Simple Sewing . . .

After all of those projects with buttons, collars, etc., it was time for some simple sewing–something to cleanse the sewing palate, so to speak.  I’d traced these patterns from the April 2008 issue of Burda WOF and finally got around to sewing them up for my daughter: 

 

Isn’t this lovely fabric?  It’s Alexander Henry cotton from a few years ago–the “Pixie” collection.  I bought several different fabrics in this line (including one with fairies on it, which became a sundress for my girl many years ago).  One of the prints I used for this blouse I made for the vintage sewing contest last fall.  This is the last of the pixie fabric–it does feel good to have used it all.

Burda gave these patterns one dot, and they were truly easy.  The front and the back of the tunic are the same, there’s a facing and ties.  No topstitiching even (although it certainly could be added).  There is no pattern for the skirt, only dimensions given in the instructions.  The original called for the skirt to be one piece of fabric with a single side seam but I was using 44 inch wide fabric so I cut two identical pieces and had two side seams.  I’d only advise this skirt with a thinner fabric so it will gather nicely when the elastic waist is inserted.  For a heavier fabric, I would make the skirt less wide so the gathers wouldn’t be as bulky.   These really would be great for a beginner trying to get used to BWOF’s sparse directions. 

I’m intending to make the child’s dress and pants from this issue too with coordinating solid linen, for a mini wardrobe.  I may add a t-shirt too, probably from an Onion or Ottobre fabric.   Up to this point, I’d only made one summer dress for my girl this year–but don’t feel too sorry for her because she has 16 mommy-made summer dresses and skirts in her closet that still fit her from last summer.  Although, some are rapidly approaching tunic length and can only be worn with shorts . . .

It’s a wrap

I’ve been very productive this week and finished another  kwik sew blouse.  I then needed something to wear the blouse with, so I flipped through my patterns and found McCall’s 5430, which is a wrap skirt with a few different options.  I liked option A, which has a cascade, but the ties would be bulgy under my blouse, which is made to wear as an overblouse, not tucked in.  But on closer examination, I found that it would be a cinch to eliminate the ties and have a double button closure.  I didn’t fit the tissue or make a muslin, although in retrospect, if I had taken a few minutes to tissue fit, I would have had a better fit in the back (I was able to compensate somewhat during sewing by letting out the back skirt where it attaches to the contour waistband–at least my hem is even now.    Aside from eliminating the ties, the only change to the pattern I made was to make a rolled hem with my serger instead of a regular hem.  I used a dark brown thread for the rolled hem to co-ordinate with this blouse and with the blouse I sewed for the vintage sewing contest.  It was a very quick project–after making two button up blouses, it was nice to crank a project out.

What I’ve been working on . . .

Now that the contest is over I can get back to the 21st century with my sewing.  Well, after I’ve finished this skirt, that is.  I’m making it in a glen plaid velveteen–gray on black, lightweight (for velveteen), soft, and lovely.  I bought the fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club and it’s one of the nicer fabrics I’ve bought from them.  I had some difficulty with the side seams; they seemed lumpy and hung strangely.  After some experimentation sewing new seam lines, the skirt looks fine.  The side seams still hang a little strangely, but after looking carefully at the pattern illustration it seemed like the drawing showed the side seams doing something similar to what mine wanted to do, which is pull to the back a little toward the hem.   I think this is happening because the back is a straight skirt, and the front a bias cut quarter circle–the fullness of the front causes the seam to slant toward the back a little.  I used a grosgrain ribbon for a facing, using a combination of the directions given in the pattern for a facing with “belting” and the directions for installing a grosgrain ribbon in Sandra Betzina’s Power Sewing book.  Following the pattern, I cut the ribbon so that it was snug fitting (after making hems at the ends of the ribbons) and sewed two hook and eyes to the end of the ribbons so that it made a little belt.  But I wasn’t really sure from the pattern’s illustrations how to sew it in place, so I used the Power Sewing instructions and sewed the edge of the ribbon to the seam line on the right side of the fabric (the ribbon was on top of the seam allowance) and then folded the ribbon to the inside of the skirt.  It makes a nice waist finish and I think it will really help hold up this skirt, which is a little heavy.   Now I’m letting the skirt hang for several days to let the bias portions stretch to where they want to stretch to.

While I’m hanging the skirt, I decided to start on some t-shirts.  I’ve been wanting to try the t-shirt patterns from the spring/summer 2006 Ottobre Woman (I believe the issue is 2/2007).  I traced the 3/4 sleeve shirt pattern, using my full bust size, even though I’m a C-cup, and tapered out to the size larger at the waist and hips.  I added a center back seam and a sway back alteration, did a one inch large arm adjustment, and added 1″ seam allowances to the underarm seams, side seams and shoulder seams.  I made a muslin out of a print rayon jersey in my stash that isn’t too stretchy.  While I was sewing my muslin, I did discover I needed a square shoulder alteration (I thought I would, which is why I made one inch seam allowances at the shoulder.  On my next attempt, I’m going to do a second tuck on the pattern for the sway back alteration (still had some fabric puddling) And add some length to the center back, tapering out to the side seams.  But other than those minor fitting issues, my muslin fits beautifully.  My DH looked at it and said “no wrinkles!”  I had read positive reviews of this pattern and I’m so glad I tried it.  I think this will become my TNT (Tried aNd True) t-shirt pattern.   I’m so amazed that I had to do so few alterations to the pattern

Photos–finally!

Luckily there was no power outage when I was downloading these tonight.  Here’s my late 40’s simplicity skirt 2608

I think it looks best with my shirt untucked, even though it covers up the nice waistband detail in front.  I’m just too shortwaisted to tuck in.  I think the back pleats look better in real life than the photo because in real life they swish and sway very nicely when I move.    You may notice something that looks like puckering or wrinkling in the fabric–it’s  the embroidery.  It’s definately a fall/winter skirt and I’ll wear it with boots most of the time.    

Here’s the Marian Martin girls’ blouse

I am done machine sewing the jumper and just have to finish handsewing the  bias facings, hem it, and sew on the buttons.  I’m letting it hang right now before I mark the hem. 

Not suitable for plaids?????

Today this lovely gem arrived.  The front of the skirt is yoked with a quarter circle lower panel.  The back of the skirt is a darted straight skirt.  I love the idea of this skirt–can’t decide between a straight skirt or a flared skirt–wear both.  A woman wearing this skirt would provide a different impression coming and going.  I want to make this from a pinwale cord with a plaid print.  The envelope back warns “corduroy, striped, plaid or diagonal fabrics are not suitable”.   But wait, I say to myself, the front illustration clearly shows the skirt in a plaid fabric.  Okay,  technically it’s a large windowpane check  . . . but still . . . I’ll be now off on a quest to find out if a plaid will look okay on the bias as it would be in the front panel of this skirt.  I think it will look fine.  And I’m not worried about the corduroy either as I am intending to use a finer wale which will drape nicer and won’t have such an obvious stripe to it (plus the plaid will disguise that).  And since velveteen is listed as a suggested fabric, I would think corduroy would be fine.  Speaking of velveteen and corduroy: I have thought for many years that velveteen was merely corduroy without the wales.  It turns out that there is a difference between velveteen and no wale corduroy.  According to Claire Schaeffer’s Fabric Sewing Guide,   the pile of no wale cord is woven in rows while it’s random in velveteen.  I examined the brown velveteen on a dress I made last winter for my girl and found out that it is not a true velveteen, it is a no-wale cord.  But I’m still going to call it velveteen as “a dress made of brown velveteen” sounds more lovely and is easier to say  than “a dress made of brown no-wale corduroy”.

This skirt does call for belting to make a belt that attached to the inside of the top edge somehow.  After doing a little research on that topic at Vintage Sewing  Reference Library, I think petersham ribbon will be an okay substitute.   This poor old pattern; it’s not in good shape.  I’m making copies of everything and then I’ll slip the poor dear in an acid free cover and won’t handle it any more.   Inside the envelope with the pattern pieces and directions are some pieces of The New York Times from February 27, 1955.  One article is titled “Babies, Babies, Babies–4,ooo,ooo Problems” about the baby boom and what problems this increase in population may cause.   There’s also an article on the problems involved with legal and illegal wiretapping and the history of what we’d probably call “electronic evesdropping” in our era.  Fifty-two years later we’re still concerned with the drain on resources that “baby boom” may cause and also with the issue of law enforcement/government’s invasion into the privacy of citizens.   Apparently, the original owner of this lovely pattern used the paper for some pattern alterations.   She could have never imagined  that so many years later somebody would find those pieces and blog about them.   

I almost forgot about this skirt pattern . . .

Here’s one of my favorite vintage (1970’s) Stretch & Sew patterns.  I won a lot of 50 on ebay last year and have picked up a few more since because I like them so much.   Stretch & Sew  patterns are multisize, never cut (they are printed on paper and meant to be traced like Kwik Sew patterns), and are usually very plentiful and inexpensive on ebay.  The patterns I have are all for knits and cover a wide range from lingerie to swimwear to women’s clothes of all kinds to unisex and mens’ clothes to children’s clothing.  Here are my versions of the long flared wrap skirt: first my “pucci” print skirt (rayon lycra knit)

then my skirt in basic black (also rayon lycra knit)

I’m sorry, the pictures are not the best –a dressform would help and I’m hoping I’ll be able to get one soon.

The only thing I don’t like about these skirts is that they have to be readjusted/retied  several times over the course of the day.  But I love the swing of the skirt and they are the only wrap skirts I own that I really don’t have to worry about how I sit so to maintain modesty (I sit on the ground a lot).  The pattern is from the late 70’s, but has a very 1950’s circle skirt feel to it–maybe that whole 1950’s retro thing that was going on at that time (think Grease).  Here is what the pattern looks like

As you can see, there are only two pattern pieces–the main skirt cut once on a fold and the waistband/tie.  I think I had to cut two and sew them together to get the length I needed.  My ties are long enough to wrap around my waist a couple times and then tie in a bow.   My fasturn was so handy for this project.  I actually added length to this skirt, even with my short legs.  If I hadn’t, the hemline would have ended at the dreaded widest part of my calves.  So I added a little more and the skirt now ends just below the muscular part of my calves; I believe this is called ballet length and it’s a great length for me.  My legs are short, particularly in the lower leg, and I find that this length makes them look a bit longer.   Rayon lycra was the perfect fabric choice for this skirt–so soft and drapey.  And the skirts are great with strappy sandals or my high heel chuck taylors that I bought (cough cough) years ago.   And I can envision wearing them with tall boots in the cooler months.