Orange You Glad You Asked? - Part 1

My SWAP 2008 is based on the fashions worn by Jacqueline Kennedy while in the White House during the 1960s. Although most of the garments I am making are at the very least a nod to her style of clothing, I had to take a departure for one of the top/bottom combos. Jacqueline Kennedy did not wear full skirts very often and she certainly didn't wear full-skirted suits. However, I do wear full skirts and I wanted to include at least one in this SWAP. When I saw this Bottega Veneta suit in the Fall 2007 line-up, I was instantly smitten. I love everything about it - the colour, the style, the proportions - it is just gorgeous. So, I decided to include a top/bottom combo in my SWAP that had the same feel.

Julie of Timmel Fabrics, had a burnt orange (she called it terracotta) wool blend fabric for sale - it has a distinct fluffy nap on one side and it is smoother on the other side - it reminds me of spongy wool flannel. I will be using the smoother side, as it just looks more tailored. I also chose an Anna Sui silk charmeuse from Fabric Mart to use as lining.













The pattern I am using is the wardrobe pattern that was a requirement of the SWAP (each year there is a twist to the rules - this year, each participant has to make at least three distinct garments from a wardrobe pattern). My wardrobe pattern is Vogue 5521 and for this "suit", I will be using the full skirt and the button up top/jacket. I will also be using the slim skirt, at a later date, for another SWAP garment. I will be talking about the muslins for these three garments in my next posts, so stay tuned.











Before finishing today's post, I wanted to answer a couple of questions.

*Elle asked, "Shannon, can you describe tie interfacing and its uses?"
Tie interfacing is a full bodied, soft, fairly loosely woven fabric that is normally used to interline men's ties - scroll to the last picture on this page to see some. I buy my tie interfacing from Silhouette Patterns. I use this excellent tip, from Gigi Louis to set in sleeves in tailored jackets. This is the only application for which I use tie interfacing.

*Marty, after reading this post, said, "How many of those outfits do you actually keep? Do you donate the ones that are old or tired looking? If not, then you need to build a whole room (not just a closet) for your clothing & accessories."
I am fairly ruthless with my clothing, both purchased and handmade. If I haven't worn a garment in a while (6 to 8 months), if it is worn out or it is out of style (no matter how well it is made), it gets put on the donate pile or is thrown in the garbage. Lately, I have been purging anything made out of polyester, as I get too hot in most pure synthetics. I am aiming to have a closet full of natural fibers (wool, silk, linen, cotton, rayon, hemp, bamboo, etc), although I am a fan of RPL (rayon, polyester, lycra) knits and wovens, as they seem to breathe well, wear like iron and imitate natural fibers like tropical wool. As for having a whole room for my clothing, I am seriously thinking about it!! My husband & I hope to build a house in the near future and my two major concerns are the inclusion of a sewing studio and a ton of closet space!

Ready, Set, SWAP - Part 5

The green/cream herringbone wool button front top is complete. Actually, it has been for a while now, I have just been too busy to write about it lately. Unfortunately, I don't have any more "during construction" pictures - I simply got too engrossed in the garment's construction to take photos.

However, here is the inside low-down:
* The garment was fully underlined with Textured Weft (front, back and sleeves).
* The hems were interfaced with a medium weight non-stretch fusible interfacing.
* Sleeve headers were made of bias cut tie interfacing.
* The front facing and undercollar was interfaced with hair canvas.
* The front sports three bound buttonholes and vintage buttons.
* The lining was completely sewn in by hand.

Now, on to the pictures:

The front of the jacket with the buttons done up.

I am quite pleased that I decided to go back and recut the fronts after doing a proper SBA - this reduced the size of both the bust and waist darts and the front fits beautifully now.

The back of the jacket is nicely shaped through the use of waist and neck darts. I absolutely adore patterns that have neck darts. I tend to find these patterns just fit me better. The neck dart fits the collar to my small shoulders but releases at the upper shoulder blade to fit my broader back. I find most patterns without the neck darts are horribly uncomfortable while I'm teaching, because I can't reach and write on the board easily - I definitely need the extra space across the shoulder blades.

The upper collar is an extension of the front facing - this gives the collar a nice roll around the neck when it is worn.

The sleeves are 3/4 length and have an elbow dart to conform nicely to the shape of the arm.

One of the bound buttonholes and the vintage button. The reverse side of the button was finished by hand stitching the facing in an oval around the buttonhole opening. This gives the back a clean, neat finish.




















The lining was inserted totally by hand. Although it is time consuming to do the lining this way, I feel it gives me greater control over the placement.

I was playing around with some of the decorative stitches on my sewing machine and decided to use one of them to "sexy-up" the lining pleat at the neck.

Alright, so this completes piece number two for SWAP 2008. I am in the process of working on pieces three, four and five. The muslins have been perfected and I have started work on the "real" fabric. I hope to have an update on my progress over the next few days.



Last, but not least - lookie what I got in the mail today. How much do I love this pattern?? Look at that assymmetric front!! Could it be any more Jackie Kennedy?? Look at that cool attachable scarf!! I am in L.O.V.E.

No Time to Chat - I Gotta Sew!!

Yowza, sometimes life can be hectic!! I have finished a couple of garments lately, but I haven't had time to blog about them. When things slow down at work I will be updating on my progress. This weekend has been "wearable muslin weekend", as I have been working on tweaking the fit of my wardrobe pattern for SWAP. So far, so good.

I was reading the Fabric Fast thread at PR and it started me thinking. Don't worry I'm not joining them - that's way more willpower than I'll ever have!! However, it did make me wonder how many garments I have in flat fabric form, in my stash, just waiting to spring to life. So I did a little math. Over the last two years I have sewn up 471.40 m of fabric into 267 garments. This means that, on average, I use around 1.75 m of fabric per garment. As of today, my fabric stash contains 963.10 m - so I have enough fabric to make 550 garments (963.10/1.75). Holy crap!! Ahem, pardon my language, but dang, I'm gonna need a bigger closet!!

Ready, Set, SWAP - Part 4

In my last post, I mentioned that I wished I had made a small bust adjustment (SBA) on the jacket/top front, but that I thought it would be okay anyhow. Well, wouldn't you know it, it has been bothering me ever since I cut out that front, so I went back and did the SBA and recut the front piece in the fashion fabric and the lining. Thank goodness I had enough left over fabric to do this. I knew if I didn't fix the front, it would drive me nuts and I would never be truly happy with the garment. So, I have taken a few steps backward, but in the end, it will pay off.

Unfortunately I won't be able to do any more work on the jacket/top tonight. Things are crazy with work right now. Exams just finished up, so it's time to mark exams, calculate final marks for each student and enter final marks with comments into a computer program. Tonight is Grade 8 Parents' Night. This is an event in which the parents of local grade school students are welcome to come by my high school to look around and learn about the programs we offer - in my part of Canada, grade school is grades K - 8 and high school is grades 9 - 12, so this is a huge transition for students and parents. Friday is the start of a new semester and next week, I put on a chemistry magic show for 300 grade 8 students. So, busy, busy, busy - I hope to get back down to sewing soon.

Ready, Set , SWAP - Part 3

I have been making some progress with the jacket/top that is the match to the skirt previously made. Here is what has been completed to date.

Interfacing
I debated back and forth on what sort of structure would be built into my jacket/top. I wanted to keep the unstructured feel, but I have learned in the past that the choice to only interface the areas suggested in the pattern can be a mistake. When looking through an old issues of Threads (July 1999, Number 83), there was an article that caught my eye, "Armani Jackets: The Inside Story." Marcy Tilton takes the reader thorough the process used to interface a softly tailored Armani jacket. After reading the article, I decided to adapt this approach to my garment. When completed, the following areas will be interfaced:

* Entire front and back - interfaced with Textured Weft (see photo to left).
* Lapel, button hole region and front facing - interfaced with straight cut hair canvas (in photo to left the hair canvas is pinned in, although it won't be sewn in until after creating the bound buttonholes).

The following interfacing will be added as I go along over the next few days:
* Front shoulder shield - bias cut hair canvas.
* Back shoulder - medium weight weft interfacing (purchased just recently from Fabric Mart).
* Sleeve header - at the sleeve cap (made of tie interfacing, purchased from Silhouette Patterns).
* Hems - interfaced with a medium weight weft interfacing.

Darts
* The darts were sewn as per the pattern, then slit down the middle and pressed open (photo to left). This reduces the bulk of the dart and allows it to lie flatter, creating a more pleasing looking line on the outside (photo to right).
* In retrospect I should have made a small bust adjustment (SBA) on this pattern, but all was not lost. Since my fabric is wool, which is so malleable, I was able to steam out much of the unnecessary bust shaping when pressing the front darts.

Bound Buttonholes
* I have started marking for the bound buttonholes and will tackle them tomorrow.

Ready, Set, SWAP - Part 2

I started construction of the skirt by resizing all the pertinent pattern pieces , as discussed in my last post. I added 0.5" to the centre front piece along the fold line and 1" to the side seam of the back piece and the side front piece - this adds up to an addition of 5" to the hip circumference. You can see the adjustments in the photo to the left (and yes, those are my toes in the picture - I had to stand on my kitchen counter to get a shot of all the pieces together!) Notice that I did my fitting adjustments to the actual pattern. Many seamstresses will trace off vintage patterns and make adjustments to the tracings and sometimes I do as well. However, unless the pattern is extremely old and/or brittle or it is very rare and/or valuable, I just have at it and save myself some time.

Although the pattern did not call for a lining, I decided to add one anyhow. Thank you to all those commenters that left their opinion on which lining to use. The majority of you chose the same lining I was leaning toward, so apparently it was meant to be! I cut out all the main body pieces of the skirt on the cross grain of the lining fabric to take advantage of the border print. This layout has the added bonus of requiring no hemming (thank you Ann Rowley, your tip on this thread at SG is great and I will be using this time saving idea often from now on). The skirt body and the lining were constructed separately and then treated as one when sewn to the waistband. I prefer this for a skirt that does not have a slit, as it allows the lining to hang free and move independently of the skirt (I find it more comfortable to wear this way). The lining was hand sewn around the invisible zipper tape to clean finish this area (see photo to the left).

The skirt is designed with two inseam pockets in the front. However, unlike regular inseam pockets that are on the sides of the garment, these pockets are in a vertical front section (almost like kangaroo pockets). The two pockets come together in the middle front and are stitched together for stability and to minimize show-through to the front. When worn, it is not immediately obvious that the pockets exist (top photo on left), until they are opened up (bottom photo on left). The pockets function as more of an interesting design feature then being practical due to their small size, but they will hold my school keys when the need arises.

Lastly, I debated back and forth on whether to interface the hem or not. Normally, I like an interfaced hem - it just looks crisper. However, since this skirt is meant to be soft and fairly unstructured, I decided to forgo the interfacing. I just turned up a 4" hem and finished the raw edge with coordinating seam binding. The excess fabric was removed with copious amounts of steam and the hem was handstitched into place.

As you can see in the photo to the right, all the raw edges of the wool were finished with pinking shears. I had thought about serging the edges, but I didn't want any seam show-through to the right side of the garment. Anyhow, this is a 60s garment, so I stuck with 60s finishing techniques and the lining covers up the inner seams.

All I have left to do is sew on two hooks and loops on the waistband above the zipper in back and my first SWAP piece is done. I really, really like this skirt and I will certainly make it again. When I tried it on for my husband, even he commented on how much he liked it too. As soon as I finish the coordintaing jacket/top, I will post final pictures of both garments.

Ready, Set, SWAP!

I have decided to start sewing on my Timmel SWAP 2008 with a jacket (which will be worn as a button front top) and skirt combo. The pattern is vintage, Butterick 4105. Although there is no date on it, it is obviously an offering from the 1960s. The description on the pattern envelope reads:

Semi-fitted jacket has three-quarter sleeves and rolled collar. Slightly A-line skirt has pockets and front seams.

The two garments will be made from a beautiful green and cream herringbone wool, purchased from Fabric Mart. The fabric is of medium weight and it should complement the style lines of the pattern nicely. The pattern calls for the jacket/top to be fully lined (using the provided lining pattern pieces - I love when the pattern provides separate lining pieces), while the skirt is not. I do, however, plan on lining the skirt, just to finish it off nicely inside and for ease of wearing. The linings I'm debating about using are shown below. All of them are silk charmeuse. I'm sure many of you recognize the Anna Sui silks from Fabric Mart. The others are from a local chain store. Right now I'm leaning toward the first one. Any opinions?



The jacket/top has several darts for shaping - shoulder, side to bust, waist to bust and elbow. This many darts is always welcome as it provides many fitting opportunities, although I tend to find that vintage patterns tend to fit me well in the shoulder through waist areas. So, I'm not envisioning many tweaks, especially since this jacket/top is not supposed to be close fitting.

The skirt on the other hand requires some work. Flat pattern measuring provides a waist and hip measurements of 24.5" and 36", which translate into an ease of 0.5" and 3" in those respective regions. My measurements are not quite the same. I will have to add 2" to the waist and 5" to the hip to ensure the skirt fits and to maintain the original design ease. Expanding the waist is not a problem as there is just a waistband to lengthen (see pattern piece #14 to the right) and the body of the skirt gathers onto this waistband. The hip, however, will require more work. The main body of the skirt is four pieces. Pattern piece #11 is the pocket, which can be left as is. Piece #13 is the back, which is cut twice to accommodate a back zipper. Piece #10 is the side front, which is cut twice and piece #12 is the front piece, which is cut once on the fold. Pieces #10, #12 and #13 will all require adjustment and I plan on distributing the 5" expansion fairly evenly throughout these pieces.

Now, I really need to get down to some sewing. I'll report back soon!

SWAP Questions & Quandries

My last post brought up a few questions. Some posters are concerned that my proposed plan didn't meet the SWAP rules. The rules state:
"This year is back to one type of SWAP. This consists of 11 garments, 4 bottoms (skirts and/or pants), 6 tops (2 should be more like blouses than just tees), and 1 jacket that will work with all the tops and bottoms. This gives you a total of 48 possible combinations. However, you can substitute a dress or dresses for two of the tops if you wish. Therefore, your SWAP can be 1 jacket, 4 bottoms, 4 tops, 2 dresses or it can be 1 jacket, 4 bottoms, 5 tops and 1 dress. The jacket must work with all combinations. In the case of a jumper, this would count as a "bottom" item, in that it must work with all the tops and it must also be able to be worn with the jacket. A vest is counted as a jacket since it is usually worn over a top. If it can be worn solo, count it as a top."

* My jacket is a coat, which can be worn over all the other garments.
* My bottoms are all skirts, which is acceptable according to the rules.
* My tops are not all traditional T-shirts or blouses. I have chosen instead to use unstructured jackets for 3 of my tops. Each of these jackets will button all the way up the front and will be worn solo, without anything (other than undergarments) underneath. The jackets will function exactly as a regular top would. Each jacket/top will mix and match with all the bottoms.
* My last 2 tops are dresses, which is an acceptable substitution.


Another concern was with my wardrobe pattern. The rules state:
"You must make three uniquely different garments from that pattern; making one type of garment three times will not qualify. These patterns are available from all the major pattern companies and they usually include a jacket, dress and/or skirt, pants, blouse or top. For our purposes, any pattern with at least three different garments that work together will be counted as a "wardrobe" pattern."

My wardrobe pattern is Vogue 5521, which contains a jacket, a slim pencil skirt, a full gathered skirt and a blouse. I have chosen to use the jacket (as a top), the slim skirt and the full skirt, which are three completely different garments.

Just to be certain that I had interpreted all the rules correctly (y'all had me a little worried!), I emailed Julie (of Timmel Fabrics, the SWAP sponsor) with the above concerns. She confirmed that the three jackets being used as tops is okay since they can be worn solo and they interchangeably mix with all the bottoms. Also, she confirmed that the three wardrobe garments are indeed unique. Hopefully that clarifies everything.


I was also asked if I plan on using vintage techniques when construction all the garments. The short answer: yep! I love, love, love traditional techniques - I'm one of the weirdos that loves hand sewing. I really like to put a ton of effort into the hidden parts - the underlining, lining, stabilizing, hand hemming, etc. I find the more work that goes into the structure and foundation of the garment, the better the outer appearance.


As a final note, I am a happy girl today. When I came home from work today, I found some "presents" on my doorstep. I had become a BMV member a couple of weeks ago and ordered a bunch of patterns. They have arrived and are now calling my name. I have tried to explain to them that I am too busy SWAPping to use them yet and that I will get to them eventually. Hopefully this placated them. I also received my copy of Decorative Dressmaking. I had been hunting for a copy ever since Carolyn posted about this book five months ago. When ever I found a copy, it was crazy expensive or I got outbid on eBay. Finally, I have my own copy - mine, mine, mine! I cannot wait to sit down with this new book and absorb.