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!

Skinnifying Jalie 2908

 

I finished the second pair of skinnified Jalie 2908 two weeks ago.  I am a sedated turtle at blogging, I know.  Anyway, the jeans passed the roller skating test, so they're good to go. No seams popped and they didn't feel too tight with all of the movement.  

The first pair was finished sometime last fall.

Honestly, I don't know if these quite qualify as "skinny jeans."  There is still a bit of bagginess around the ankle and kness and they're not skin-tight.

Anyway, removing the flare from the pattern wasn't difficult at all.  Some time ago, Faye posted a link to Nick Verreos' video on how to convert boot cut jeans to skinny jeans.  He suggests making an adjustment to the inseam only.  I didn't like this because I thought it might cause an imbalance in the hang of the hem.  So while I used his idea as a starting point, ultimately I did my own thing at the end.

Using the pattern pieces from a pair of BWOF skinny jeans I made over a year ago, I measured the front and back hem for my base.  

On the front pattern piece, I subtracted 1.5" (3.8 cm) from both the inseam and outseam for a total of 3" (7.6 cm) removed.  The picture below shows the original J2908 on top and modified J2908 on bottom.

On the back, I subtracted 1.5" (3.8 cm) from the inseam and 1.75" (4.4 cm) from the outseam for a total of 3.25 (8.3 cm) removed.  Again, the original J2908 is on top and the modified pattern is on the bottom.

In Nick's video, he tapered the reduction all the way up to the hip area.  I tapered mine to the knee because I didn't want the jeans to be too tight.  

 
That's pretty much it!  Like I said, I don't know if these are true skinny jeans, but I'm happy with them! 

 

 GOMI-worthy pose.  Yeah, I lurk.

These jeans are part of step 4 from the Starting from Scratch series.  Next is a white button-down to go along with the accessories from step 5.  Once I redo the cardigan and knit tee, I'll post an update with pictures.

Until next time, peace!

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!

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