Faux Surplice

Returning to the much-loved Tabula Rasa Tee pattern but moving posts about it to the Block Party Blog because I don’t wish to make endless duplicates of the TRT but I love the fit and the ease of sewing. Which means I need to find easy ways to keep the TRT looking different; cute; fresh which is a perfect subject for the Block Party.

I bought the Clever Crossing Variations

several months  ago.  I’ve already used it to make a Surplice Front for my Autumn 6PAC. To me there are 3 variations rather than the 5 advertised because I think the Shaped Band and Curved Front are almost the same, as is the Cross Over Yoke and Full Front Cross Over Yoke. To be honest, I’m unlikely to sew ‘real’ surplice fronts.  I’ve never solved the gaping problem. Oh I’ve tried innumerable tweaks, but they all fail before the end of the day.  What works for me is some sort of Faux Surplice which is what I will be doing using the Yoked Surplice.

Well, it’s what I intended to do before running into some unexpected issues. I had traced the pieces for the yoke at the same time that I traced the Surplice Front for the 6PAC. So now I pulled them out to see how they worked. I understand the concept, but sewing my fitted T pattern pieces with the new yoke pieces aint gonna work. They just won’t stitch together smoothly. Let me assure you I don’t think that the drafting is the issue. Rather it is possible I didn’t read instructions correctly or I’ve made more changes to the TRT pattern than I remember. Also possible, I trimmed bits and pieces when my rotary cutter went wild.  I opted to skip finding out what caused the difference and go straight to creating pieces that do work together.  I cut a piece of aisle runner long enough to copy my front piece and  folded it in half. I traced with the CF on the fold.  When  trimmed of the excess tissue, I had a full front i.e. both left and front sides joined in one piece.  Using the left shoulder template from the Variations, I traced the curve on the left shoulder of my new full front. I cut apart along that line and added 1/4″ seam allowance only to the new left piece. I think the SA is already on the other piece.  Will find out for sure when I sew everything together.

I planned to used the left over pink polyester rib knit for binding before I even finished that failure of a garment.  So now I cut a nice long piece 2.5″ wide.  I laid out my pattern on  an ITY knit printed in sort of a Bargello pattern. It’s very abstract and once cut apart hard to see the Bargello. I stitched the CB seam, the front darts and attached the fronts and back together only at the shoulder. Then I folded the band of rib knit in half, pressed and basted it along the neckline.  I basted it twice. Three times until I was satisfied it was laying snugly.  Then I serged. One long sweep joining the band all around that most interesting neckline.  Then I attach the left shoulder to the front( up till now it had been dangling free). Time for dinner. I put the unfinished top on a hanger and trotted upstairs.

When I returned the next day, I was horrified; the neckline that I carefully basted 3 times was rippled and flopping about:

Yep that fabric that was lousy in its entirety as a top and was nasty as just banding. I’m actually glad DH interrupted me for dinner.  I much prefer having this happen before construction is complete.  I threaded  3/8″ lingerie elastic through the rib knit band securing it under the cross and again on the side seam.

I cut my sleeve short enough for  a 3″ wide cuff (which I cut 6″ X 10.5″) and added the left over rib knit in the seam which joins cuff to sleeve.

Here’s why I love the TR jacket and T:  I sew this little bit; then this little bit.  Stop to do this little thing. Suddenly, I’m putting in the hem and I’m done. It is hardly more effort than an old fashioned and ugly T shirt. I did test my cover stitch before putting the garment under the foot for hemming.  That burnt me on the BS145 version garment.  Nasty fabric anyway.   To my surprise I had to crank the pressure down a half turn.  I don’t recall turning it up, which I do when I want pin tucks.

Of course I added shoulder pads. Without shoulder pads, I have no shoulders.  Then I took pics.

I think it is really cute. Love it.

 

BSS145 Cowl Collar: A Successful Failure

I’ve had this pattern, Bresnan Studios 145…

… for 2 or 3 years.  I bought it specifically for the cowl which is a separate piece.  Most cowl blouses have incorporated the cowl into the neckline of the pattern. Makes sense but it also makes the blouse require more fabric.  The BSS145 cowl can actually be cut from a  completely different fabric which would lessen the amount of fabric even more. Which would make it excellent choice for those “whoops not enough fabric” situations.  The tunic itself, is a basic T-shirt with short flutter sleeves. Bresnan Studios.com is closed, sigh, but the patterns are still available in her etsy shop.  I believe  her original intention was to develop a pattern line of women’s clothing in which all the parts would be interchangeable. Great idea, and similar to Peggy Sager’s (Silhouette Patterns) original thought, but didn’t seem to really take off.

This pattern has languished in my stash a few years. I’m always intending to make it but struggling so much with fit that I didn’t get to it.  I pulled it out this week because I’m seeing so many cowl neck garments for sale.  They are even starting to show up on my rural-casual friends. I think it’s trending!  So, I pulled it out and then said “Crap. Have to fit a whole new pattern. At least it doesn’t have any weird pieces to fuss with.”  Then I thought, why fit yet another T-shirt? So I pulled out Silhouette Patterns 195, the Sweater Set (and Peggy’s own favorite).  SP195 has become my goto basic knit top. I’m using SP195 so much that this and future posts in which 195 is utilized be at my Block Party blog.

The tissue stage of my project is very short. I folded out the sheet of 195, traced the collar

also traced the front and back neckline with a little of the shoulder and armscye to make my template(s).

 

I pulled out 195 front, back and slim sleeve pieces.  I place them on my fabric (a shiny polyester knit).  I trace the neckline of 195 with a purple pen but cut the rest of the front and back.  Removed the pattern pieces and placed the BSS145 front and back necklines on my fabric roughly aligned with my the traced neckline. I goofed here, so please learn from my mistake. The front shoulder/neckline needs to be cut wider than the back because the collar will fill in part of the front shoulder/neckline. I offset both front and back about 1/2″.

It is a fairly easy and common construction.  The pieces are cut. Front darts stitched and the cowl stitched into the front neckline. Back is cut (for me it needs a CB seam to accommodate my round back alteration) and a back neck facing is finished and attached. The cowl is tucked at specified points (be sure to transfer all the notches from the pattern pieces); then front and back shoulders are aligned; the back neck facing folded around the shoulder sandwich and then the shoulders stitched.  If done correctly, the shoulders are inverted and you have a lovely smooth neckline inside and out.  Trouble for me is I can rarely align the sandwich correctly and achieve the smooth neckline. After 3 tries on only one shoulder, I gave up and aligned front with back shoulder; added a little SAS to hold it in place and then stitched following by serge finishing the shoulder seams.  I like to ensure the shoulder seam stays hidden; so I fold and press that seam in position and secure it with a tack stitch.  I do this nicely.  It isn’t obnoxious, but it is visible.

The rest of the construction typical and easy T-shirt, i.e. insert sleeves, stitch side seams; stitch hems. Oh but I goofed again.  I did not test my coverstitch before zipping through the hems. They had to be ripped out which is an agonizing 45 minute job compared to the 7 or so minutes putting the hems in.  I tested before trying again, but this fabric would not cooperate. It insisted upon tunneling and gathering. I think this is the first fabric I could not tame through adjusting tensions and adding WSS.  I top stitched 2 lines to simulate cover stitching. Then discovered that the 30% stretch this fabric tested at, was not enough. My knit top was definitely too tight across back and biceps. OK this is why I make 1/2″ seam allowances.  I rip out the side seam/sleeve stitching and serge the  seams adding 1″ to the body and 1/2″ to the biceps. But got to tell you if this poly happens to shrink at all, this top will have a short life span.  BUT that isn’t the worse. The knit is rumpled during wear. Sat mouth-watering on the shelf. Hung beautifully on the hanger. On my body, Yuck!  Well I’ve had this problem before. Nice slick camisole takes care of it. NOT THIS TIME:

UGLY! It’s the fabric.  I’ve made this pattern several times.  I have had to manage ease. Did have an issue with sleeves.  All solved. The pattern is a keeper. I’m just glad I don’t have any other cuts in my stash.  It’s the kind of fabric you can’t even use for muslins because ‘the read’ will not be true.  I told DH I wouldn’t wear it unless I could cover it with a vest or something.

But it’s not a total failure. I love the cowl.  I have a template for future use. I understand how to cut the associated pieces and construct.  I have visions of style changes to the cowl. Because it is the separate piece, it is malleable and transferable. So the garment is a failure, but the pattern a success!

 

 

Walmart Short Shrug

I’ve shared the inspiration

for today’s shrug back in June of 2017. It is a big comfy garment which I’ve already copied once.

Thing is, it’s mess. It’s not really a flattering garment and in the wrong fabric would add pounds to my frame.  Also, it’s not as well-behaved as is SP083.  

or the Walmart Short Ruana shared a few days ago.

But both SP083 and the Walmart Long Shrug are really easy to sew.  What I set out to do, and the reason why this post is here in the Block Party, was to take the basic measurements of both Walmart Long Shrug and SP083 and arrive at something in the middle. So I measured. I measured the Walmart Long Shrug, the SP083 and the Walmart Short Ruana.  When I put together SP083, I didn’t understand what was the back or the armscye or the front. Now, I’ve got it worked out in my mind.  I decided that the width should be my wing span (52″) minus a cuff; and the depth, the center back should be the same as the Short Ruana (30″).   I also cut 2 cuffs 14″ long and 2 neckline/front bands 52″ long that were joined to make a circle. Notice that I didn’t specify a 2nd number for the width of the cuffs and neckline?  I planned a finished 2″ + SA 1/4″. Should be cut as 4.5″ wide but I cut 9″ wide. I goofed. Didn’t really notice until I was done and it may have been a Freudian mistake as I like the finished garment.

As desired, it is both well-behaved i.e. sleeves aren’t in my soup and not catching on things as I walk by and it is attractive:

Partly the measurements but of course lots to do with the fabric:

Thinking of soft wraps, I purchased several fabrics recently from DenverFabrics.com. This is one of them. I thought it was a knit but close examination shows it is a burn-out with the burn-out forming the clearly recognizable feather and fan knitting pattern. Stretch is minimal. It’s not knit and no Lycra content. It does collapse because of the holes into something a bit smaller and it does hang close to the figure also due to the holes.

It’s an interesting fabric that was a bear for sewing.  I tried stabilizing with gelatin. My first foray into gelatin-stabilizer. I dissolved 2 packets of gelatin in about a cup of boiling water adding 2 gallons when all the sand was dissolved. I soaked the fabric in the gelatin solution for about 45 minutes mostly because I was waiting for the washer to finish the current load. Once the washer was empty I added my fabric and the solution — just poured it in– and set the cycle to spin and drain. So the gelatin was not further diluted. When the cycle finished, I hung the fabric to dry.  Was a bit disappointed that my fabric wasn’t stiff when dry. I’m supposing that the spin must have thrown out most of the gelatin as well as most of the water. Still it did have a little more body, which helped. But as you see above I had to use clips. Pins would not stay in place.

This is a serger garment, i.e. not a stitch at the sewing machine is required although you could sew it instead of serging.  I liked how the big ol’ serger foot grabs and holds  3 layers of mostly holes.  I planned for 1/4″ seams but I serged some off because the fabric curled like knit. Once curled it wouldn’t unfurl. Simplest solution was just serge off the curl leaving a nice flat seam.

I wanted to share a visual comparison of the Long Shrug, SP083 and this Short Shrug but my camera skills are lacking. I could not get it all in one frame. So I’m putting out here 2 frames next to each other and hoping it appears that way on your device.

I’ve lined up the 3 shrugs on their left edge (left pic).  That’s them again on the right but due to pic manipulations I’m not sure how happened, they are larger on the right than left.What I hope it shows it the Walmart Long Shrug at 56″ is the longest. SP083, the shortest but widest, is about 2/3″ as long. My Short shrug (on top) is slightly shorter and slightly narrower than the Long Shrug but both longer and shorter than SP083. This Short Shrug, is my preference. SP083, even as a knit binds. I don’t have complete freedom of movement. My Short Shrug with no stretch does not bind. It is imminently comfortable. I think I want my Short Shrug just a little shorter. I really think I would have preferred the planned 2″ wide bindings in lieu of the 4″ I created.  Still and all, it’s a nice wrap. I think I need more.

 

Side Note:  My issues with SP083 could be solved by making another size.  I believe there are 2 more larger sizes drafted.  But then I think, why bother?  I like this one and it takes far less fabric. This one is a known winner. SP083, still a question.

 

 

Up Cycling #2

I don’t think this one is  done, done, all the way done. It too was a knee-length dress sewn for a December anniversary dinner and is a few years old.  I trimmed 9″, but without my realizing,  this dress must have been longer than the dress shared yesterday.  So I trimmed 9″ same as the beaded beauty and then added 3″ wide off-white lace trim. During wear, I think it far too long, plus I find the flash of white at the hem to be annoying.  It was amazingly quick (did I fail to mention that the beaded beauty took less than an hour?).  It will be even faster to cut off the lace and make a plain hem. Cover-stitched, perhaps?

Looking at these pics, I think the proportion is OK. But wearing…. I don’t know.

Up Cycling

I’ve made dresses the last few years to wear at our anniversary dinner.  Since anniversary is in the cold winter, I made long sleeves.  Because DH requested, I made knee-length. I’m not really satisfied with that particular look. Unlike Peggy Sagers, who I’ve come to admire, I don’t feel the only proportion which matters is length of top compared with length of skirt. Although I do agree that those lengths should vary with the person’s height. I also believe that a person’s weight has a dynamic effect on clothing proportions–because I’ve seen the results on me. Bottom line, now that I’m chubby, I don’t really like these knee-length dresses on me although I did 40 pounds ago. The anniversary dresses were worn once and then languished in my closet unselected for summer because of the long sleeves; unselected in winter because of the knee-length skirt (legs too cold and wind whistling across the nether regions); and always bypassed for something with better proportions.  When I changed out seasonal clothing, I decided these should go to the Goodwill. I loved the fabrics though and so just before the trip to make the donation, I pulled them out of the boxes.  I had re-evaluated and decided they could easily become blouses which I will wear in the winter.

My first up cycle is a black ITY with all sorts of lovely glittery designs. Great for winter.  Initially I had thought of trimming 9″ from the hem and adding a trendy note with black lace. Then I remembered some beads I bought July 2016.

 

 

I was particularly fascinated b the black beaded in the upper right corner (and just below). They were, I thin anodized with a metallic coating with colors that reflected the glitter of my dress.

So I cut 9″ off the hem. Then I put painters tape 3″ above the newly cut edge and made fringe by rotary cutting every 1/2″.

I wasn’t sure if I had enough beads to put one ever other fringe, so mine are placed on every 4th fringe.  I slide them on then knot the bottom of the fringe.

My pictures just don’t do them justice. They are glittery, shiny. Bounce the light off in all directions. It really has a holiday appeal.

Possibly, I would wear these with my ‘black, dress jeans’ .

I also have a short black skirt purchased in November and I’m planning on making a flocked/burnout velvet pant using 5682.

I hope I have the pic setting correct.  I’m hoping you can click on the pics and see an enlarged view.

 

Umm, probably enough pics in one post.  I have another up cycle that I will share tomorrow.