currently obsessed with: Butterick 6183 top

Okay, here is the problem: because of breastfeeding I sadly can't wear any of my fitted blouses and tops. After the 9 long months of pregnancy I was anxiously waiting to be able to wear 'normal' clothes again. Though my normal b-cup size didn't grow larger than a small d-cup it is apparently enough to leave me with next to nothing to wear...except t-shirts (again, sigh) of course...
Lately I'm attracted to the minimalist trend and often wear a plain V-neck t-shirt with jeans. I am in desperate need of new, more 'dressed' stuff which I also can wear later (hopefully with my 'regular', smaller boobs, once I stop breastfeeding) Tops which go with jeans and skirts as well. The last item I made for myself was a retro, 40's blouse for the 'Sew for Victory' challenge, a year ago, just before I got pregnant. Ever since I've been sewing all kinds of practical things for the nursery but no garments at all.

I guess my biggest problem is that I really don't feel like myself, I really do not 'feel' this new-larger-boobs silhouette of mine. Trying to keep things simple right now. I know shaping below the bust is important, so really loose fitting items would end up looking boxy.
I think this top, which is part of the new Lisette capsule collection for Butterick really stands out.
What I like about is:
- the length (not too long)
- the flattering rounded neckline (not too low and not too high)
- the graphic lines
- the loosely fitted shape
- and of course the fact that the pattern comes with different cup sizes. Thank God, the (full) bust adjustment is already done here!

Unfortunately it took a while (like months after the US release!) before the pattern was available here in the Netherlands. Well, finally it came out last week and I bought it right away. I'm already dreaming of sewing it in different fabrics: clean and simple in crisp cotton or dupion silk, in pretty lace, maybe denim or even in a double knit, uni color or color blocking (more fabric inspiration from the Lisette pattern site here)


With such a simple silhouette having a perfect fit is essential. Here comes my favorite part: making a muslins!!! The shoulder width and the length both have to be perfect. To prevent a 'boxy' look I already know I have to do a swayback adjustment. (Hate fitting the back seams by myself!) I wonder how it is going to look with larger boobs... I can see some problems in that area as well.
Before you think I'm about to add yet another UFO-project to the pile, I have already managed to cut and sew a muslin! Stay tuned!

Kate&Rose patterns

Bought some new patterns (just because I sew soooo often lately...:-S)
Okay, I just couldn't resist (read: might be hoarding again). I discovered the cute Kate&Rose patterns while browsing through the creations of the Sewing Indie month (may 2014) on the net. Yep, another thing I totally missed this year...

This summer is quite sunny and warm so I choose to wear wide, airy blouses instead of my regular fitted ones. I've got 3 different ones from the ethnic inspired English brand 'Monsoon' and wear them a lot! I wanted to make something similar for the hot summer days. The Monsoon blouses have Indian inpiration and I've got 3 fine cotton blouses with pintuck and (machine) embroidery details (sorry about the blue one, it was already 'stuffed' in the laundry bag, ready to be washed)

The thing with indie designers is that not everyone has stockists and selling points abroad. Some, like the Colette patterns are easier to get outside the US than other, less known names. The past years I had to order all of my Sewaholic patterns through the website, from Canada because there were no stockists nearby. Since I don't have a Paypal account, it is not easy to get something from an Etsy seller (you can buy Kate&Rose patterns through etsy). My credit card was hacked once after placing an online order, so if it is possible I prefer to pay online with my regular bankcard or with a simple money transfer.
I used to order a lot of patterns from the US, like during the sales of the big 4, but lately the post rates have gone up a lot, so it is barely cheaper (if cheaper at all) to get patterns there.

I'm not a fan of buying Pdf patterns as I find the printing-cutting-sticking annoying. I also prefer the touch and feel 'real' pattern tissue, and I trace everything. I never cut up my original pattern tissues, hoping that some day I'll have a daughter who will be happy to own and use my collection...

Though Kati Lovasz of Kate&Rose is a US (New York) based designer the paper patterns can be now ordered with other indie patterns from Berlin here. After the money transfer I received my order within 3 days. Great service!


I choose the two designs above. What I immediately liked about the Roza pattern were the raglan sleeves and the absence of any closures. A simple pull-over blouse, yay! The Zsalya top has a pretty yoke and no buttons or zippers either!
All of the Kate&Rose patterns have Hungarian names. I was born in Hungary myself, though have lived longer in Belgium and the Netherlands than there. The designs are inspired by Central European folkswear, which traditionally uses colorful (but also monochrome, like white on white) embroidery. Exactly what I was looking for. It reminded me of my childhood, back then I used to embroider a lot with my grandma! We (me and my sister) had a lot of embroidered garments. Practically all of our clothes, either sewn or knitted was made by my grandma until we were about 6 years old.
Right now I only have this damaged picture on hand, but you can spot the embroidery around the neckline and the front of my late 70's mini-dress:

Talking about the perfect fit...

Talking about the perfect fit, how about this pretty, pale pink skirt and top, Duchess Catherine wore today? I like the contrast between the elegant, minimal top and flared skirt. A top with such 'clean' lines needs to fit perfectly. Choosing the perfect color for your complexion is another important thing of course.

Let's take a look at the pictures above:

• the waistline of the top sits at the natural waist
• there is a perfect amount of ease 
• shoulder width is perfect
• look at the picture where she lifts her arm! That's how a perfect armhole should behave! 
• the neckline lies flat, there is no gaping
• there are no drag-lines or wrinkles 
• the bust dart might be just a tad too high imo (hits right at the apex) 
• skirt hem hits the leg elegantly just at the knee

It looks like the fabric is some kind of heavier (wool crepe?) jersey. The peplum has more body than the skirt, so it is probably underlined.
I tried to search the net for the original Alexander McQueen garments but could only find something similar. The top at left features the just slightly flared peplum and the V-neck, but placement of the bust darts is different. The top in the middle has the right color and dart placement, but the peplum is more flared. I guess the skirt is similar to this one below. At first I thought it was a circle-skirt but then noticed the pleats.

 

If you'd like to make something similar, I have the right patterns for you!
Vogue 8815 peplum top:


Butterick 5756 pleated skirt:

sewing for victory - 5. another fitting intermezzo

Well, still busy with my muslins, this is a post on muslin and pattern adjustments and fitting books! And since the deadline is just a week away, today's western inspired movie theme is at the hell's gate...


altering the bodice:
Let's start with the fitting-issues of Siplicity 3688.
I've shortened the bodice by taking out 2 cm all around,to get rid of the side-bagginess. This was a bit of free-hand work, so please ignore deny the obviously diagonal seam across the front!

Left is the first muslin version, right is the shortened one. Side-bagginess gone, because the pleats are sitting at my waist instead on my belly.
(Of course, I need to add the same length to the hem at the end)


Here you see that the red waistline is sitting at my natural waist now:


The sides look just the same, though there is no wrinkle at the back, onlya huge amount of excess fabric, which is emphasized by my swayback. The wrinkle was caused by insufficient amount of width of the back hem (need to widen that anyway)
Left original, right shortened version:


The back obviously needed darts or something to take out fabric in the middle section. First I tried to add two (rather modestly sized) darts with little to no effect. Do you see the difference? Me neither...


At the end of the day I just decided to add four dart-pleats, similar to the front. Finally, this eliminated the excess fabric and as a bonus, I was able to pull it on without ripping the side seams:


Now I can adapt the below-the bust part of this blouse for my own 40's 'frankenpattern'! Now, let's see what to do with the tight sleeves.

sleeve adjustment
To add width to the upper part of my sleeves I decided to use the pivot-and-slide method, video below by Nancy Zieman. This is by far the easiest way to adjust pattern pieces and works for me better than cutting and spreading the patterns. Note, it works only if you need to adjust small amounts of width, a maximum of 1 inch per side! The fitting book I own (The perfect fit) shows the cut-and-spread method, which makes the original sleevecap a bit fuller,which means you should adjust the armhole seams of the bodice too:


Here is another video with a more lengthy, step-by-step explanation of exactly the same method. This one discuss lengthening long sleeves as well:

books about fitting:


Which is your favorite fitting method and fitting book?

• I know a lot of sewers love Pati Palmer's 'Fit for real people' series, but I just really, really, really hate the idea of tissue-fitting!
• I own 'The perfect fit' which is a really good book with clear pictures, covering basic aspects of fitting. 
• 'Pattern fitting with confidence' which Nancy Zieman discusses in the video below seems to be a good one, as far as pattern alterations go. They just work, even if I only tested the sleeve alteration so far, it seems to me a logical approach indeed. I don't know if there are any good pictures included of what you exactly see on the garments, like drag-lines,bulking etc?
• I'm dreaming of buying another, rather expensive fitting book, 'Fitting and Pattern Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach to the Art of Style Selection, Fitting, and Alteration' from Elizabeth Liechty et.al. The advantage of this book is that it is very comprehensive (480 pages!!!) This book offers 3 different methods to adjust your pattern for every problem. Since I've recently invested in another expensive pattern-making book here I can't spend more money on books right now, but this one is certainly on my wish-list!

Next time, hopefully something different than a muslin!

For other Sew for Victory posts click here:
1. project plan
2. style, pattern & fabric inspiration
3. muslin, the good, the bad and the ugly
4. taking a few steps sideways

sewing for victory blouse - 3. muslin: the good, the bad and the ugly

How is your project going? Over here it is muslin time! The first muslin isn't perfect of course, but it looks nice already. Now let's see a lot of pictures!



muslin front and and back view:
Overall: I like it! Can you spot the problems?

• obviously, the collar is inside out, but besides that the collar edge needs to be shortened
• my one-piece yoke looks good!
• ...though something went wrong because it isn't lying flat...
• sleeve is too tight plus underarm room too small (I feel this when I lift my arm)
• the back pleats are placed too close to the center and are pleated in the wrong direction as well
• swayback adjustment in the back
• shorten the hem

muslin adjustments:

1. sleeve:
The tight sleeve/wobbly yoke problem was partly solved when I discovered that I've put the sleeve in backwards... I guess I just looked at the wrongly sewn collar seams as reference. Unbelievable, but when I started to sew I used to make this mistake on almost every garment I made! Usually just one sleeve though...


After a quick change (setting the sleeve in the right way) there was enough room to move my arms, and the sleeve looked much better, but there was still a little puckering visible along the armhole/armpit. You can see it in the picture below on the left, and how I corrected it by pinning the excess fabric out on the other side:

This is a modification which I need to transfer to my pattern pieces. The excess will be transferred to the front dart leg. (Note: my dart isn't stitched down, it is folded in a pleat to release fullness at the top)
To keep in mind: since my action modifies the armhole it will also affect the sleevecap!

2. collar:
The problem is that the collar of the Marfy pattern is made for another type of convertible collar. I marked the original points in the picture, with a drawing of the original and the shape of my new collar:


I could draft a new collar, but I choose an easy solution: I'm going to round out corner A and add a triangle shape from corner B down to fill the gap.

3. back pleats:
No idea, what happened here... anyway, the arrows mark the place where the pleats or gathering should be:


4. swayback adjustment:
This is an easy one, since I have to make this correction on almost every garment I make. You can already see the excess fabric pulling up below the back darts. (Observe that the fullness of the back looks right, the upper part of the back darts is in the good place!)

I can either pin out the excess fabric and add width at the sides or just try to add width at the sides and shorten the lower dart legs plus the blouse hem.

5. shortening the hem:
I often wear my blouses over my skirts or trousers, so I prefer a shorter hem. Also, I'm short-waisted, so a shorter blouse looks more in proportion on me. The length under the waistline will be still enough to tuck in in a high-waisted skirt:


6. other:

• I folded my front tucks on a vertical line instead of folding in the shape of the dart legs. I also only stitched in the middle, while I could taper it and stitch down a longer section.
• Besides the other sleeve adjustments above I might lengthen the sleeves just a bit.

Next up: muslin adjustments
For other Sew for Victory posts click here:
1. project plan
2. style, pattern & fabric inspiration

finally got myself the best pattern making book!

Now that our other house is sold I've finally got myself a 'little' present: Helen Joseph-Armstrong's 'Patternmaking for Fashion designs' book! (Actually, the book is quite expensive, that's why I had to wait so long to purchase it.) This is THE BOOK for pattern making courses since the late 80's.
I.m.o. it is a very good book if you have basic understanding of pattern construction, because the instructions are not very detailed. But, it is a great resource if you want to play with a good fitting basic pattern and try out different designs by tweaking, replacing the darts, add fullness etc. Something they did excellent back in the 1930's and 40's! Just take a look at the amazing variations of seam-lines, dart placings and gathering on the bodices.
I can imagine a beginner seamstress being overwhelmed by the amount of information and the lack of instructions on the actual sewing and finishing of the garments in this book, but I'm totally in love! I'm always curious how garments are constructed and trying to figure out how to re-construct vintage patterns for myself.
The designs are based on the three principles of pattern making:

• darts manipulation (relocating of darts)
• added fullness (adding more fabric in the design)
• contouring (fitting to the hollows of the figure)

Apparently there used to be a chapter on fitting tricks in the earlier editions, I have the idea that those things are now incorporated in the other chapters. There is a new chapter on how to make a knock-off, copying ready made designs. Below a few pics to give an impression on what to expect:


when looking at all those dart-lines, I think 40's!
   

there is an instruction on how to alter the basic sloper to get the designs:


my favorite chapter is the one on necklines and relocating darts:
  
       

Are you looking for a good beginner level book on pattern making? 'The principles of flat pattern design' by Nora MacDonald seems to be a very good one. I don't own it, but according to the information on the net things are explained much more in a step-by-step way, starting with basic sloper patterns, although the variation of the designs seems to be less extensive.

a contemporary, early 40's style sewing pattern!

I haven't bought new sewing patterns this year, partly because there weren't really interesting retro-tyle patterns released, partly because I was more concentrating on knitting. The big 4 Vogue, Simplicity and Butterick didn't have many vintage reprint patterns this season and certainly nothing for us, 1930-40's fans. However, one contemporary pattern,  Butterick 5951 stands out. It looks totally like an early 1940's dress, don't you think? Why on Earth is this one not listed as a retro pattern?!


Above the envelop picture and technical drawings next to a similar 1938 dress. The Butterick dress has a flattering V-neck, interesting vertical gathering in the front, totally 40's sleeves and two equally flattering skirt options. It's a pity you can't see any details because of the busy print of the sample dress.