Jalie 2919 (cardigan): complete

Because I wasn't happy with my first cardigan, I searched for a suitable replacement.  First I traced the Jalie Cocoon cardi, but didn't have enough fabric.  Then I traced the Jalie Drop Pocket cardi, but decided against it for a reason that I cannot remember.

Finally I settled on the Jalie (I detect a theme) Pleated cardigan and couldn't be happier!  I owe a lot of my squeeeeeee to the fabric as it has the *perfect* drape for this pattern.

Fabric & Notions:

• 2.5 yards of medium-heavy cotton knit
• strips of muslin selvedge to stabilize the shoulder seams
• 80/12 stretch needle for seams; serger to finish seams together

Size & Fit/Alterations:  I used a straight size Z (according to my full bust measurement) and no FBA.  This is my size for bodices using Jalie patterns.  The only drawback is that the shoulder seams are usually too long, which is an easy fix.

Either I have freakishly short arms, or Jalie drafts for people with freakishly long arms.  I removed 2" from the sleeves and could probably remove another inch or two.  In their defense, the knit I used has really awesome drape and pulls everything down.

I also removed three inches in the bodice length.  

The Fabric:  I bought this fabric from that fabric store which shall not be named and immediately questioned my purchase.  The content was supposed to be 90-something % cotton and the rest Lycra, but it was shiny and felt synthetic.  When I did a burn test, it proved to be pure cotton.  Hmm. 

I'm glad I kept it because it proved to work perfectly with this pattern.  I have another piece in gray that I will probably use to make a second version.

Construction:  I sewed the seams on my machine first and then serged them together.  I used a 3.0 straight stitch for both the seams and the tucks.  The stitches appeared to 'get lost' in the fabric; lengthening the stitch solved this problem.

Conclusion:  Love!  

***

This is another garment in my Starting from Scratch wardrobe-building plan.  Here's my progress so far:

Step 1:  nice pair of pants 

I made Kwik Sew 2960 in black rayon-poly-Lycra.

Step 2:  shoes

I have a pair of black semi-comfortable loafers.  I can get about four hours of wear out of them before I have a fit.  Needless to say, I need a better option.

Step 3:  cardigan and tee 

The cardigan is done; I still need the tee shirt.  I had two major failures in this part.  Who would have thought fitting a tee shirt could be so difficult?

Step 4:  jeans and a shirt 

Jeans were made in April and blogged here.  I'm dragging my feet on making the white button-down shirt because...it's white.  I haven't figured out what to use to mark the fabric. Plus, my serger is covered in dark-colored lint and fuzz.  Gotta clean that first before I sew anything white.

Step 5:  accessories round 1 

I have scarves with my colors:  teal, yellow, white, black.  I also have an Olivia Pope-inspired black purse.  I'll fill in more accessories later in process.

Step 6:  accent color tops and scarf

I made a dark teal button-down shirt back in January.  I will raid the stash to see if I have anything in yellow; I'm sure I do.

Step 7:  base in the second neutral

 

In this step, we are to include a pair pants, cardigan, and shoes in the second neutral.  I made two versions of Kwik Sew 2960 in solid dark grey and dark grey herringbone and have a pair of grey flats.  I still need the cardigan.

***

That's it!  There is a point in the steps where all of the possible combinations are pictured.  Once I've completed the missing items, I'll create a collage and post an update.  

More information on Starting from Scratch can be found here:  The Vivienne Files.  NAYY - just a fan of her wardrobe plans.

Until next time, peace!

Cardi Pics

I'm a little late getting this up on the blog.  I wore the cardi to work on Monday and took pictures then.  It's growing on me, though I'm still not completely satisfied.  

No head shot this time.  I had a mean mug on after work and wasn't feeling any of the photos!

The cardi looks way better on the dress form than on me because I'm chunkier than I was when I first padded this out in 2012.  Um...I suppose I should fix that.

Ugh!  Same camera, different lighting.  Maybe I should take pictures where the dress form is.  Hmm.

You can really see my broad back and poor posture in this photo.  The fit isn't tight, but I am not thrilled about the look.   

The back was too long in the muslin, so I hacked off two inches.  Bad idea.  Now the back rides up if the shoulder seam shifts too much.  Oops.  Seems like I didn't avoid the shrunken look as Sharon suggested.  

I don't know if this style of cardigan is for me.  Like others have said, I need to find a style that works and stick with it.  They're so cute on everyone else though! I love how it looks on the dress form, but meh.

Anyway.  On to the next project.

I am almost finished with my umpteenth pair of jeans.  (Wow...spell check did not auto-correct "umpteenth."  Is that a really a word?)  Squirrel!

Okay.  What was I saying?  Oh yeah, jeans are almost finished.  I just need to attach the belt loops, sew the buttonhole, and hem.  These joints are tight - but not uncomfortable.

I have to take pictures of the first completed steps of my Starting from Scratch journey.  While I'm still motivated to keep going with the plan, I want to sew some spring-summer stuff.  I don't wear enough dresses and want to incorporate more of them in my wardrobe.

I also started another jacket, S2284.  This has been on my list for a while and I finally decided to get to it.  So far, it's okay.  The muslin fit reasonably well; we'll see how it sews up.

Hah.  This is as far as I've gotten.  One seam at a time.

In other randomness, I bought four new Jalie patterns.  I loved Kyle's work out skorts and wanted some for summer biking.  The other three patterns are Kyle's fault too because...well...who else am I going to blame?  Me for having no self control?  Pfft.  

I bought a gravity feed iron last June and finally started using it in September when my second digital Black & Decker cooked itself.  I got tired of using self-heating-potential-fire-starters, and decided to invest in the GF iron.  

I'll never go back to a basic iron again for sewing.  This thing is heavy and generates a ton of steam. I have a $10 Target iron that I use for ironing clothes for dressing.  Even this little iron gets really hot and creates a lot of steady steam.  I've even burned my fingers (and thread) a few times with it.

Anyone else have a GF iron?  How do you like it?

I think that's enough randomness for today.  

L

  

BWOF 9-2005-103 (cardigan): Complete

Am I the only one who won't let go of the title Burda World of Fashion?  

I finished the cardi on Saturday and am totally meh about it.

 

I like it on the dress form, but not so much on me.  Something is off about the way it hangs in the front and the overall length is too short.  

I have to snap some photos of me wearing it.  Constructive criticism is welcomed; I want to know what went wrong.

I really REALLY love the curve in the raglan sleeve. It's sooooo sexy - well as sexy as a sleeve seam can be. 

Sewing the cardigan was simple - except for when it came time to finish the back neckline.  The "instructions" (or whatever Burda wants to call this collection of letters and punctuation) say to cut a rectangle of a certain size, fold it in half, and do something with it.  

The rectangle was wrong - just wrong.  It's too narrow and doesn't connect AT ALL with the front facing.  Instinct told me to trace along the neckline pattern piece and create a proper facing.  

I did not listen.

See that?  Foolishness!  The inner pin is the width of the back rectangle wtfery and the line of my coverstitching.  The outer pin is the edge of the facing. I should have stuck with my instincts and did it the right-er way.  There isn't even enough room to add vertical buttonholes or snaps.  Oh well.

Fabric & Notions

• 1.625 yards of wool knit
• stretch interfacing (crosswise only)
• 75/11 stretch needle
• regular sewing machine and serger

Seam Allowances/Fitting:  I added 3/4" seam allowances to all vertical bodice and sleeve seams.  I read somewhere that the sleeves were tight.  I sewed using 1/2" seams and found everything to feel alright.  I did not make an FBA.  I removed 1" from the waist (swayback adjustment) and added this length to the them to make sure the side seams were the same.

Construction:  I sewed all the seams using a straight stitch and finished them together on the serger.  Though I used a straight stitch, the seam had plenty of stretch.  

Conclusion:  I don't know if I'll wear it or not.  I think it'll spend some time in the magic closet for a while first.

***

Starting from Scratch Progress

Step 1:  nice pair of pants in neutral - check
Step 2:  shoes in neutral - check
Step 3:  cardigan and tee both in neutral - check and almost-check
Step 4:  jeans and a shirt - in progress

Until I figure out the cardi situation, I will substitute my black Simplicity cardigan (2603) for step 3.

Palate cleanser:

That's all for now.  Until next time, be well!

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

McCall's 6844 (cardigan): Complete

Everybody loves McCall's 6844.  Well, maybe not everybody, but those who've made it seem to really like their finished garment. My first go at this pattern ended in the scrap pile.  

Back?  Check.  Collar?  Check.  Front and back peplums?  Check.  Sleeves?  New back with seam allowances? Done and done.  Front?  Front?   Da' hell?

Not having front pieces pretty much will ruin any bodice, right?  There was no way to cut the front pieces out of the scraps that remained.  I thought about using the first set of back pieces as the front.  Bad idea.

Fabric & Notions

•  2 yards of grey ponte knit
• scraps of muslin selvedge to stabilize the shoulder seams
• serger, coverstitch machine, and thread
• 1/4"-wide steam-a-seam for the peplum hem
• 1/2"-wide steam-a-seam for the sleeve hems

Adjustments & Alterations

I started with a medium and made a 1-inch FBA using the slash-n-spread method.  In looking at how the cardigan fits, I probably could have sewn a straight medium with no FBA.

I also made a 1" swayback adjustment and, as mentioned before, cut the back with a seam allowance.

I read that the sleeves on this pattern are like sausage casings.  So I made a 1-inch bicep adjustment to give myself a bit more ease.  Even though the sleeve looks tight in the photo, it doesn't feel tight.

Construction

Shoulder Seams
To stabilize the shoulder seams, I stitched a piece of muslin selvedge to the back seamline and proceeded to use my serger to complete the construction.

 
Peplum Hem
Since the peplum is rather curved, hemming presented a bit of a challenge.  I ran basting stitches 1/4" from the edge and then fused 1/4" steam-a-seam between the stitching and edge.  Some of the fusible ended up covering the stitches, but this didn't pose any problems.  As I fused the hem in place, I gently pulled the thread to help ease the hem.

I don't know why the hem looks uneven.  It isn't.

Sewing the Sleeves
The sleeves had too much ease for my taste.  I shaved off about 5/8" tapering to nothing at the notches.

Coverstitching the Hems
I am not a lazy sewer - despite my repeated affirmations of the opposite.  I am just lazy about some things...like measuring for coverstitching.  I have a "method" that works for me and that consistently produces good results.  

To coverstitch a hem, the right side faces up.  It can be hard to gauge where the hem is if it's not visible from the top.  Some people use Post-It notes as a fixed edge to help guide their sewing.  I tried this and, for some odd reason, could not get it to work.   

Instead, I guide the fabric under the foot carefully feeling for the "hem bump" through the fabric.  On the clear (see-through) presser foot are two raised marks to denote the left and right needles.  I make sure the "hem bump" is just to the inside of the left needle.  Here are my results:

The coverstitch just skims the raw edge of the hem.  I could not get anything close to this using Post-It notes.  Lazy?  Yes.  Effective?  Highly.  Win-win. =D

To end a coverstitch, I use Debbie Cook's method.  It works beautifully; I've never had a coverstitch to ravel or pull apart.

Conclusion

I like the top and wore it out to dinner with my second mom last night.   She was impressed and really thought it was cute.

I will probably sew this again, but without the FBA.  It looks as if the bodice is too big with all of the wrinkles and pulls.

Up next:  I have one more review to do before posting my 2013 Year in Review.  Those posts are near completion, I just need pictures.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday.  Until next time, peace!

L