different stretch properties which depend partly on width and partly on the material used to produce the elastic) is to sew a zig zag stitch (as the pattern instructs) not through the middle of the elastic but on the top and on the bottom of the elastic width. The trick is to affix the initial row of zig zag without rippling the fabric or accidentally catching it in a bump. It's trickier than it seems. Sewing the second layer of stitching is much easier, as you already have a fixed point. But you still have to be careful not to catch the fabric.

At any rate, this is how I've adjusted my yoga pants, for my unique shape. How do you alter stretch pants to do the same? Do you use a wider elastic to support the waist? Are you still working on that elusive sloper? What's the hardest part of getting pants to fit for you? Let's talk.

Updated: KS 3115 Exercise Top (See Yesterday's Post)

This is one of the many reasons that I love you blogger friends: You read my insanely long posts about reasonably trivial sewing projects and provide feedback.

I revisited the top pattern today, all set to do what I suggested in my last post. FYI, doesn't matter how short one's dart is, closing a 2.5 inch wide dart, of various lengths, yields a 6 inch span at the hem. Ridiculous. Plus, it makes the armsyce look weird and truncated - like a right angle sort of -  which, when I trued for correction yields - guess what? - the same armscye curve as the modified one used the first time. My proposed fix seems destined to fail. I can see it, even if I can't articulate my reasoning well.

Three of you suggested that I probably need to go down a size. That seems crazy to me, but it's sometimes the way. I just redrew the size small armscye (recreating it with a french curve cuz, natch, I cut into the actual pattern first time around, stupid girl) as it appears that what I need is a higher armhole - not a longer one. (My own armscye is pretty high, and that's probably why I can wear all of those high-winged bras without issue, despite my shortness and short-waistedness.)

It occurs to me today that I graded from a small shoulder to a medium bust in the weirdest way. I didn't draw the armhole in size small and move to a medium side seam. I cut a small at the shoulder and graded to a medium along the front armscye curve. Effectively I lowered the armhole while neglecting to remove fabric as assertively as I should have, where I should have.

There you go. Can't say that my new size small - which if I recreated it correctly is exactly the same as the unmodified original - will solve the problem of 2 plus inches of extra fabric. But I did take off a reasonable amount of side seam at the underarm (like, 2 inches per side over front and back pieces) and raised the curve by about 1/2 an inch. Furthermore, I reverted the front and back armholes to a true size small, rather than something half way between a small and medium.

Hilarious, that I've managed to turn a simple shell into a complicated thing. But not surprising.

In Which I Liken Making A Top to Extreme Skiing

I was going to tell you about the yoga pants I made over the weekend but then last night I went off-road...

Note: For those of you who have any interest in KS3115 yoga pants: Don't worry, you'll have lots of opportunity, very soon, to hear all about them - how I slightly modified the pattern (yet again), how they turned out (well, but they'll be better next go around, on the weekend, one hopes, since I've made more changes still). Fear not.

Anyway, my version of off-road is not exactly extreme skiing (a propos of which: watch this doc. It's fascinating and I could give a shit about extreme skiing). My version involves looking at a pattern envelope next to an extra half-yard of fabric and thinking: hmmmm, I could totally make that exercise top to match those yoga pants which would totally spice up my fall capsule collection. And by that exercise top, I mean the one in View B, with the v-neck:

So out came the scissors.

Remember, my goal is fun and not complicated and I suppose, for the most part I succeeded. I mean, I made a top on a Monday night. Note: That's largely because my headache took a vacation and my kid banished me from the room with the TV as she had a friend over. (On that topic, my child feels that I am a terrible embarrassment and will not bring friends to the house. So, the fact that she had a sleep-over here for a change, even if it means I had to put 20 dollars on the table for pizza and stay off the main floor, seems like a step in the right direction. Yes, I have become this bedraggled shell of a parent.) But back to the story...

I opted to cut the shoulders in a small, grading to a medium at the underarm. I never do this kind of alteration but everyone else does, and it seems to work for them. On the plus side, the shoulders fit perfectly.

Other pluses include:

• The top is totally wearable for exercise, or for real life (when made in work-appropriate fabric). 
• The instructions are excellent, as are those for the pants. 
• You can actually make a top on a Monday night, even if you don't sew quickly.

Weirdly, when I made this top - and thank goodness I did things like pin together the side seams to check the fit before serging - there was a huge excess of fabric from the front armscye leading towards the bust apex. Like, enough that I had to take out a dart, on each side, that was 2.5 inches wide.

Did I mention that, when you create darts of that width (it wasn't a long dart, happily, or I can imagine what kind of a disaster that might have been) ON THE FLY, some pretty scary things can occur. Like one dart can end slightly higher than the other. Or, both darts can be, say, an inch too high. Then there's the fact that, unless you want to cut the darts - which is something I avoid unless there's a lining to protect the cut fabric from the wrong side - you have to deal with a freakin' 2.5 inch armscye dart - the armscye you will shortly thereafter have to bias bind around. But wait - there's more: How many stretchy exercise shells have you seen with armscye darts, pointing to the boob??

Let's leave all that for a moment. Let's wonder how it is that I managed, while making a size medium (the bust measurement for which is 38 inches sewn, mine is 37.5 inches), to have 2.5 inches of extra fabric to remove from the side of the armhole. Does it have something to do with the fact that I graded from a smaller to a larger size? I really don't think so. Does it have something to do with the fact that I should have made the small? I mean, with negative ease, that theory is a possibility. But I assume the finished sizing accounts for that.  I should say, this extra armscye fabric thing does happen to me when I make woven garments, but never with stretchy knits that aren't particularly tight anywhere. This top fits, not loosely, but certainly not super closely.

I do love the fact that I made a top that fits (albeit with weird bust darts) and that I averted near disaster, as said disaster emerged, with nary a moment of fear. I kept my wits and actually drew the dart onto the paper pattern (to the best of my ability given that I was working with a half-constructed garment). See, even at that point, I knew I'd want to try to make this top again, on the weekend, when I make the next pair of yoga pants. (Oooh, more coordinated outfits!)

Then I realized that I can't rotate a dart at the best of times - this theory defies the laws of physics, people! - so, this morning, I called S, my fitting friend (whom I haven't spoken of recently, but with whom I have many meaningful sewing and other conversations).

In five seconds, she was able to explain that, to remove the dart from the armscye area, aka correct the fit by rotating the dart, I need to:

a) draw a vertical line from the hem to the bust apex, then
b) close the armscye dart, then
c) cut the vertical line from hem to the bust, to re-flatten the pattern, and create a dart there (to the extent that it's necessary. I sense it might not require a lot of spread from the hem as my armscye dart is quite short in as much as it's wide...)
d) In as much as I will not close the new, vertical dart (cuz darts on exercise wear are weird), I will have to remove any excess fabric, which will have collected at the bodice front as a result of not closing that the vertical dart, from the side seams.

FWIW, I'll also have to cut about an inch of length from the armhole binding next time, because I cut the binding in size medium and my armscye is actually a morph of small and medium. The extra binding length, plus the dart, has made that section of the bodice a bit less firm and fitted than I'd like.

This actually seems straight-forward from where I sit now. In front of my computer with a snack. Can't wait to see what the weekend brings!

Today's questions: Have you made this top and, if yes, what do you think? Have you encountered the extra armscye fabric dilemma when working with knits? How did you fix it? To what do you attribute it? Let's talk!

Autumn Crafting: What's Next?

Remember sewing and knitting, those things I used to do? I don't want you to think I've forgotten them. As it happens, my machine has been in the shop since the beginning of last week. I ended up sending it far away (to the other end of the city) by special courier, to the place where I bought my cover stitch machine earlier this summer. The store has a good reputation and an on-site mechanic. FYI, I don't know what the final bill will be, but the shipping (all in), will have cost me 60 bucks. That's going to save me upwards of 3 hours in transport time (2 trips, and back, to the other end of the city). Money well-spent, I say. IMO, it shouldn't take a week and a half for a tune-up. Alas, a  once-yearly, travelling amusement park - the CNE - is in town for the last 2 weeks of August and the shop owner runs an exhibit booth at the craft show. Quite a going concern, apparently. My call coincided exactly with the annual occasion that the sewing shop runs on skeleton staff. Figures.

In truth, I've been happy enough to stay the hell away from the sewga room, though last night my thoughts did start to wonder about what to do next.

I've decided my next thing has to be a) fun b) not complicated and c) practical. It's probably best to follow some kind of capsule formula, like the Five in Five. Not that I really need five of anything for the autumn. Autumn's a time I've got SO covered.

Some ideas I briefly considered:

• Jeans - either Jalie or Vogue ones, which I somehow bought the pattern for (and then I realized that I have so many pairs of RTW jeans that I enjoy so much. Why make them just to make them?... Oh, and you may remember this.)

• An elegant work dress (V1252):

(and then I realized that this pattern has but 5 reviews - from only advanced sewists - and they all say variations on: This dress is really hard and you should stay the hell away from it. Advice taken.)

• A pair of pants (and then I realized that I don't think I like pants right now, only jeans).

Then, in a (presumably) useful turn, while looking through my pattern archive binder, I found a tiny little bug larva stuck to one of the pages which FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT whereupon I scoured my entire sewing stash (and yarn stash and book stash) to ensure there was nothing eating my textiles. That took an hour. Did I mention I had a vile headache throughout this process - which was not brought on by fear of moths. Amazingly, and to my huge gratitude, it appears to have been the only one of these evil things. Nonetheless, I shook out everything and sprayed it all down with cedar water. And my guard is highly elevated.

This did give me a very useful opportunity to review what things I've got at my disposal.

On top of the zillions of (stupid) lingerie supplies I've amassed, I've got a variety of shirt-weight, drapey wovens aka georgette and silk charmeuse. You'll be pleased to know I could make 20 t-shirts with all the knits I've got stashed. Not that it's in the cards. Furthermore, I've got enough heavy ponte to make at least 2 pairs of yoga pants (aka the things I wear the minute I get into my house and don't take off until I leave). I've been loath to buy more yoga pants because a) they cost a lot and b) the rise is always wrong and the length is ridiculous. Mind you, the idea of making black yoga pants seems so drab. I mean practical.

On more careful consideration I'm leaning towards the following capsule collection - though I don't know if I have it in me to give this a fancy name. Fancy names make things so serious:

• Kwik Sew 3115 yoga pants x2 - yeah, in black (cuz that's what I've got).

• My bespoke T shirt pattern using one of my numerous shirt-weight knits - like the end of that great Modal I used to make the Coppelia wrap. While I'm at it, I might as well make two of these... (Note: the tops and yoga pants are terrific opportunities to get to know my cover stitch machine better.)

• Another go-round of culottes - made in denim, perhaps. I mean, it's the only bottom-weight fabric I have lying around at the moment, so it's that or go buy stuff:

• And, finally, I'd like to revisit this terrific top, V8323, of which I've made the green style (and to which I've added 3/4 sleeves). I've worn my current version many times but it really doesn't fit me in the shoulders as well as I'd like (just a bit too wide):

It would be really nice to make this in a fabric having soft properties (the wool jersey I used to make the first one is a bit stiff).

So, you can see, with this capsule "collection" I'm not reinventing the wheel. I'm in a phase where comfort and mobility are rather important to me. Chic comfort, natch. I'd like a couple of slim t shirts (in slightly dressy weight), some yoga pants (because truly my other pairs are dead), some culottes - cuz I didn't really nail those last time but I think I might do better on a second try - and a dress-up/dress-down princess-seamed top.

And lest you think I've forgotten about the triangle shawl or the knit jacket, they're on the agenda too. The triangle's almost done and I need a good weekend with the jacket, to sort out some fit issues in the shoulders and to seam/insert buttonholes/attach petersham binding.

Each of these projects will happen as it happens. I can't give time frames cuz my head-happiness must dictate the schedule. 

Today's questions: So what do you think of all of this? Do you have any of these garments on your sewing agenda for the fall? Any advice? Thoughts or feelings? Let's talk!

PS: Just realized that this may well be the second round of garments I'll make (not including the latest lingerie attempt) using stash fabric. That means I'll have made 12 garments out of stash fabric (and still have a reasonable amount left to spare). And my stash fits into one cupboard. Amazing how these yards add up.

The Sewing Continues Apace...

Somehow, though it's hard to say why - see, I've really have been trying to stay low key - I've been oddly productive on the sewing front.

I'm two (or three) garments down on the six I've committed to making for the Spring Basics Palette, now that I've completed the Kwik Sew yoga pants and another version of the Jalie top. The second top isn't technically in the plan, but I had my reasons.

Yesterday I spent an hour altering the yoga pants to match my TNT crotch depth and length and I'm shocked to tell you that it took a mere 15 minutes to cut the 3 pieces and then 2 hours to put the garment together. It's a really clear design. If you've ever sewn with knits before, or sewn pants before - and you know your way around a zig zag stitch and some elastic - it's quick. With a serger, it's delightful. Of course, getting to this stage takes some time. But once you're there, it's lovely.

I regret to say that photos make this (somewhat pedestrian, let's face it) garment look utterly shapeless. It's not. In fact, it fits well. Much better than my previous versions wherein I had not yet taken an 2 inches out of the back crotch length (I took the same 2 inches out of the front piece at the lengthen/shorten line to even the hems) and altered both front and back for crotch depth:

Oooh, pretty "faux coverstitch", accomplished with a twin needle.

These cost $12.00 to make. Not bad, given that ones you find in the store often cost 4 times that amount and, often, they don't fit well.

I'm thrilled to tell you that my serger completely cooperated on the pants project and on the second Jalie top:

This is one of the ways, other than a bow, in which you can wear the ties. They're threaded through an inch wide hole that begins an inch below the apex of the V. I've top stitched the seam allowances above the hole (to the apex) to keep that area clean and stable. The pattern doesn't actually instruct this, but I think it's wise the long run. However, it does mean that you can see the stitches.

I know that this looks weird at the front arm hole. Again, my dress form is wider than me and sometimes garments pull on it, though they do not pull on me. This is one of those instances.

You're right in wondering: Wait, a second. Didn't she say that the pants were gonna be grey? And that a second Jalie isn't a part of the Spring Basics palette.

Here's the thing. I realized a few days ago that I didn't have enough of the grey cotton jersey to make the yoga pants. I had 1 yard, 60" wide. It looked like enough when I turned it against the direction of greatest stretch, but when I realized what I was working with, it just wasn't going to fly.

At the same time, I found the remainder of the orange knit I used to make this wrap dress.

(On a total tangent: I did what someone recommended (can't remember who, right now!) and just cut the facings off that dress, right close to the top stitch line that I added in an effort to keep everything lying flat. You may remember that the facings kept flipping up. Nothing worked but cutting them off - and now the dress fits fantastically, even if it does look horrendous on the inside. I will likely not make it again, too much effort, but if I were to, I would totally finish the edges with self bias tape.)

Back to the Jalie: I had just enough of the orange knit to make the sleeveless version of the Scarf Collar Top. But I did have to shorten the tie by about 3 inches on each side. That's why the pull through version works better than a bow, though a compact bow is achievable.

This knit is more stable than the floral I used for the last version. I actually prefer the heavy drape of the floral bamboo jersey. This orange jersey is rayon, I think. It's got nice drape too, but it's not quite the same. So my vote is to use very drapey fabric. Almost as drapey as it gets.

I will use the grey jersey to make the T shirt for which I was intending to use the aubergine rayon knit. One must be flexible.

Note that I finished the sleeves before serging the sides together. And I finished the hem before serging the final side seam. I much prefer to finish flat garments, when possible.

Alas, I had just enough orange thread to do the top stitching - that was even using a different colour thread in the bobbin! - and my hem top stitching is woefully terrible. I had the machine tension set too high. Oh well, there's no fixing it now. So I'm just going to ignore that aspect of things and enjoy the rest of the work.