Clothes May Not Make the Man, But they Don't Hurt

My wardrobe refresh is coming along nicely!

• Having discarded or recycled a bunch of Ts, I purchased 3 new styles of t shirt, in multiples of 2 (because, when you find a T that works, don't just get one - you know these things don't have the longest shelf life). One version is black, scoop neck and long-sleeved (and can be used for lounge purposes), one version is plum and short-sleeved (work worthy), one version is blue and white striped and 3/4 sleeved (also good for work or weekends). The solids are made of modal and the stripes are a rayon, cotton blend. They all feel delightful and fit well. Here's a pic of the stripey top:

This striped top is from COS - my current go-to...

• I also bought a fancy top at COS that can be worn for drama or with jeans - I LOVE it! Doesn't look like much in this pic but it's pure glamour and very easy to wear.

It's got a mesh asymmetric cape over one shoulder. Sounds weird but I feel part bird, part vampire whenever I put it on.

• I made a ruched, sleeveless top (V8790) that looks good with skirts or pants. When I wear, I really do feel like I'm wearing a lovely garden.

• I made a new T shirt (the Concord) which is more for the shoulder seasons but could work on a summer evening. On this topic, I'm in the process of making a modified Concord (sleeveless) in very light weight rayon, to manage in the heat. Alas, I'm experiencing some armscye coverstitch tunneling happening. Trying to fix this so any feedback would be so welcome.

• I've made 2 new pairs of Hudsons - my other ones are starting to get a bit ratty as I wear these around the house constantly. I do yoga in them, I sleep in them. I figured I could use a new batch.

• I've made 3 new dresses: A fancy Kielo Wrap, a deconstructed Kielo Wrap and another Donna Karan sack dress (V1179). These work very well on super warm-weather days when I want to be chic and cool.

(Side note: It appears that I've sewn a lot lately, even though it doesn't feel like it.)

• I've bought 4 new lingerie sets / 1 new bra - 2 Panache Floris', 1 Panache Olivia, 1 Freya Minx, 1 Curvy Couture lounge bra. I'll write more about these in other posts.

• I bought a new pair of straight-leg jeans at Marshall's (a place I never go - I accidentally wandered in). They cost 35 dollars and the fit is awesome with no alterations (except hemming). The wash is a great medium blue - it's dark enough to give them some elegance, but light-enough to work for summer.

• I got a gorgeous, grey merino, v-neck boyfriend sweater - softly oversized. This is more for the fall, than now. I had a credit at COS (which paid for this and the COS items above). The sweater was on sale for half price and it was lovely and, I figure, sometimes you have to think to the season ahead.

• I used up part of my credit at Anthropologie (remember how I returned those 300 dollar jeans?). Amazingly, I purchased on an Anthro day so I got 15% these, which were 130 CDN, all in:

Level 99 Cropped Chambray Trousers

Of course, for every "in" there's an "out". Bye bye clutter! So I've divested myself of a number of tired tops and the bras that are currently snug. I recently discarded a couple of pairs of jeans that were shot or too small. Next up,  I'll tackle the dresses.

I can't tell you how pleasant it is to get dressed when my clothes fit and they've got that "new" appeal. I'm not bored and I'm not dismayed.

I'll be off on vacation as of Sat. but when I return (in the second week of my hols), I intend to make:

• A tailored skirt (likely V8460).
• Some wide-legged trousers (likely V1166)
• The Appleton Dress (by Cashmerette). Hopefully my recent Concord alterations will stand me in good stead when fitting this dress.

At that point, I'll have what I need for the summer and, with a few future additions, what I'll need for fall/winter.

What's your favourite summer purchase so far?

Summer Sewing: The Finale

Well, I met my challenge (not that I positioned it that way): 5 garments in 5 days. Sure, one of them (Hepworth dress) isn't going to be in regular rotation (at least, I don't think it will - with new garments you never can tell...) The other 4 should be well-worn: a denim floral mini skirt, a long-sleved jersey dress, a three-season jacket (or 4 if you live in Ireland) and this one (the ubiquitous Jalie 2921):

Jalie 2921 - Scarf Collar Top

I do love this top for its utter wearability and serious chic-factor. It's like pyjamas that look great. Wanna eat a huge meal? No problem. Want to dress it up? It'll do that. I love it best with jeans though. It skims the full hip so it's waist-lengthening.

When last I made this top, I hadn't yet created my T shirt sloper (at least I don't think I had). So this time, when I went back to it, I had to review it against that sloper - even though my other 2921s fit well in the shoulders (purely by accident) - to ensure that it wasn't just good luck first time around. The only alterations I made first time were to shorten the whole thing and to make it a bit smaller in the waist (I wanted it to mimic my curvature). It's still a longer-T on me, but I like that about it.

Amazingly, this top is almost identical to my sloper. It's a bit roomier in the waist and hips, not that I'm complaining, and a bit longer. Other than that there were no changes to consider?! Well, of course, I'm a tinkerer, so there were a couple:

• My other versions were a bit too low cut - as I'm short from shoulder to cleavage (remember my highly projected boobs are high-set on my chest. Yeah - I've got that centrefold cleavage). Also, I'm short (so there's less span for the boobs). To compensate, I raised the neckline by 1 inch and it's much better-fitting. The other version - esp. given the insane length of the ties and their consequential heaviness - pulled down on the neckline showing a bit too much skin.

• A propos of that, I shortened the ties by 8 inches. Yeah, you read that. I basically shortened them by half and the new proportions are much better on my frame. Those ties are simply too long - unless you're tall AND long-waisted AND you intend to tie a bow (and even then maybe still). I don't want a bow. My preference is to string it through the opening underneath the neck (see below) or to tie it once and let the ties hang (also shown):

I think you would agree that one doesn't need ties that dip below the high hip. If nothing else, they get heavy and they fall into one's food!

Here's the back of the top - alas, the dress form is crooked (as is its wont), so it looks whack. I promise, when I wear it, the shoulders are of even heights.

I used a fuchsia rayon knit with about 40 per cent stretch cross-wise (and about 20 percent length-wise). The pattern calls for a fabric having 40 per cent stretch in both directions but I'm not long and the top is already long enough. It's also adequately roomy, curve-appeal notwithstanding, so it's not like it's going to ride up on me. The fabric was about 12 bucks a metre, on sale at FabricLand. Must say, fuchsia rayon jersey is a bit of a staple in this house. I have 3 other remnants and I can't figure out if they're actually the same fabric (or just slightly different), which is why I keep buying more. A gal can't have enough hot pink in the wardrobe, ya know.

So, I've got some practical, easy to pack, easy to layer, wrinkle free garments to take with me on my trip. Not bad for 75 - 100 bucks (which is what 2 dresses, 1 skirt, 1 top and 1 jacket) cost to make. I went through about 8 yards of stash fabric and now I'll get to wear those lovely yardages, which is the point, after all.

One thing I'll say about this sewing experience: I was very chill. Well, I was chill by my standards, which is still intense, I realize, but I like to view that as focus. I wondered if, given that I haven't been doing much sewing of late, I might be rusty and things might go awry. But if anything, it went better than ever it has done. I've spent a lot of time learning this craft over the past 6 years and, really, my skills stand me in good stead. I didn't feel inclined to freak out when things went wrong - as they always do - because I had years of work-arounds to apply to potential fatal errors. And they all worked. Even the hem on the Jalie top (one step above dog's breakfast - it's zig zagged, peeps) is not bad. I just didn't have it in me to set up another machine (the cover stitch) so I simply turned and stitched. I couldn't use interfacing, as I usually do, because T shirt hems get and look weirdly tight when it's applied. Rayon jersey is not my sewing machine's forte, so I just had to weigh the cost to benefits and make a call.

Over the years (and with hindsight - not to mention a few kicks up the head lately, which really puts perfection into perspective) I've learned how to do what works - not what I feel needs to be done to suit my vision of perfect stitching. And it produces a much better finished product - not to mention happier experience.

What do you think of Jalie 2921? Do you like the capsule collection? (I know, there's one thing you haven't seen - I will photograph it when I get home. I'm just not in the mood right now and I'm on vacation!) Has your sewing improved when you just decided to relax? Let's talk!

Summer Sewing: A Jacket and Another Dress

I've got good news and less good news and I'm going to take the initiative to lead with the less good cuz why not get it over with? I remade the Hepworth dress, that which served as the backbone of the Appalachian milkmaid bridesmaid dress (made for my sister last year). I did it as I said I would, in contrasting fabric skirt/bodice, the bodice being stretch Japanese dot cotton and the skirt a great rayon denim in dark blue.

Let me say, my workmanship is stellar. Honestly, I could wear this thing inside out and it would look good. I used beautiful fabric, the properties of which I predicted fairly well. I took my time (well, the fucking pattern gave me a run for my money and it took 10 hours over 2 days). Point is, I had nowhere I had to be so it was, ahem, relaxing. When something didn't work, I ripped it back and fixed it (Lord, the tedium). There are about 8000 steps to making this thing and it doesn't even have sleeves?!

In the end, I put it on my dress form to photo for y'all and I was SO underwhelmed, I couldn't stand it. Admittedly, it looks like shit on the dress form (the trajectory of my bust is not adequately duplicated, by it, to show off the perfectly fitted princess-seamed bodice and you know I'm not taking a picture of myself this week). But seriously, it's the most boring dress on the planet. Last time I made this (over 63 muslins and a version for my sister), I thought it was the materials and colour schemes that brought out its conservative side. But honestly, it looks almost as boring in my sassy black dot / dark denim combo and I don't know how it's possible. There's just something weak about the Hepworth. Don't misunderstand - it's well-drafted; it's a good pattern if you like "suburban traditional". For me, alas, there's no edge.

One other thing: The fit is good. I mean, I could certainly continue to refine it if I made it again (though why would I?). I managed to produce a woven dress (yeah, with 10 per cent stretch woven fabric, but still) that fits pretty darned well. Isn't that my holy grail (sort of)? But I've just spent 4 paragraphs talking about something I can't be bothered to show you. So let's call this the not so good news.

The good news is that I also made the StyleArc Harper Jacket for the third time and I've really got the hang of it this time. Literally. (I gave away the other two versions to people who liked them as I wasn't convinced about a) the fit on me or b) the finishing techniques.)

One jacket 3 ways!

Open - which is actually very pretty and drapey on a real person. It doesn't grip on me like it does on the fabric dress form. Trust me, it's flattering.

Half-closed - I've opted to use the interior closure to show you this version (but you could do it either way)

Fully closed - this version has an interior eye (attached to the seam allowance on the right shoulder) and an exterior one (that pokes through the seam allowance on the left side). Both hooks are on the edges of the tails of the cardigan jacket.

 In case you want to see how the interior closure works, here you go:

The eye is attached to the seam allowance and the hook reaches up to hang from it. If you finish the seams, you can stitch the hooks directly onto the seam allowances at the bodice hem (where it meets the centre front) and you won't need to bother with the fabric patch (designed to rest over the top of the finished area to conceal the stitched closure). At least I think that's what it's supposed to do.

Note that I can't confirm this is how it's supposed to work. I find StyleArc instructions practically useless and their photos inevitably confuse me but I think this is what they were getting at.

The back:

A lot of peeps have indicated that they don't like the jacket closed for themselves but I find it very flattering and practical. I made this for Irish weather (which is apparently 16 degrees and partially cloudy, pretty well constantly).

Unfortunately you can't see how pretty the fabric is in real life. I got it for 10 bucks a metre (half price) at FabricLand. (It was one of the pieces I had to buy twice because I confused it for another material I needed 0.5 a metre of and, if I hadn't bought more, I'd only have had half a metre of it to work with). It's got great drape but it's really structured. And the colour is rich. This garment looks expensive, which is just how I like 'em.

On the topic of fit. I've written about this jacket on a number of occasions. Here you can see how it was originally way too long and big, but on the second go round (scroll down to the stripey version contained within the same post), I was starting to get a sense of the right proportions for me. The Harper fits VERY large, out of the envelope. You should size down and then be prepared to make it smaller still if you're slim in the arms or narrow in the shoulders.

My latest version is more compact still. I made the arms and shoulders a little bit narrower, shortened the height of the armscye and finished all the seams (turned them under), which shortened the overall length by another half inch. The pattern instructs that you leave all of the seams unfinished. Look, I like a raw seam as much as the next girl, but the outcome of NO finishing is that it looks, well, unfinished, like something you made using a beginner pattern. If you're new to sewing (though not too new) - this is a great pattern as written. Otherwise, it's easy enough to turn under a seam. I agree that the seams are long (and it's hard to keep the topstitching entirely consistent) but it really clarifies what finishing actually does for a garment. There's not much to look at on this jacket so every detail counts.

At any rate, while this isn't my most gorgeous stitching (it's adequate, but not perfect), the fit and fabric are great, which is all anyone's going to care about. I'm glad I gave this one another go.

Thoughts or feelings? Have you made either of these garments? Do you like the Harper?

Summer Sewing: Lady Skater Dress

There's no way to take a good photo of this dress, when unworn. It's one of those garments. And y'all know that navy just doesn't show its stars in my photography. I've given it a go though, just to prove what I've been up to :-):

My love of this pattern is boundless. It's so aptly drafted for my specific body that it's as if I devised it myself. In truth, I did numerous rounds of alteration, so in some ways it has been drafted for me.

What makes it good?

• I've used the right fabric. It's got some heft but it's still quite light. It also has very good recovery.

• All of the vertical proportions are perfect. That real waist seam, the one that everyone has to lengthen? Well, I don't.

• The unmodified skirt length is one of my best: just below the knee. I don't hem this dress. I like the raw edge as I feel it gives it an extra dimension and modernizes it. Furthermore, the degree of fabric undulation (dictated by the properties of the fabric and the angle of cut) is just lovely. It's full but minimally so.

• The neckline is a great depth and, because the shoulders are cut narrow (like me), it sits in a flattering way.

Alas, I started this too early in the day, without coffee, and I made a couple of tactical errors that cost me time. One of my challenges was my fabric layout, which was in no way carefully considered and which left me with a need to cut the back skirt in 2 pieces, rather than on the fold. I have made this garment with 1.5 yards before but this time, due to my lack of forethought, I only had a (total) mess of 0.3 of a yard remaining. My piece of jersey was also messed up at the edges so I lost a bit of fabric. I don't know why I was so laissez-faire. The piece seemed large enough before I started cutting.

I also feel that I could have made the waist a bit smaller. I'm having a body dysmorphic moment and I appear to be overestimating slightly in the hips and waist.

At any rate, this is today's wardrobe addition. I feel that this and yesterday's skirt are going to be very useful wardrobe additions. Thoughts or feelings?

Summer Sewing: Floral Denim Skirt

Almost a couple of years ago (egad, how time flies), Gillian, Andrea, Sara and I met up in Kitchener. It was a really enjoyable (predominantly knitting-oriented) day, but we did hit up the local FabricLand, which is where I got the stretch floral denim I used to make this skirt today:

My TNT short denim skirt - New Look 6843

I bought a 1.65 yards (it's 56" wide with 30 per cent crosswise stretch). My plan was to make a structured sleeveless summer dress but I never found the pattern. Really, I wanted to remake a RTW dress I've had for 20 years that seems to fit at every size. But this is great fabric and I want to use it, not to let it languish in the stash. So I opted to use almost a yard of it on this skirt and I don't regret it.

I altered the pattern very slightly, yet again, to give a bit more room at the full hip and waist. Alas, it was overkill so I ended up having to do a bit of after-the-fact surgery because, when I put on the finished skirt, there was some fabric puffing (pooling?) at the hips. Here's what I mean by surgery:

If you enlarge the photo, you'll see 2 lines of stitching, at each side seam, for about 3.5 inches from just below the waistband. That's because I had to remove about 3/4 inch of fabric at the hips to (more or less) fix the fabric puffing. To totally fix it, I'd have to be much more serious, aka remove the waistband, and there is no way I am doing that given that my quick fix takes care of the problem at anyone's gaze but mine. And mine is too critical.

You can see how the skirt is a bit square, squarer than me. But this fabric has much more stretch than any other version I've made - even if it is the most structured fabric I've used. I suspected, given these variables, that the newly altered skirt might be a bit roomy. Mind you, the idea of making something too tight fills me with anxiety right about now. I want to see the forest for the trees.

A propos of this, it ain't my best zipper insertion but I hit it on the first try and I felt no compulsion to fuck with adequate:

You'll never notice that the seam allowances on either side of that zip don't quite meet unless you're staring at my ass. On the plus side, I my waist band is awesome. Not only does it align perfectly but it's very tidy on the wrong side:

I used my fave method for waist band insertion.

This took about 5 hours, not bad by my standards, and I'm pretty happy with the finished result.

Whatcha think?