KLM Jacket Update & Pressing

I've been a bit under the weather lately and had no energy to sew.  Somehow, though, I managed to find some motivation to continue working on my KLM jacket.  Actually, I'm almost done.  I need to re-do the notched collar on the right, sew the lining to the bottom and sleeve hems, and topstitch the front.

I have *not* completely pressed everything because, like I said, I need to rework the right side notched collar among other things.  However, I took this picture anyway to show how much pressing the garment as its sewn is well worth the effort and time.  I spend just as much time at the iron as I do at the sewing machine.  I press every seam - not always immediately after I sew it, though.  I like to sew and press in groups.  For example, I will sew the CB and side back seams at once, then go to the iron and press those seams open or to one side.  Then I'll construct the front, press; shoulders, press; sides, press etc.

 

The close-ups show that more work is needed on the right (left-facing).  But look how much nicer the other side is once it's been properly pressed with the facing rolled to the outside.

Why am I talking about this?  I recently saw a garment that, in my opinion, lacked pressing pretty much everywhere.  This garment would hang so much more nicely and look more polished if just a few minutes were spent with an iron.  I am by no means an expert nor do I strive to be the perfect sewer.  If you knew the shortcuts I took and saw the insides of some of my garments (I'm talking to you Burda knit dress), you would certainly agree!  I just know that there are some things we need to do whilst sewing so as to produce something comparable to RTW at the very least - hopefully even better.

What are your thoughts?  Are you a pressaholic too?  

That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll be back to normal speed in a few days.  Until next time, peace!

L

Knit Layering Tops (complete)

I've had this little slinky knit tee for at least 10 years and could no longer deny the fact the top needed replacing.

Originally I was going to make multiple copies of a tank top pattern that I've made in the past:  Jalie 965.  But the first version ended up fitting very poorly.  It was everything that could possibly be wrong with a tank top and rather than continue to fool with that mess, I just cut apart the old slinky knit tank and made a pattern from that.  I used the neckband and armhole pattern pieces from Jalie 965 since the measurements were pretty close to the RTW top.

left (from top to bottom):  cotton striped knit, lime green, taupe, white, grey, pink cotton knit, red

right (top to bottom):  coral pink rayon, bright blue rayon

Of the 10 tops that I made, 8 were based on the RTW top and two were from Simplicity 1945 - a pattern that I made twice before.  Only 9 of the 10 total tops are wearable.  I had problems attaching the neckband on the tenth top and the neckline stretched horribly out of shape by the third attempt.

Fabric 
I used 11 yards of various lightweight rayon and cotton knits.  I've had this fabric in my stash for almost three years and bought it during one of Fabric.com's huge knit sales.  I was really excited about the fabric until I got it in the mail.  Some of it was off grain, too light in weight and had little recovery since it was made of 100% rayon (no Lycra).  Even though I was disappointed, I didn't return the fabric since I knew it would still fill a void in my closet.

Notions/Machine Setup
I sewed the majority of these tops on my serger.  I fused steam-a-seam to all hems and then coverstitched them in place.

Sizing & Alterations

The only thing I did was add two inches to the hem since I wanted my tops to hang a little big longer. 

Conclusion
Though these aren't quite like my old and faithful slinky tank, I'll certainly wear these under other garments.  They're good little tanks and light enough to not be too bulky - perfect for layering!  

Up next:  I've been working on what I'm calling my KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jacket.

Soooooooo blue.  The color actually isn't this bright.  It's more like blue on the handle of the standard-sized seam ripper.  But still.  Welcome to KLM flight number...

I've made much more progress than what's shown here.  The sleeves are in and the under collar is attached.  I need to cut out the lining, attach the front facing, and attach the upper collar.  Hopefully I'll get to work on that this weekend.

Until next time, peace!

L

Stashbusting Challenge 2014

The stash is still out of control, but I'm getting better at not adding to it.  I participated in last year's Stashbusting Challenge with great success.  I pledged to use 12 pieces and ended up using double that amount.  I also sewed 8 of 10 pledged patterns.

This year, I am going to up the ante.  I have a lot of nice pieces of fabric and there is no sense in letting it just sit there.  So, here's my pledge for this year:

"I, Lynn of You sew girl!, commit to using at least 30 pieces of stash fabric in 2014. I also commit to using at least 10 patterns from the pattern and/or magazine stash. Stash includes any fabric or patterns on hand prior to the date of this pledge, 6 Jan 2014."

Originally, I had a goal of using 24 pieces of stash, but my latest sewing project has already used up 10 pieces (whaaaaat!) and my goal would already be half met and it's just the beginning of the year.

How about you?  Do you plan to join the Stashbusting Challenge?  If so, what's your goal?

********

I leave you with a picture of my deck.  It's under there...somewhere.  

 

L

BWOF 1-2009-106 (knit dress): Complete

Man oh man.  Sewing this dress tested my patience for knits and Burda World of Fashion (BWOF).  Despite the fact that the dress will never be worn inside-out, there is some real 'damn shame' going on on the inside.  I will spare you the images.  But trust me, Nina would not approve.

Fabric & Notions

• 2 yards of grey poly-rayon-spandex ponte knit
• scraps of muslin selvedge to stabilize the shoulder seams
• serger, sewing machine, coverstitch machine, thread
• 1/2" steam-a-seam for all hems
• helluva lot of patience

Adding Seam Allowances

I add my seam allowances right on the fabric when I'm ready to cut out the pattern.  I like doing it this way because I can make my pattern adjustments right at the seamlines and add whatever seam allowance I want later on.  Depending on the fabric, I either use a chalk wheel or colored pencils to mark the seams.  For this garment, I used a chalk wheel and a 5/8" seam allowance.  

I didn't add a hem allowance because BWOF patterns are drafted for NBA players.  I actually lopped off two more inches from the bottom and sewed a 1.25" hem.

Sizing & Alterations

Since this is my first BWOF knit pattern (I think), I didn't know with what size to start and because I am totally lazy about flat-pattern measuring, I started with a size 42.  It's strange, really.  I won't take the time to measure the pattern, but I will take the time (and fabric) to make a muslin.  Sooooo...yeah.  The muslin showed me that a 42 fit fine everywhere except the bust.  Surprise surprise.  I made a 1" FBA and left the bust dart in tact.

Yah hear that Rachelle??  I sewed a bust dart in a knit.  I hate darts in knits and try my best to avoid them.  Seriously.  But Rachelle is right.  The darts help to shape the knit nicely around my bust. 

The front and back bodice pieces are divided into two sections.  I performed the FBA on the top section and removed the extra width from the side seam.  This kept the top and bottom sections the same size.

In addition to the FBA, I also made a 1 1/4" swayback adjustment.  If I make this again, I will shorten the front and back bodices by an inch above the bustline.  The back-waist length is too long and it shows when I wear it.  You can see what I'm talking about in the pictures at the end of this post.

The Freakin' Sleeves (i.e., Source of Said Hacking)

Sleeve Cap

I have never had so many problems with knit sleeves.  There is an INSANE amount of ease in the sleeve cap.  Why Burda?  Why?  Is this a thing with BWOF?  Are all of their knit sleeve caps like this?  I checked reviews for this pattern on PR and only two people mentioned the extra ease.  Everyone else's sleeves appear to be set in nicely.  Either this is a massive oversight or the three of us did something wrong.  I'm going with oversight because there is something criminal about this sleeve cap.

I could not sew these sleeves in flat to save the world.  The first time I tried to set the sleeve in the round, there were puckers and folds everywhere.  I retraced the sleeve pattern and didn't add a seam allowance along the cap.  That didn't work either.  The second and third tries to sew in the round were also epic fails.  By the fourth iteration, I was DONE and just started lopping shit off.  I could not be more pleased.

Do you see that?  That's how much I removed from the sleeve cap with no seam allowances.  Unreal!

Cute Ruffles, Crazy Pattern Piece

The sleeves are kind of cute with the little ruffled area.  Sewing this, however, is not cute.  The pattern piece looks like this:

You're supposed to gather between the asterisks (corners), attach the inset at the horizontal seam, then sew the sides.  This is fine until you reach the corners.  As BWOF instructions are famously scant, how to handle this area is not explained very well.  I tried to do it.  Twice.

Then I read Belinda's review on PR.  Rather than attempt to sew the crazy corner, she cut the sleeve apart into four pieces:  (1) inset, (2) lower half, (3) front, and (4) back.

photo credit:  Sew4Fun

This worked perfectly.  Even though my sleeve has seams all the way to the hem, I still have my sanity.

Neckline

I knew when I cut out the facings that this part of the construction would not end well.  I sewed the facing on and immediately ripped it out and threw it away.  You know why.  I don't have to go into detail.  Knit facings are evil.

Since I like Jalie's method of sewing a neckband to V-necks, I use the pattern piece from Jalie 2805 and cut it out for this dress.  The neckline lengths were close to the same, so I didn't have to make any changes to the pattern piece.  Awww...my first frankenpattern.  Baby steps.

Conclusion

I'm very happy with my dress.  I will NEVER wear it un-belted because "shapeless sack" is not a look that goes well with my figure. 

After tracing and cutting out the fabric, this pattern is quite easy and quick to construct.  The pattern includes a cut line that shortens the dress into a tunic or top.  I probably won't make either one of those garments, but I may I might make one more in a sweater knit or black ponte.  

Up next:  2013 Year in Review:  Part 2 (Hits)

L