How Are Button-front Cardigans Supposed to Fit?

I'm slowly chugging along on my Starting From Scratch plan.  The next step is to make/buy a cardigan and simple tee-shirt in one of the neutral colors.

This is an in-progress version of BWOF 9-2005-103.  The sleeves are temporarily sewn in to check the fit.  I like it so far, but I'm not sure what to make of the bottom gape.  The cardi didn't gape as much when I tried it on, but it did gape.

On the model, the cardigan is completely buttoned.  But I've seen cardigans flared at the hem and worn with a skinny belt.  I've also seen them worn completely open - as if they're too small.  

Obviously I don't wear many button-front cardigans!  Is there a rule or something?

Also, the front is finished with a facing and the back neckline is finished with a rectangular piece of fabric.  I couldn't understand what the hell Burda was trying to say about that part and figured there's got to be another way to do this.  Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

L

Yeah, It's Freakin' Cold

I try really hard not to complain about the weather.  I can't control it.

I can grumble though.  It's -17 F outside.  Let that sink in for a minute.  That is the ACTUAL temperature.  For my metric peeps, that's -27 C.  Thank goodness there's no wind at the moment.  Wind chills have been in the -30s for the past couple of days.

This is stupid.

I still won't move to Florida.  =)  I'll take North Pole temperatures over Palmetto bugs and house lizards any day.

On the sewing front, I made the muslin of my cardigan (I know, I know...muslin queen) and only need to make a couple of small adjustments.  Pics and details soon.

Take care everyone and be safe!

L

Starting From Scratch: Pants & Shoes

Steps 1 and 2 of the SFS series involve finding a nice pair of good-fitting pants and comfortable shoes.  I made Kwik Sew 2960 last year and really liked the fit, so I used that pattern as my base for this first step.

Hmm.  So I got the top of my head, but not my feet.  Oops.

The fabric is black rayon poly lycra from the stash.  I bought many yards of this in different colors when a certain store had a mega sale.  I fell off the wagon in January and bought even more.  The fabric is good quality and has nice stretch and recovery.  These pictures were taken after a full day of work.  The legs are a little baggy, but definitely wearable.

The nice thing about this pattern is that there are four pieces:  front, back, waistband, and fly shield.  What's not to love?!  Like the SASSSG, I can probably sew these in a day.  Unlike the SASSSG, it is almost guaranteed to take me longer.  The waistband on this pair was all kinds of evil.  I took it off, cut a new waistband, and still hate it.  Something is wonky with the part where it meets the zipper.  I already removed the waistband once - not doing it again. =)

Since my SFS color scheme includes grey, I made a second pair out of another rayon-poly-lycra stretch suiting.  This fabric is SO nice.  Though it's a bit heavier than the black RPL, it sews, presses, and hangs beautifully.

Oddly enough, I didn't encounter any problems with the waistband on this pair.  I don't have the wonky zipper issue either and this is a heavier fabric.  Hmm.  Must be user error.

 

Look at that break on the shoes!  This is why I love sewing.  RTW pants would NOT hang like this on me.  Though the hem doesn't touch the ground, I'll make a slightly deeper hem next time.

Fabric & Notions:

• 2 yards RPL stretch suiting (x 2)
• 7" nylon zipper (x 2)
• non-stretch weft interfacing
• 80/12 universal needle
• serger and regular sewing machine

Construction:   I finished the edges of the pieces first with the serger, sewed the seam, and pressed them open to reduce bulk.  The back crotch seam is sewn and serged together for strength.  I hemmed both pair using the blind hem setting on my machine.

Conclusion:  This is my TNT pattern for stretch wovens.  I've already worn both pair to work and love how comfortable they are.  

***

Step 2 of the series is to get a nice pair of comfortable flat shoes.  2 out of 3 ain't bad, right?  The shoes I'm wearing are nice and flat, but comfortable?  Not so much.  After doing a lot of research, I spent a pretty penny on these shoes only to have my feet hurt after about an hour.  I need more arch support so that the balls of my feet aren't so sore.  Sigh.  The search continues.

Step 3 is to add a cardigan and tee-shirt in the primary neutral color.  So I'm working on a muslin for a BWOF cardigan in black wool jersey and a simple black tee-shirt out of cotton interlock.  I'm super busy this week, so I don't know how much sewing I'll get done.

Until next time, peace!

Starting from Scratch: Color Schemes

Has anyone ever taken the time to read some of the posts on The Vivienne Files?  I've been a long time lurker and have acquired a new appreciation for how to create wardrobes.  Janice (owner and writer of TVF) has a remarkable eye for style and works some serious magic to put together the coolest outfits.

Last summer, Janice wrote a series of posts on how to build a coordinated wardrobe from scratch.  The series is titled Starting From Scratch and provides step-by-step instructions how to do this.  

I followed Sharon's (Petite and Sewing) progress through SFS and was in awe at how she was able to turn 24 garments into almost 400 outfits.  To see her final reveal, click here.

You know where this is going, right? I am going to follow the steps and build a new wardrobe of coordinating outfits using the SFS posts.  

The primary step is to pick a color scheme.  Janice suggests working with five colors:  two neutrals, two accents, and a white or cream that can be used as blouses or t-shirts.

I have a lot of black and light-to-medium grey in my stash, so those are the neutrals I'm using in this first wardrobe.  (Yeah, I plan on doing this twice!)  

At first my accents were teal and purple.  But then I thought I had too many dark colors.  So I ditched the purple and went with yellow instead.  I'll use white or off white for blouses/t-shirts.

These colors seem a little strong, but I'm going to roll with it anyway.  I'm actually excited to see how this all plays out!

Next up is step 1: a nice pair of pants in one of the primary colors.  I worked on this over the weekend and am almost finished.  The waistband is kind of wonky, so I'm thinking of taking it off and starting over.  I hope to have details soon.  It's exam time and I won't have much time to sew next week.

Until next time, peace!

L