Make Nine 2021 Results

Despite the challenges of 2021, I tried to find some motivation to sew by working on my Make Nine plan. 

 

Welp. This was a big ol' fail. I'm cutting myself all the slack, though, because I had a lot going on.

 

COMPLETED

I finished Burda 8-2011-102 (military-styled coat/jacket). It took a long time to finish this garment because I worked on it here and there and had BEAST of a time sewing those damn epaulets. The fabric is a beautiful 100% wool twill with a bit of mechanical stretch and spongy feel. But man was it a challenge to press and turn neat corners.

The collar is supposed to be pointy; mine is most definitely not. 😬 After struggling with the epaulets, I didn't even bother trying to fool with the collar.

 

I think I cut six pairs of those things trying to make it work. I am not a perfectionist by any means. However, I am a don't-want-this-to-look-like-crap-ist.

I didn't like that the joining seam on the epaulet showed on the front and tried to redraw the piece so that it was cut on the fold. I forget why I didn't use those pieces; I think something was wrong with how the point turned out. Anyway. I went back to the original pieces and had trouble getting the point to be pointy. This was definitely a fabric issue.

 

Because of the fabric's surface texture and feel, it was hard to prevent shininess when pressing - even after using a press cloth.  I couldn't steam-press the corners into submission like I normally would. This is another reason it took a long time to make the coat; I had to be very careful and methodical with pressing.

In all, I really, really love it. I got to wear it once before it got too cold and am excited to wear again this early spring.

ABANDONED

First new admit to Area 51 is the shirt of 1000 buttons:  Burda 1-2008-105. I started this garment a few days before shit met fan and was really excited about how it was going. 

I adored (and still do) the contrast collar and cuffs and the overall shape of the shirt. 

 

 

I couldn't trick my sewing machine to make 1.5-inch buttonholes and settled for 1-inch instead. 

The tricky thing about sewing this sleeve situation is the over sleeve part. The instructions are just weird. Okay?

• sew upper sleeve to lower sleeve ✅
  
• make buttonholes on lower sleeve ✅
• add cuff to over sleeve ✅
• turn under seam allowance on over sleeve and do some Burda magic to attach at upper-lower sleeve seam 👀 um...wut?
  

Y'all know Burda be on some crazy with the instructions. Most of the time I can figure it out. This was not one of those times because the seam lengths do not match and I had no idea what went wrong. I separated the upper and lower sleeves, sewed the over sleeve (with cuff) to the upper sleeve, and then attached the lower sleeve (with buttonholes) to the upper sleeve. I added pleats (visible from under the sleeve) to take up the extra seam length.

 

I have yet to complete the second sleeve because I'm just not motivated. After one of my cuffs came out looking like this, I stopped working on the shirt. I know what I need to do, I just don't feel like doing it. Meh. Maybe it doesn't look so bad...

The next admit to Area 51 is the Blue Calla Dogwood duffle bag.

Listen. When I tell you that I tried, I REALLY tried to sew this bag. I started it over four times with four different fabrics and this is how far I've gotten. The first fabric was just way too stiff and was not going to work. The second fabric suffered burn marks from my iron (wtf?). I had issues with the third fabric because...hmm...oh I couldn't get the pocket flap to overlay properly. 

 

The fourth iteration is what you see in the picture above. This fabric and lining are working much better, but I've had problems understanding the instructions. I've emailed the bag designer a few times and she's been very helpful. I've just reached my limit (for now) on making it work and have put it aside. It was supposed to be a birthday gift for the dude, but it didn't happen. 

The last new member to Area 51 is the pleated skirt: Burda 10-2017-117.

The skirt is nearly done:  front is pleated, back darts are sewn, and the front overlay is hemmed. So what's the problem? The closure is not what I expected and I wasn't paying attention before I started.

 

It looks like a pre-made belt/buckle thing (don't know the proper terminology) is sewn to the overlay and pleated front...waistband area? I have no idea. Since I wasn't sure what was going on here, I decided to add an invisible zipper to the left side seam. As it turns out, one of the pleats is very close to the side seam and I'm not sure a zipper is going to sit well in that area.

 

Plus I used a stiff 100% wool gabardine and I don't think I like wool gabardine. Despite being wool, it was a bit hard to press and do you see those ripples? Bleh.

 

I didn't try the rest of the patterns in the Make Nine plan. I intend to add Simplicity 8014 back to the 2022 plan as I really want to make that dress. I've seen so many good versions and think it's a winner.

 

I enjoy doing the Make Nine challenges and intend to set some new goals for 2022. So far I've got six patterns on the grid and want to find three more. Details soon...

 

L

 

Jedi Smurf Coat: Sewing the Skirt

I'm back with the next update on sewing the coat. 

In this post, I talked about the trouble I had sewing the pockets onto the front skirt panels. I emailed Burda for help; they replied with pictures of how the pockets are to be sewn. It makes SO MUCH more sense now!

The instructions say to lay hip yoke piece (12) right sides together with lower front. Seam line meets with open side edge.

What the instructions don't say is that this piece should be oriented upside down! I tried every configuration I could think of - EXCEPT this. 😬

 

Such a small - but important - detail! Now I see why it's important to clip at the mark: it helps making turning the hip yoke to the inside easier.

 

Despite now understanding how this is supposed to work, I still did my own thing because my fabric was just too thick to do it this way.

After the pocket flap is attached, I stitched the pocket lining to the front, right sides together. The pocket flap is sandwiched between the two layers.

After rolling and pressing the seam to the inside, I understitched the lining in place.

Next I pinned the hip yoke to the pocket lining, right sides together.

(wrong side of the skirt faces up)

 

I stitched the vertical seam from the waistline to the point where the pocket flap ends.

 

 

Sewing this area took a bit of finesse. I basted by hand and sewed carefully to make the front corner area remained smooth and flat.

 

Once the front hip yoke is sewn (and edges finished) to the pocket lining, I stitched in the ditch through all layers to secure yoke to the front.

 

 

The pockets sag a bit because of the weight of my fabric. Even in the model photos, there appears to be some level of bagginess.

As of today, the lining is completely sewn and attached to the facing. I'm dragging my feet on finishing the coat because the already-hemmed lining is longer than the coat in a few places. Why? I have no idea. I need to trim all of that off and re-hem it. 

 

Finally, I need to attach the sleeve lining to the sleeves, add buttonholes, and attach the buttons.

Preliminary assessment:  ehhhh...it looks great from the front on the dress form. On me though, I don't think it's the right shape/style. The coat is very full and sticks out in unflattering ways.

It's hella warm, though. 😁

L

 

 

 

 

Jedi Smurf Coat: Sewing the Bodice

I knew this would be a slow sew because of all of the pieces involved. What I did not expect was the fabric to be difficult and finicky. I usually like sewing wool because it's stable and respond well to heat. This is a beautiful fabric, don't get me wrong. But it's a pain in the ass to sew with all of its raveling, shedding, and general don't-want-t0-be-handled-or-pressed-ness.

Plus the fabric gives off a chemical odor I steam press.  I read on PR that people who bought the same fabric had success with washing it first. I wish I had read that before cutting.

Initially I wanted to do a bunch of light tailoring. Yeah, that didn't happen. I sewed hair canvas, thread-traced some seam/fold lines, and called it a day.

I fused weft interfacing to the skirt hems and all facing areas. I wanted to interline with flannel for extra warmth, but there are several areas of extreme bulk and the extra layers would have made this even more challenging to sew.

Because there are so many layers, the back neck and front self facing were difficult to attach. I had to baste it by hand first and then sew it by machine. Things were not made any easier because the fabric raveled so much. I ended up serging the whole neckline to keep my sanity and from making this a wadder.

The pattern calls for self fabric for the interior of the hood. To reduce bulk, I considered using lining, however I didn't care much the contrast showing so visibly on the outside.

Now that I look at this side-by-side, the lining doesn't look so bad. It's too late now, the hood is already attached. 

Anyone else getting a Handmaid's Tale vibe? Maybe I watch too much TV.

The bodice side seams are stitched and, honestly, the coat looks so much better without them being sewn. 😐

Yeesh. I hope those folds smooth out or something once the skirt is attached. I have a suspicion that the length I removed from the back bodice might be contributing to this wonkiness. Oof.

As you can see, the front pockets are installed. I emailed Burda for help on this part and what they said now makes complete sense. I still ended up sewing the pockets my way because of the fabric thickness.

I'll share the pocket construction in the next post.

L

Edited to add:  I had to turn on comment moderation because I got spammed with over 200 frivolous messages.

 

 

 

Jedi Smurf Coat: Sewing the Muslin (part 2 - lower front & pockets)

When BurdaStyle magazine used to be named "Burda World of Fashion," folks in the sewing community (myself included) used the abbreviation:  BWOF. Because the instructions can be real head-scratchers, this abbreviation easily morphed into BWTF. Seriously. I can't tell you how many times I uttered these words after reading the same line of instructions over and over.

There aren't any pictures in the magazine to aid in construction (unless the pattern is a sewing course) and the instructions appear as one big run-on paragraph in what must be font size 1.

 

Most of the time, this isn't a problem for me. But when I am stumped with something or  construction looks like it might be challenging, I type the instructions, enumerated line-by-line. I sometimes add the pattern piece number and other comments to help make the instructions clearer.

 

  

 

The pocket instructions for this coat do not make sense to me. Not one single bit. I must have stitched this five times, following each line slowly and carefully. I can usually figure things out, but this has me royally perplexed. Here are the steps that I don't understand:

 

Step 11:  Lay hip yoke piece (12) right sides together with lower front. Seam line meets with open side edge.

 

I marked the wrong side with tape because I accidentally cut this out backwards.

 

Step 12:  Stitch from side seam exactly to marking/clipping.

In this step, the hip yoke is stitched right sides together with the pocket flap - I think. I tried arranging the hip yoke several different ways and this is what I assumed the instructions meant.

In a previous step, you're supposed to clip the pocket flap and lining to a marked notch. I never saw the need for this but did it anyway. I still don't know why this is necessary.

Step 13:  Press hip yoke piece (12) to inside. Press seam.

Step 14:  Pin pocket opening edge on hip yoke pieces (abutting line) and baste.

Um. Wut?? I don't understand how this is supposed to work. If I do this, then the wrong side of the hip yoke faces outside and there's a mess of bunching with the pocket flaps. In other words, this:

 

The angled side seam of the hip yoke is supposed to match with the angled side seam of the lower front. The only way this happens with these instructions is in the picture above. This cannot be right.

I tried sewing the wrong side of the hip yoke to the right side of the front thinking the instructions were incorrect. Nope, that didn't work either. I have no idea how this is supposed to be sewn.

Here are the changes I made to the instructions; this is what made sense to me.

New Step 11:  Lay hip yoke piece (12) right sides together with pocket lining. Seam line meets with open side edge. Stitch vertical seam 2 to placement line.

(inside of the lower front)

When the pocket flap and lining are stitched to the lower front, the corner of this horizontal seam and vertical seam 2 is clipped. This is needed prior to sewing seam 2.

New Step 12:  Stitch from side seam exactly to marking/clipping - catching only the lining and yoke.

I figure this stitching is to here to decrease the size of the pocket opening. As drafted, you could probably fit an iPad in there. I still don't understand the need for clipping to the mark. 

I omitted steps 13 and 14 because they no longer apply.

Finally, the yoke and pocket lining can be pinned and sewn as instructed in step 15. This is how it looks completed:

 

 

I don't know if this is right, but I cannot figure out what the original instructions are supposed to achieve.

After stitching the side seams and leaving the muslin to coat hang for a day or so, I noticed that the front pockets sag near the side. So the horizontal stitching mentioned in the original instructions (step 12) is needed, I just don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'll topstitch it on the outside and call it even. 😁

Here's the completed muslin.

As suspected, the coat is super long and comes to my ankles. Since finishing the muslin, I've shortened the bodice 1 inch and the skirt 4 inches. I meant to shorten the skirt 3 inches for a total reduction of 4 inches, but just now realized that's not what I did and I've already cut the fabric. Oops. 😐 

 

---

 

My fabric is proving to be a challenge to sew. Even though it's quite nice and has wonderful drape, it's napped (didn't realize until I was prepared to cut) and doesn't like to be sewn or pressed or handled much at all. I'll keep working on it. Hopefully it comes out as I envision.

 

L