Vacation, Part 3

OK, today is when I cap the lid on Spendapalooza 2016. I went out today for fabric and came back with yarn (and fabric) and I didn't go to the cheap places.

What I discovered, to my shock, as I walked past Americo is that its closing its only bricks and mortar shop after 10 years. Apparently, new owners bought the building and raised the rent to twice the current amount. Happily, the owner is content to explore new distribution models - and the popular online shop will remain open. But I will miss this lovely retail space, an oasis in the ugly. So how could I say no to 4 skeins of Briza for the price of 3 - especially given that this store does not do sales? (Note: Sale is in-store only.) I have it on good authority that there will still be a place to purchase this brand, in store, once Americo shutters on August 6.  Stay tuned for more details. And no, I did not buy this (or my Charlevoix haul) with any firm plans. I realize that's not in keeping with my new knitting/stash mindset but, whatevs. It's my vacation and yarn is like sheep you can knit with.

Americo Original Briza in Bark

This neutral colourway is called Bark and it's a natural grey meets brown. The construction of the alpaca/bamboo blend is chainette, a yarn ply I've tended to avoid in the past - but which I'm now embracing for its ability to interject airiness into an otherwise dense fabric. It can be knit on size US 5 needles to produce a light-weight garment OR on a US 2.5 for a heavier end result.

After this stop, I continued 3 seconds down the block to my original destination: Chu-Shing where I bought 3 yards of this bamboo jersey (70 wide):

It looks grey in the photo above (doesn't everything I buy?) but it's actually pretty damned bright periwinkle, in a way I hope is not too twee. Here's the thing, I'd like to embrace a new colour - and a bright one - but I'm not quite in a "look at me" peacock blue mood. This fabric may meet my needs, or not. I guess only time will tell.

My goal over the next few days is to make the second of my sleeveless Concord T hacks (using a cerise jersey stash remain). It's cut and ready to go. Then I need to tape, alter and cut the Cashmerette Appleton dress. You'll recall that the reason I went to extensive mods on the fab Concord was to save myself from some unknowns when first making this wrap dress. I hope this pays off!

I think I'm going to cut a sleeveless Appleton, given the time of year and the fact that I can always put on a little sweater if it gets chilly inside. This fabric is very pricey at 28 bucks a yard - I'm sure last time I went in there it was 24. (Admittedly, this time they gave me 3 meters for that price because I mentioned my discontent about being short on fabric when last I purchased.) Point is, I don't want to use up tons of fabric on my first go round (even if the pre-modified Concord provides a protective factor). If I can get 2 dresses out of this yardage - or a dress and a top - that would be preferable.

Then, though this was not on the agenda, when I saw it, I had to buy 1.25 yards of stretch linen! Remember when I wondered about whether this exists for home-sewists? Apparently, it does! The yardage below is actually black but it's overexposed to better show the drape and weave.

And just to be boring capitalize on prior alteration success, I'm going to make yet another sleeveless Concord T with it to see if I can get with sewing stretch linen. In truth, linen and I are not natural friends, but how can I learn about new fabrics if I don't give them a try? What if this produces a gorgeous end result? I'm a bit bored by the same-y Tencel, Modal and Bamboo options I've got at my access. Alas, the linen isn't cheap either (25.00/yard) but, if by some chance I love it, I could go crazy and make a Kielo maxi with some more of it, next.

I've Instagrammed the crap out of this day, including pics of a great lunch and a better shot of the Briza, so hop on over if you want the play-by-play.

Curious to know if any of you has made the Appleton without sleeves? Have you knit with Briza? Are you glad I'm the one spending all the money here while you get to live vicariously? One thing's for certain, the yarn stash is closed. I've now replenished all the space in my yarn box and, till the new is used, there will be much dreaming about what to make with what I already own.

2015 Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Jenna Cardi

So I went back to the fabric shop. Need I say more? It was a trip of necessity. I had to buy more of the electric blue bamboo jersey... Though Gillian suggested a genius fix, I sense that I'll need more to recut the Self-Drafted Kimono Sleeve Dress skirt, which is currently too small in the lower abdomen. I'm concerned that I just drafted the skirt too straight (and too small) for too much of the length of the side seams, to use a work around (though I'll try). With an additional 0.75 yard,  I'll have options as I tinker.

I also had to buy another yard of the teal fabric (it's a rayon sweater knit, btw) that I used to make the Jenna Cardi (modified waist-length, version A with 3/4 sleeves):

This doesn't look like much lying on the ground but it's actually quite a sweet basic.

Check out those cute vintage buttons I bought when I was on that crazy button kick:

I know there looks to be some drag between the buttons on the buttonhole band, but it's an illusion. When worn, this is not the case... I opted NOT to topstitch the waistband for a variety of boring reasons. I may yet choose to go back and do so.

In retrospect, my vintage button obsession was kind of hilarious given that I NEVER sew anything that requires buttons because that would mean, by proxy, it would require buttonholes. I had a terrible time making buttonholes using my former (entry-level Brother) electronic machine. But accomplishing them with my Husqvarna 190 is veritably a pleasure. My mechanical machine produces a lovely outcome in 4 simple steps and all I have to do is change a presser foot (at the beginning) and a couple of settings (by lever). I was freaked out about making the button band (though I refused to let it cow me) and I'm really glad I found my nerve. Do you know how much faster you can sew a cardigan vs knitting one?!

But why did I buy more of the teal, now that I'm done with this sweater? Well, I was half way through when I went to the fabric shop, and I was worried that it was going to be too snug - in which case I intended to try again with the same fabric. As it happens, though I did alter the pattern very slightly, following the completion of this version, it actualy fits pretty well - especially given that the rayon is pretty stable and I haven't been able to rely on fabric stretch.

The reason that it fits is because I made a bunch of changes to the paper pattern before I cut the fabric out:

• Altered the sleeve to follow my T shirt sloper sleeve (spans multiple sizes)
• Altered the armscyes to follow my T shirt sloper front and back armscye (spans multiple sizes)
• Made the size 34 in shoulders widening to a 36 in side bust (at side seam) and waist
• Lengthened the waist length version by 2 inches on the front body of the bodice. This, along with a bit of extra fabric at the side seam (sea above), provides my best version of an FBA.
• Lengthened the centre back by 0.5 inches lengthening to 2 inches at the side seams (my short back waist / large boobs fix that mirrors a swayback adjustment (I think).
• Lengthened the button bands to reflect additional length in the bodice.
• Added a 7th button (to reflect the extra length I require to make this thing waist-length on the front body).

See, the path to a pretty good first muslin is an hour of making changes to the paper pattern, based on tried-and-true alterations. My post-muslin changes were to add another inch, to the bust, at the side seams (0.5" each side), and another half inch of length at the bodice - effectively making this a bit roomier under the arms (cuz I may want to wear a shirt underneath it). It'll also be a bit longer which I sense will work better with stable fabrics having only horizontal stretch (such as this teal rayon).

But wait, I did buy 2 other fabrics:

• A really nice rayon/poly ponte in very dark indigo - like almost black. I got 1 yard of this because, one of the great things about my modified Jenna is that it only takes a yard of 60 inch wide fabric. I want to try it again in a different material. The ponte I bought has really great recovery but it feels soft and it doesn't seem synthetic. Nor is it shiny. This stuff was 20 bucks a yard. I might have gone for the cotton/rayon ponte, a bit heftier, but that was $45 a yard. A little too rich for me today...

• And finally, I repurchased this grey bamboo jersey (1.5 yards). I really can't say enough about how much I love the colour and the weight / quality of the bamboo fabric that Chu-Shing stocks. It's all the same stuff, dyed different colours - all beautifully.

So yeah, I did a bit more damage but I'm in the honeymoon phase!

BTW, my goal for tomorrow is to sew another Jenna cardigan and to fix the sizing on the Self-Drafted Kimono sleeve dress.

At that point, I'll have made 4 new garments for myself (I also gave one to M.):

• Sunny (Cocoon) Knit Top - navy French terry. To be photographed.
• Jenna Cardigan - teal rayon sweater knit / silver buttons
• Jenna Cardigan - indigo ponte / ? buttons
• Self-Drafted Kimono Sleeve Dress
• Sunny (Cocoon) Knit Top - sweatshirt grey bamboo jersey) For M...

My hope for the rest of the long weekend is to produce one other garment from my remaining 2015 Fall Capsule Collection options:

• True Bias Hudson Pants
• Vogue 8323 Surplice Top
• StyleArc Danni Dolman Dress

I don't know which I'll make but I guess I've got a few hours to figure it out.

Thoughts on any of this?

Local Fabric Shopping Score

Y'all know that the Canadian dollar is not having its strongest moment. After years of being able to spend online with relative abandon (within my means), I've hit the point that I am VERY discerning about online purchases. The truth is, while I'm certainly willing to go on the adventure of fabric buying sight-unseen, I'm not willing to pay 20-plus bucks a yard, pre-shipping, for the pleasure.

Absolutely, local fabric shopping is available to me - and I avail myself of it (though I did less so during the years of the strong dollar, given that my local big box shop disappeared from downtown and I was routinely disappointed by the offerings at some of the larger fashion district stores). But times change so I've been doing more local recon in the District, and I'm very pleased by what I've been able to find of late.

To clarify, on the knit front, 5 years ago I couldn't source good local bamboo jersey, tencel, modal or terry (I'd never even seen it!). It was cotton, rayon or poly all the way and, really, a girl gets sick of rayon. I'm not big on most cottons (they don't tend to have good recovery and the colour goes chalky) and I will not touch polyester, durability notwithstanding, because it feels hideous to me. I also found the quality of the rayon to be hit and miss, often corrupted with synthetics.

But let's get on with the fun because, these new fabrics, do make dreaming of new garments very enjoyable:

Oooooh - lots of pretties!!

I bought 10 yards over all. Most of what I purchased was at this place I've never paid any attention to before. I mean, I'm sure I've been in, but I don't remember. Alas, I can't recall the name but I can say that it's next door to Moog. OK, I street-view Google-mapped it and it's called Chu-Shing Textiles. BTW, I can't find much about them online but what I have found completely corroborates my experience: likely family run, extremely well-organized (they had me at hello) and expensive. What's not to love? Let's not forget the elephant in the room: Yeah, I've bought 10 yards of fabric in shades of blue and not a pattern to be seen. If we were to catalog every yardage I've ever bought, 80 per cent of it would be in shades of blue/grey/aubergine, 10 per cent would be cerise or fuchsia and the rest would be, well, who the hell knows?

What I really like about this haul is that the SA at Chu-Shing confirmed that she sells all of the fabrics I purchased, in many colours, and that they're continuity stock. So no need to freak out when and if I want more.

Lavender / Grey Modal Jersey

You know I freakin' LOVE the modal. And it's almost impossible to find anywhere (though more available now than ever before). I bought 2 yards at 70" wide (like unicorn width!) which is enough yardage to make a dress and a top, I suspect. This fabric has awesome recovery and lovely drape. It doesn't photograph particularly well, the colour is smokey but it's more on the lavender than grey side of the spectrum. See the bottom fabric of the first photo in this post for a better sense of the colour... It was (don't quote me on this - all the prices started to blend) $20/yard. Chu-Shing does cut yards, not metres, which when you're looking at fabrics of that dollar-value, can start to make a difference if you purchase in volume.

Bamboo French Terry Jersey

Gillian's always talking about the terry and I don't know where she finds it because I've NEVER seen it in a store before. She maintains that it's got lovely hand and drape but all I could envision, before I met this particular fabric, was a short robe from 1976 or a tennis skirt - you know, really bulky, non-stretch and kind of creepy to the touch. Now Gillian knows her fabric, so I've kept an open mind. But I was still shocked when I found this navy bamboo terry. It's very sleek. It has beautiful stretch and recovery (it's not overly firm). The loops on the wrong side are so tiny that they fade into the fabric (see the second photo below).

Navy Bamboo French Terry Jersey

See how TINY those loops are? But they're so cozy soft...

I loved this fabric so much, I bought it in slate blue too.

Bamboo French Terry Jersey

In truth, on purchase, I had no idea of what to make with either yardage (not that I thought it would be that hard) until G suggested another pair of the Hudson pants. That's PERFECT. And a dress is definitely in the cards. And maybe some yoga pants.

Apparently French terry isn't generally made from bamboo. This stuff is definitely of excellent quality and the price supports that. I believe it was $24/yard for 50" width. Keep in mind that tax adds 13% on all prices here (after the fact), so this wasn't a cheap haul. I got 1.25 yd of the navy (that was all they had left) and 2 yds of the slate.

A propos of fabric and pricing, I do want to detour very slightly: For years, and I know I'm not alone here, my sweet spot price for stretch fabrics was 8 - 12 bucks a yard or metre. As I've improved in my craft - and as I've had the chance to wear a lot of self-made garments many, many times - I've come to realize that my sewing may not be perfect, but the finished product warrants the best fabrics I can afford. The reason I spend a lot of money on high-end RTW is because I appreciate not only the design, but the execution (which has everything to do with the hand, weight and drape of the fabric). Good fabrics recover well. They look beautiful from a distance, and up close. They last without pilling. So if you're going to spend 15 hours making that damn dress, use a fabric you won't loathe the look of in 6 months.

Now, having said this, I've had a lot of difficulty finding fabrics of the quality I feel happy to spend $25 bucks a yard on. So I'm really pleased (understatement) to say that I've found a place locally to fit this niche. Online, it's hit or miss. Blackbird Fabrics, in my limited experience, has had the best jersey I've found online, but the cost is prohibitive (and it's in Canada). If I'm going to spend more than 15 bucks a yard, optimally, I need to feel it first. So perhaps the tanked dollar has facilitated a new awareness - not to mention that the improved quality of fabric in the fabric district seems to be playing along nicely.

Navy Cotton Jersey

Navy Cotton Jersey

Like I said, this isn't my go-to fabric. This is the kind that's manufactured in the round, so there are 2 natural folds (and no selvedge). But I have to say, this yardage is substantial (great for T shirts) and the recovery is excellent (must have more spandex than usual). In the photo it looks washed out, but the colour is pretty rich. It would make a great dress, given the fabric heft. I bought it to, perhaps, make another Tiramisu (a dress I made previously using a gorgeous pure-cotton ponte that was gifted to me. That ponte is a joy to wear, years later, and it shows off the lines of the dress beautifully. FYI, finding cotton ponte in TO has yet to happen, for me. Apparently, peeps don't want to spend the 30 bucks a yard it likely costs).

FYI, I bought this at my regular place, the name of which I cannot remember but it's on Queen West, right next to the Wool House and it's in the basement. It's run by the nephew of the King Textiles owner. They sometimes have some good jersey (of all types) and sweater fabrics but it's hit and miss. I believe I spent $12 bucks a yard for this and I got 3 yards... It's 52"wide.

Electric Blue Bamboo Jersey

Finally, back at Chu-Shing, I found a DELICIOUS bamboo jersey. Lord, once you've found bamboo jersey, the regular rayon stuff just seems cheap. This has awesome hand and even better drape than the modal. It's substantial but not bulky. It would make great leggings or yoga pants or a dress or a top or anything, really. The colour is saturated and beautiful.

Bamboo Jersey

This was $24 bucks a yard, I believe and I got 2 yards. It's 50" wide.

What you'll note about all of these fabrics is that they are predominantly natural - bamboo, rayon (modal is made of rayon) and cotton. (Sidebar clarification from Tanit-Isis: "Modal, Tencel, and bamboo are all varieties of rayon/viscose." I didn't know that! I mean, I knew about modal and tencel being part of the rayon family, but I thought that bamboo was fluffy like cotton! Don't ask me why.) Yeah, they've all got spandex in them (that's what gives them awesome recovery and drape), but there's no other synthetic to obstruct the natural properties. And yeah, we can debate the naturalness of rayon, but I'm in the camp that says, extrusion or no, it's more natural, to the feel and with wear, than "synthetics" (as I have known them). Sadly, now I have to come to terms that bamboo isn't a cute fluffy that can be turned into fabric fibre without excessive chemical intervention. Live and learn.

FYI, Chu-Shing sells a synthetic, very substantial and firm stretch fabric (a bit like scuba but more like the stuff they make bandage dresses from) for 45 bucks a yard. It is awesome, though I'm not so much in a bandage dress phase. It would go extremely well with leather, intercut, to make pants or a skirt. It's also sold in many colours.

So that's the latest haul. $200ish bucks and 10 yards later, I have at least 7 garments worth of material. Not bad when you view it through that lens.

Thoughts or feelings?