What month is this?

March, right?  

February was all kinds of hectic and stressful.  I was sick for over two weeks.  Thankfully I am better now, though I was scared for a moment.

Needless to say, not much sewing went on. I made eight garments in January; I half-finished one shirt in February. 

About that shirt...

Continuing with my Make Nine challenge, I started working on the Ottobre shirt, well a similar shirt. 

 Ottobre 5-2012-7

The horizontal bust darts were converted to shoulder princess seams for better fit.  The pattern doesn't have back darts, but I added them for waist shaping.

The bottom half and button band are both cut on the bias and this is my first time working with plaid.  Except for the two weeks I was sick, I put a lot of time into making this shirt. 

So why is it only half-finished?  Two words:  the collar.  UGH.

The collar stand is cut on the fold, right?  So why did I add a seam allowance to the fold line?  SMH.  I didn't even realize it until after I cut, interfaced, and sewed it to the neckline.

Okay, so I remove the collar/collar stand situation and re-cut the stand without the seam allowance.  Problem fixed?

Well...let's see.

Hmm...this looks okay.  The edge of the collar seems mighty close to the edge of the collar stand.  Let's see how the other side looks.

LE SIGH.

Why does the collar extend beyond the button band?!  Did I add a seam allowance to the foldline of the collar too??

Suffice it to say this shirt is currently residing in Area 51.  While I have enough fabric to re-cut the entire collar situation again, I am sorely lacking in patience right now. 

Plus the fabric is really stiff and I am not as enthused about dealing with it anymore.

I really like the pattern and intend to work on it again - just not right now.  I need a sewing win and this shirt is not going to deliver.

What's next?  I have a pair of jeans cut out and ready to sew and am starting the Boronia Bowler bag (another Make Nine challenge piece).
 

I hope this bag comes out as nice as I envision.  We shall see!

L

McCall's 7627: Finished Finally

This is a pattern I never would have considered were it not for others who shared their versions.  When I saw Dressmaking Debacles' pictures of view B, I wanted one of my own.  It's feminine and flirty, but not twee.  I have no time for twee when I'm pushing 43.  

Constructing this top did not come easy - not that expect sewing to be easy all of the time.  

The sleeves.  OH MY GOSH.  The sleeves take foreeeeeeeeever.  I knew this going in to the project, so I started with them first.  Meaning...I cut and assembled one sleeve before I cut anything else.  I figured if I hated it, I could save the fabric for something else.
 
Since my fabric was a light grey and white cotton shirting, I couldn't use tailor's chalk or any other marking pencil/pen to mark the tuck lines.  So I used tailor's tacks in two different colors to mark the fold line and stitching line.  This took a full hour!

The instructions have the nerve to suggest doing all of this AFTER the sleeve seam is sewn.  Yeah no.  I would have given up early on if I had to do all of this with a tube of fabric.

Sewing and pressing all of the tucks took another hour which means each sleeve took two hours to complete and I hadn't even cut out the cuffs.  Madness.

Despite the time it took to construct the sleeves, I really like them!  It's drama without the noise, know what I mean?

After conquering the sleeves and hemming the massively-long ties, the next thing was to attach the peplum.  Should be simple, right?  Le sigh.

 

 

I had the absolute hardest time understanding what I was supposed to do in steps 36 and 37.  The instructions and diagrams made NO SENSE whatsoever.  I tried different maneuverings of the peplum facing and front facing to no avail.  Despite clipping the seam area, there was an insane amount of fabric that needed easing.

I contacted Nakisha for guidance and she sent some images that helped, though I would have to include a large pleat to make everything fit.

I played around with it for a few days and eventually got frustrated.  I emailed McCall's and had a series of exchanges with a representative that made me even more confused.  In one message she said to open out the facing, in the next she said not to open out the facing...or something.  After the eighth email, I didn't bother replying. I was done.

I called Haberman Fabrics (local fabric store) and asked if I could bring in the shirt and instructions for help.  Since most, if not all, of the workers sew, I hoped together we would be able to make sense of the instructions.  

The lady who helped me agreed that the instructions didn't make sense.  We slightly increased the size of the existing bodice pleats, shortened the width of the peplum facing, and winged it from there.  The inside isn't pretty and my pleats aren't even, but I'm over it. That whole area is covered by the ties and isn't visible.

 

Sleeves, done.  Peplum-front foolishness, done.  The only thing left was to hem the peplum.  I waffled between using a rolled hem (super easy and quick) or a topstitched hem (mind-numbing and aggravating).

Which finish did I choose?  Guess. 

I didn't think the rolled hem would "match" the rest of the garment.  So I sewed a basting stitch to ease the circular hem, serged the edge, and topstitched.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Other stuff:  

I sewed a straight size 16.  The wrap is a bit low so I'll always need to wear a camisole.

I don't like the shoulder pleats; they don't want to lie flat.

Conclusion:  I love the shirt and will definitely wear it a lot.  I have zero desire to make another and am in no rush to make the dress. 

***

I'm wearing the shirt with my fourth pair of Jalie Éléonore pull-on jeans.  Blog post coming soon. =)

Until then, peace everyone!

L
 

 

 

 

Burda 7136: Button-up Shirt

Yay!!  Finally a Burda shirt that doesn't have pleats or gathers.  

Still on the never-ending hunt for a basic button-up shirt, I decided to try Burda 7136 after seeing Dressmaking Debacles' many successful versions.  The pattern has almost all of the features I want in a shirt:  collar with stand, sleeve plackets, back yoke, and shaped hem.  I would like the pattern to have shoulder princess seams instead of darts for bust shaping and a separate front band for contrast.  Both changes should be fairly straightforward.

This shirt almost didn't make it for two main reasons:  (1) I misread the instructions/pictures for the front band and (2) my sewing machine acted a certified fool with the buttonholes. 

Adjustments

I traced size 42 in the neck and shoulder and size 44 everywhere else.  The muslin showed the need for a small FBA and petite adjustments.  I made a 3/8" FBA (later eliminated) and shortened the pattern by 1 1/8" (3/8" above the bust and 3/8" in two places below the bust).  I shortened the sleeve cap by 3/8" as well. 

So what happened to the 3/8" FBA?  I neglected to realize that the front band was folded over twice.  When I tried on the shirt after completing the front, I was horrified to see how huge it was and thought the 3/8" FBA was unnecessary.  

I re-cut the front, attached the pocket, and started working on the collar.  It was at that point I realized that the front band was folded over twice, not once.  D'oh!  The adjusted front was already trashed and I didn't have enough fabric to cut it a third time.  Ugh.  I just went for it and took much smaller seam allowances in the bust area.  The fit isn't too terrible, but definitely can be improved.

The dart is too long and high and will be adjusted on the next version. 

I also have to shorten the sleeves at least two inches.  They didn't seem that long in the muslin, then again, I didn't sew the cuffs on the muslin either.

Buttonholes

Maaaan let me tell you.  My machine fought vigorously against sewing the buttonholes down the front.  I don't know why it started acting up because it sewed buttonholes on the cuffs beautifully.  And before attempting the front, I sewed six perfect buttonholes on a denim jacket with NO problems.

I guess when it was time to do the front of the shirt, my machine had enough.

This picture shows how the timing was completely off in measuring the length of the buttonhole.  This is a big deal because unpicking a poorly-stitched buttonhole made by machine is IMPOSSIBLE.  To gauge the size of the rectangle, the machine sews a line of tiny-ass stitches (like 0.4 length or something) on its first pass.  Then it zig-zags over those stitches and repeats the same process on the other side.  Trust me.  I have tried to pick out those little stitches.  I end up removing more fabric than thread.  It. Is. Impossible!! 

To say I was defeated is an understatement.  I was already facing a shirt that might not fit because I misread the instructions.  I *finally* found a method to attach and sew the collar stand that works for me.  I sewed the sleeve plackets with no problems and set the sleeves with no puckers.  All that was left was the buttonholes on the front and my machine started acting a fool.

Bruh.  This shirt was headed to the trash...until I posted my frustration on Instagram. Many people suggested using snaps (duh...why didn't I think of that) or getting a new machine (been thinking of that).  

Miss Celie's Pants asked if I had a vintage buttonholer.  I admitted to having *cough* three and a vintage sewing machine - neither of which has ever been used.

Judge all you want.  I deserve it. =P

Even though snaps were an option, I really wanted buttonholes because the cuffs already had them and I didn't want to mix the two types of closures on the shirt.

So I googled all the things on vintage buttonholers and how to use them on modern and vintage sewing machines.  I found a few YouTube videos that helped a lot.

• Vintage Buttonholer Attachment Part 1
• Vintage Buttonholer Attachment Part 2 
• How to attach and use a buttonholer attachment
• How to use a Singer 99k 
• How to thread a vintage round bobbin sewing machine

Drumroll...
 

Perfection!  Every.  Time.  And they're easy to pick if I make a mistake.  I don't know what took me so long to learn how to use the vintage buttonholers.  Well yes I do:  fear.  Of what I was afraid, I don't know.  Anyway.  I know how to use it now and will probably never make buttonholes on my computerized machine ever again.

 PERFECT!!!

Maybe a little crooked.

The vintage buttonholer comes with cams that only make round-edged buttonholes.  I prefer rectangles, but I am more than willing to sacrifice my preference for ease and no frustration.

Collar Stand

Sewing the collar stand was my least favorite part of shirtmaking because mine always looked crappy.  I could never get the stand to line up with the front band and my edgestitching was always uneven.  

After trying many different methods, I think I've found one that works for me.  The tutorial, written by Kathryn Brenne, can be found here:  Build a Better Collar & Stand - Part 2.  Her method seems unconventional because the stand is sewn a bit out of order and the interfaced stand is on the inside rather than outside.  When I asked about this in an email, she said that because she mostly wears her shirts open at the neckline, the inside is what people will see.  Makes sense.  Despite questioning the lack of support on the outside band, I followed her instructions anyway.

This is by far the best collar stand I have ever sewn and I got it right on the first try!  I no longer dread sewing collar stands.  Squee!

Cuffs

I think there is a drafting error with the cuffs and/or sleeve-cuff seam.  

The sleeve has two tucks on each side of the placket.   If sewn as is, the cuff is about an inch too short in circumference.  If you make this, either cut a longer cuff or make the pleat uptake larger so that it will fit.  I chose the second option since I had already cut and interfaced the cuffs.

Other Stuff

Since my fabric was a small plaid, I cut the pocket, sleeve placket, back yoke, and cuffs on the bias.  I did not bother matching the plaid because...um...I just didn't.  The checks are so small, mismatches are barely noticeable. 

Despite the mediocre fit and long sleeves, I am really happy with my shirt.  I will definitely make it again after converting the darts to princess seams and shortening the sleeves.  I can see why this pattern is popular.  Yay!!

Up next:  While the shirt was in time out, I made another denim-style jacket (Kwik Sew 2895) and skirt (New Look 6274).  I am also in the process of making view B of McCall's 7627 (the sleeves take forever).

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

L

Finished: Burda 7942

I need to sew more Burda.  Why it's taken me so long to come to this conclusion I don't know.  This pattern fit nearly perfectly out of the envelope with NO adjustments. o_O

What wonderful sorcery is this?  Okay, so it's not sorcery.  But still.  Folks have always raved about the superior drafting of Burda patterns:  crotch curve, cup sizes, sleeve cap ease, etc.  Save for the sleeve length, this pattern is close to perfection. 

About the expression on my face.  The center front is destined to be wrinkly for two reasons:  (1) the side front gathers and (2) the center front is weirdly curved.  It is just impossible to sew the buttons on without puckers and believe me, I tried.  Five times.  Five.

Ugh!

Maybe I needed more buttons or something.  There aren't many reviews of this pattern and of the ones that do exist, they show a similar wonkiness with the center front - though mine seems to be next level wonky.  Meh.  It doesn't look this bad when I'm wearing it. 

I cut a size 44 and made a 1/2" FBA on the side front panel.  I didn't add the extra length to the center front since that piece is gathered.  I figured I could just not gather as much so that the seam lengths match.  I didn't do a swayback adjustment, though I should have.

(shown with New Look 6274)

The instructions were fine with no Burda surprises. Even the continuous lap turned out okay - despite my struggles with sewing it.

 (right: shown with New Look 6274)

My only regret was not cutting the cuff on the cross grain so that the stripes run horizontally rather than vertically.   They look okay as is, but most of the stripes don't match and I think it would just look better the other way.

***

Sewing this pattern motivated me to try more Burda woven shirts.  In fact, for mypre-Burda-a-month-2017 sewing challenge, I cut out and started to sew 6-2007-129.

I cut a straight 46 thinking that this would be big enough so that I wouldn't need the 1/2" FBA.  Wrong.  46 is most definitely not my Burda size; the shirt is huge and unsightly.  I'll share my thoughts on this nightmare in a future post.  Suffice it to say, there is a lot of unstitching going on and I may even scrap it.  It looks really good too.  Le sigh.

More on this later...

Up next:  I want to do a 2016 sewing-in-review post, though I need to get pictures of the things I sewed.  

Is anyone else OVER 2016?  I mean, really, this year can fuck right the hell off.  Come on 2017, let's do this!

L