The Slip Saga Continues...

Brief update on the blue Ruby Slip. She is now cut out, skirt hanging on the dress form.

Some things of interest:

• Silk charmeuse is not as delicate as it looks. I have washed it, hung it to dry and steam pressed it (yes, with actual water) and it actually looks glossy and hangs nicely. It's not the same as its prewashed self, but growth is good, yes?
  
• Bias cut silk charmeuse is its own animal, people. OMG, what a princess! I can tell there's going to be some finagling with the hang.
• OK, this one is baffling - turns out my new blue lace, scalloped on both edges of the 60" width fabric (also 30 bucks a yard, fyi, and I used almost a yard), has a different motif on one scalloped side than the other?!?!? How can this be. Admittedly, I didn't look at it closely as it was being cut - I never in a million years imagined this might occur. The motifs are complementary (as they would have to be) but the flower pattern is obvs deliberately different. One half of the front of my slip is going to have one motif. The other half will have the other. I'm going to call it an interesting design feature.
• One other thing about cutting the lace. By the time you get to the lace, the cutting part of this project can be overwhelming. It really is the most tedious element. (I find cutting tedious at the best of times.) This time I decided not to be so matchy-matchy hardcore (obviously). The motif on this lace is airy. I just lay the pieces right next to each other as I cut them. That has to work, by logic, right? Even when you take seam allowances into consideration, there will be alignment. Or not. But it didn't torment me for 90 minutes this time.
  

Spring into Action

Oh, I am somewhat overwhelmed by my imagination. So many ideas - not so much digital illustrating experience. And yet I want to show you what's in my mind the way that many other sewing bloggers do.

I also have this schizophrenic, if creative, perspective on my reasons for wanting to story board. That's the subject of another post. A really long post.

However, this post is to tell you that I intend to do a Spring Basics Palette over the next 12 weeks and here's what it will entail:

• 6 garments - 4 of which have been sewn with success before. This isn't about reinventing the wheel. It's about nicely finishing and newly interpreting some standards for a new season. The garments will include a dress, a skirt, a pair of pants, a t shirt, a top and a pair of lounge (aka yoga) pants. Pattern names and numbers will follow...

• A fun, digital, fashion story board to show colour schemes and renderings of those garments on my croquis - likely not the one I've shown you already, but a new one (traced from another photo) which is more sassy. Having never yet tried to paint clothes on top of my croquis, I have no idea of how this is actually going to work. Palette experts, you may be getting some emails.

I'm going to give more details as soon as I can pull them together but I'll leave you with a few thoughts:

• My colour choices are really whacky. I don't know if they'll cohere in a palette, though I'm not concerned that they won't cohere in my wardrobe.
• I've already bought the fabric for 3 of the pieces and I have the fabric for 2 others in my stash. That leaves one garment to purchase for, unless I have some changes of heart.
• I've spent about $150.00 on the fabric and notions for 3 of the 6 garments. The fabric I already purchased for the other 2 probably cost me $30.00. I speculate I will spend $200.00 and 6 weekends over the next 12 weeks to produce my spring wardrobe.
• I estimate I would have to spend upwards of $600.00 to purchase these items RTW. Of course, that would take about 2 hours.
• Recently, Peter wrote asked the interesting question "Are you a practical or fantasy sewer?" This didn't take more than a moment of consideration for me. I am practical. Of course, who can say if my version of practical is someone else's whimsical, but no mind. The Spring Basics Palette is so named because I anticipate the pieces to work interdependently - and day-to-day.
  

And to close the loop on the topic of the next version of the Ruby Slip and the fabric I've treated:

• I heard you all re: concerns about the properties of guipure. I went out today and bought 2 new types of mesh-based lace - one piece in a light navy and another in black. I will make the next slip using one of these. (And for the one after that - the gathered bodice version - I'll use the other piece.)
  
• In the end, neither the guipure nor silk swatches I hand-washed yesterday either a) bled colour or b) shrank in the least. Intriguing. The silk did change texture somewhat (not that I've ironed the swatch as yet, so the change may not be as pronounced as I'm currently imagining). Even with texture change, and slight loss of sheen, I opted to wash the rest of it by hand because I'm really not prepared to dry-clean. If fading or mega-shrinkage were in the cards, or if the fabric were to be fundamentally destroyed by water, I'd go that route. But it's just not the case. Will the silk look unaltered by this treatment? No. But you've all given me the confidence to try this method - and to recognize that there's not just one way to view silk.

So, if anyone has words of encouragement or advice (anything technical is welcome :-)) please chime in. If you've done the Colette Palette Challenges or a similar version, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Interim Update: Prepping Delicate Fabrics

Thank you so much, everyone, for taking the time to share your experience and expertise re: caring for delicate fabrics.

Here's what I can tell you so far:

• Marina, I take your point about the challenging quality of guipure. The key (or so I think at this point) is to make sure that one cuts to the outside of the stabilizing grid that contains the lace, otherwise it really starts to fall apart.
  
• My goal is to use those grids as the anchor for sewing it some stabilizing underlining. My current options are some black power net with stretch 2-way stretch, some navy bra "wing" fabric (the stuff that makes the sides of your bra that attach to the cups on one side and the closure on the other) and some black mesh with no stretch.
• The best drape is in the power net with a firm, 2-way stretch (but I'm not sure if I should be aiming to use a stable fabric with no stretch). I just don't want the underlayer to make the very drapey lace fall stiffly. Thoughts?
• There's another alternative - that I might use the guipure to make the lace border for the gathered bodice version of the slip. This would minimize its structural element, while retaining the beautiful border.
  
• I have hand-washed 2 swatches: one of the silk and one of the lace; both are currently air drying.
• Neither appears to have bled much colour at all into the soapy water - maybe the guipure released a bit of dye.
• Both seem as dark as they were, but they're wet.
• I'll let you know about shrinkage/hand/sheen etc. when they dry.
  

Silky Goodness

I'm going to call this one a qualified success:





The Good:

• Silk is not that slippery. Really. Unless you're expecting cotton. I mean, rayon jersey and many synthetics have been more challenging.
  
• The serger deals with it remarkably well.
• It feels fantastic.
• My workmanship, with the exception of one glaring error, and a bit of snap misalignment, is surprisingly strong. I figured out, by working it through, how to self-fabric interface the plackets and the neck facing and I think I did it neatly.
  

The Bad:

• The silk drapes very differently than a) a synthetic or b) than I thought it would. It fits, but I do find it strangely snug in weird places during movement. Maybe my pattern edits worked on a stronger, synthetic fabric but, given the delicateness of the silk, I suspect more ease would make it drape more elegantly. I'm going to keep the second set of tucks on the back (a pattern adjustment I came up with) but narrow them on my next go. I will also add the under arm ease back in. I wonder if the other (black and white, slightly sturdier) silk will have more natural ease.

• Errors are very difficult to fix on charmeuse. You have to weigh the benefits of trying again against the potential for destroying the fabric.
  

• Invisible catch stitching is a bit challenging. And the silk doesn't hold the stitches as firmly as a synthetic.

• The snaps are too heavy for such a delicate fabric and they drag it down.

• The neck facing to neckline, which was difficult on both other Senchas, IMO, was really challenging in silk. I will definitely have to work on that technique because I stretched things slightly out of shape. And I still ended up having to topstitch in order to keep the facing in place.
  

The Ugly:

• I did something wrong when I attached the placket interfacing to the facing, at the top where it meets the neck. As a result, I botched the back of the top - not so badly that you'd notice it if I had long hair. Or even that you'd notice it if I didn't point it out (it just looks off, but it's "evenly off"). I deliberately didn't photo it because, quite honestly, I intend to wear this blouse and I don't want to give that error any more credibility that it deserves. Other than this, I did very neat work and the garment feels like a dream.

The Verdict:

Don't be afraid of silk. Not charmeuse, anyway. If you can find some at a reasonable price - I'd say anything under $20.00 a yard, take the chance and use it on a Sencha. Not counting the pattern cost, this top cost me 25 bucks all in. At a store I might have spent 5 times that amount.

Whenever you sew, you either succeed in producing a wearable garment, or you don't. Shouldn't you make that potential success as glorious as it can be? You'll quickly forget the anxiety of sewing with top notch fabric. And every time you wear it you'll remember how much you love what you sew.

Sewing with Silk

As you know, I've just embarked on a new sewing experience - the Sencha blouse, made in silk. I'm sewing with charmeuse, that woven drapey silk with beautiful hand, quite a bit of bias stretch and matte on one side / satin on the other. Apparently, it's not the easiest thing to work with.

It's my first time sewing with this fabric (actually, I haven't started the sewing part yet) but, already, I have some thoughts and feelings to share:

• Sometimes, when everyone warns that a fabric is an absolute bitch, you might find it's not quite as horrible as you'd imagine. It's called "experiential tempering" peeps, and in this circumstance, I'm all for it. It's the pleasant metaphoric flip side of the movie everyone raves about that turns out to be totally overrated by the time you get to see it.

• Having said this, I don't want to mislead you; it's a slippery mofo, so proceed with caution. Rotary cutting on a mat, with weights to stabilize the fabric, is the way to go. Pins and scissors can be tricky.

• While I was freaked to try this, Claire Schaeffer, in her awesome tome the Fabric Sewing Guide, advises that one should steam press the silk before cutting (if one intends to dry clean it going forward), to shrink and prepare it. Believe it or not, it works. I first steamed (on the wrong side), then pressed (I didn't even use a pressing cloth for some of it), and the fabric shrank considerably, but didn't mar in any way. I even got some water drops on the silk. My usually flawless iron somehow managed to leak on the most delicate of fabrics?!, but somehow the water didn't stain. Phew. I do intend to use a pressing cloth as I sew. BTW, Scott and I once spent 4 hours going through this sewing guide when totally inebriated and he found it fascinating. A guy who doesn't even sew. If you sew, you are crazy not to own this book.
  

• I suggest that the matte side of the fabric is better for those large of chest. It's less reflective.

• The way I learned the awful truth that FabricLand at Yonge and Bloor (the only central TO location) is closing, is that I had to go there today to purchase sharps. 60s are the best gauge for delicate silk. Special sharp pins are also wise. In truth, it's not rocket science. Just buy the correct materials and you will vastly improve your likelihood of success. I mean, you really don't want unnecessary holes in your charmeuse.

• I still don't know, exactly, how the placket and neck facing, self-fabric interfacing is going to work. I've thought it out in depth but you never know how it goes till it's gone. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

• I'm making view 1 this time (formerly I have made view 3, with the keyhole). I figure, working with such a tricky fabric, it would be best to make the construction as simple as possible. I only hope it looks good.
  

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

Remember how I said I should make a couple more Senchas and a pair of my TNT pants, though not in denim (BTW, I actually rotate 3 of those TNTs in denim, not 2 - as I originally stated in that post. I forgot about one pair, proving the point that I need to make something that maintains the line but doesn't look more or less the same as the others).

Well, a couple of days ago I found this silk in the garment district:

$15.00 a yard - very reasonable for silk of its quality, IMO

It will do the Sencha justice though, having never sewn with silk, I'm understandably apprehensive. (Note: for those of you asking about my pin tuck adjustment to remove fullness from the waist area of the Sencha, here's the post outlining my process.)

Just thought of a potential challenge (inasmuch as I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel on this project, simply to gussy up the fabric choices): In the past I have used fusible interfacing to stabilize the button facing. Can't do that here. I guess I'm going to have to underline the facing for more stability. Anyone have any idea of what fabric to use - fashion fabric, organza? (or how to do sew it up with a finished edge)? I'm heading over to Tasia's underlining post, but I don't know if I can use it to help me with this little piece of a larger garment.

I also bought a beautiful silk in taupe (matte one side, satin on the other) but I can't find the photo I just took of it?! Oh well, you'll have to enjoy this one twice as much!

I've had the proposed pants fabric in my stash since I purchased it from my fab RTW designer and store-owner acquaintance (it was overage). It's got the tiniest bit of stretch and it drapes beautifully:

So, there you go. I'm about to take the beautiful/fancy-fabric plunge with tested designs. OMG, why don't you do this too?! Let's do fancy fabric sewing together! Choose a pattern you love and make it again in the nicest fabric you can afford / bring yourself to cut up. Let me know if you're game and then I want to hear all about it!