Kiss My Stitch

Hello possums,

Been on a bit of a hiatus from sewing so I thought I would start off with something to make you smile.

I needed that vacation from the houndstooth jacket but I will be back to tackling it soon…after I get rid of this nasty flu. Between being frustrated with my sewing of late and feeling sickly, I needed a pick-me-up, something to get me out of this slumber. And I got it in the form of a little package named Tim Gunn. Yes ladies, you too can have a little Tim Gunn of your own. Place him on your sewing table. When collars have you in a bundle, hems are puckering or you want to gouge out your eyes with the stitch ripper, just press the button and get a little dose of Tim Gunn to light a fire under your butt!

Sometimes you just have to call it a day and move on.
Obviously I did not make the wool contest cutoff in time on Patternreview. It was taking me forever to match up the houndstooth and then I had some fitting issues. And then I had to leave for Los Angeles. Then I deleted my previous post - oops. By the way thanks to whomever mentioned Mood Fabrics. I didn’t end up going. 
I don’t think I have ripped out stitching as much as I have with this jacket!
A lot of the fault lies in the design of the back of the pattern. The back pleat will not sit flat, it pooches out. Someone else reviewed this pattern and she had the same issue. I am debating whether to take out the pleat completely as my only way to salvage the jacket or chuck the bloody thing.

I think we need to spend some time apart before I decide whether to continue with the relationship.

I am starting to put the pieces together, but first I wanted to point out some more of my cutting technique with this pattern. The pattern envelope is a little deceptive:

If I had cut the pattern exactly as the pattern pieces, that line would angle up, not go straight across. Something to keep in mind.

This is the front piece, with tape measure to give you an idea of angle

With the dart closed, the pattern still angles up, and the houndstooth would not go across evenly.

.

I am now ‘houndstooth obsessed’ from working on this jacket. I decided to dig up some facts about this particular pattern. Where does the name come from? And does it really look like a hound’s tooth?I turned to Wikipedia first :

Houndstooth or houndstooth check is a duotone textile pattern, characterized by broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes. Houndstooth checks originated in woven wool cloth of the Scottish Lowlands. The traditional houndstooth check is made with alternating bands of four dark and four light threads in both warp and weft woven in a simple 2:2 twill, two over - two under the warp, advancing one thread each pass.

They include some interesting graphic illustrations of the check:

And who knew (I didn’t) that there is an online textile dictionary where some of this information came from. According to this site:

Houndstooth has stood the test of time. Considered a classic, houndstooth has been a fashion trend several times in history, with peaks during the 1930s, the 1970s and then again in the first decade of 2000. Often used in woolens, houndstooth is also found in cotton and silk fabrics.

It is often used for coats, blazers and other outdoor wear, and also dresses and skirts. In the early 1800s it was found in scarves and hoop skirts. But over time, it became popular for home item and accessories, such as handbags, headbands and umbrellas. It has even become popular for trendy animal care items, such as collars and bowls.

In the late 1960s, designer Geoffrey Beene mixed the classic pattern with lace in dresses. Also in the late 1960s, Chevrolet used a black and white houndstooth pattern to upholster some of its Camaro line of vehicles. In 2005-06, houndstooth made a fashion comeback when designers such as Chanel, Emporio Armani, and Louis Vuitton featured the bold pattern in their designs.

This winter, houndstooth is very trendy, it’s showing up in jackets:

Back from our not so great holiday to Squaw Valley and feverishly sewing. What have I been working on for my first project for 2008?

This cute jacket, the short version. With a lovely 1/4 inch houndstooth wool purchased last week at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley.

 I’ve never sewn with houndstooth before so the first thing I did before cutting was study the fabric. I realized that houndstooth is a very distinct pattern that has a direction. And much like pinstripes, it has vertical lines. But it also has vertical lines, like a plaid. This was going to be interesting….

First thing I did was I ACTUALLY MADE A MUSLIN! Just of the top portion of the jacket. Having been sewing BWOF patterns the last several months has made me a little wary of bust fit correctly out of the box. But this Butterick pattern fitted my C cup (wearing my bra) Diana perfectly:

I decided this fabric should be treated as a plaid - and also all of the pattern pieces would need to be cut in one direction to match. The houndstooth was small enough that matching it perfectly wasn’t an absolute must, but in my case, I thought I would give it a shot.
I looked on the patternreview message boards about cutting houndstooth and I found a post where someone mentioned Sandra’s Betzina’s method of cutting plaids. (Coincidentally, Sandra Betzina has taught some classes at Stonemountain and Daughter). They mentioned cutting a single layer of the fabric for each pattern piece, then flip the pattern piece over, match up the lines with your cut piece and cut the second piece. Of course, this is a longer process, took me about 3 hours, but I’m glad I did it:

Cut Piece 1 matching a line of the houndstooth to a notch for reference

Flip piece over and cut out piece 2 matching vertical and horizontal

Taking this extra time to cut out the fabric has helped enormously when putting the jacket together. I have to say that although I love BWOF patterns, this Butterick has been an easy vacation from them! It is extremely well drafted and the instructions are easy to follow WITH PICTURES (ahhh). This is going to be one sharp looking coat. I just noticed that Patternreview has a new contest for wool fabric - I just may enter. My first contest!

So Dancing With The Stars started up again, and with that came new inspiration to make a ballroom dress. That…and I just bought 500 bucks worth of fabric from Denver Fabrics inventory liquidation. Okay, seriously, what could I do - the discounts were just STARING at me! Good deals on dancewear fabric are hard to pass up. I hope that the new owners keep selling the dance fabric. Although it looks like the site has been bought by Fashion Fabrics Club and there is no dancewear in site.

I haven’t decided what my first project will be but stay tuned.

Gah! I have been struggling for a week with Burda World of Fashion August 2007 - 115 . I loved the shirt so much that I bought the issue off of Ebay. However, I was having such trouble with the collar band that I burned it slightly from ironing it so much! I wasn’t going to post this sad state, but it just goes to show that shit happens occasionally. In 15 years of sewing I don’t think I have made one collared shirt! I doubt very much I would have gotten very far if previous reviewers of this pattern had not posted pictures! Burda WOF magazine, I love ya. But I hate ya, too.

I’m working with a white stretch cotton that I bought over a year ago from Joann’s. I am pretty disappointed in the quality. It washed like a rag and it wrinkles very easily. This is going to be my muslin. If anyone has a line on poly/cotton stretch shirting, let me know!

I had a choice to keep the collar band in - but knowing myself, my gaze would continually fall to the burn area! So I ripped out the collar band and cut a new one and it has sewn in perfectly this time. Still have the top stitching and the arms to do, then I will post the finished product.

 I’ve ordered a stretch silk charmeuse for this pattern. Guess I am a glutton for punishment!

Pattern Description:
Slightly flared casual trousers/pants look great, are easy to sew and ready for anything.

Pattern Sizing:
34-44.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Very much so. It’s an easy well drafted pattern.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
For Burda WOF, they were surprisingly easy

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn’t like the ginormous waistband so I changed it (see below).

Fabric Used:
Tricot knit from Denver Fabrics in mulberry. Really like it.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

• As stated, wasn’t keen on the waistband. I like a smooth line around the waistline, not something scrunched up so I shortened it by half.
• I can’t stand activewear pants without elastic around the waist and there is nothing worse than sitting down at Starbucks and displaying plumber butt. Or having to constantly pull up your pants when you are working out.  For these reasons, I felt the waist needed to be a little more secure. Most of my other yoga pants have a thin elastic sewn into the top of the waistband so that is exactly what I did. And by serging it in place, it stays secure. I serged it onto one of the waistband pieces, then stitched both pieces together and turned right side out. The only mistake I made was top stitching the waistband, which my sewing machine did not like, and the line is a little wavy. But no one will see it anyway as I will have a top over it!

  

  The waistband was serged to the pants then top stitched with a cover stitch so the seam allowance would be flattened.

  

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
This is a very easy pattern and I highly recommend it.

Conclusion
Another winner from this months magazine!

Pattern Description:
This will get double use - for your yoga exercise or for everyday wear!

Pattern Sizing:
34-42  I did smaller at the top and wider at the bottom due to big arse syndrome
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Very much so - right down to the ’sexy back view’!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Not too bad. Except that I didn’t notice until I was finished that it mentioned inserting bias tape along the neckline and armholes. It didn’t make much of a difference in my case.

Fabric Used:
A matte tricot knit from Denver Fabrics when they liquidated their fabric. It’s quite soft and stretchy.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

• It doesn’t have you insert the elastic until the end and it is only inserted, not sewn in. Personally I like to stitch or serge elastic into place so it doesn’t slip and I did this after sewing the inside bra pieces together (see photos).

  

  You then fold it over and top stitch (I used a cover stitch)

  

• I didn’t have enough material for the inside bra so I used a fleshtone color in the same fabric. It shows a little at the edges but I think it adds a nice contrast.
• I omitted top stitching the neckline edge and back.  

The bottom hem was finished with a cover stitch on my serger.
The only thing that bothered me was the handstitching of the front strap to the back. I wish there had been a better way to finish it. With a stretch fabric it looks a bit ‘pulled’. I may go over it with a zigzag.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Absolutely! This turned out great and the built in bra is a definite plus. I will be sewing this again and again.
Conclusion
This top gets high marks from me. Next is the wrap top to go over it!

Pattern Description:
6 made easy pattern with various necklines and sleeves. I noticed this pattern has not gotten great reviews but they were for other variations. I tried View E
Pattern Sizing:
6-14
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, except for the sleeves and hem.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn’t like the sleeves , I thought they were rather boring - so I changed them!
Fabric Used:
A lovely drapey knit in periwinkle blue. I bought 10 yards of it about 3 years ago, god knows why I bought so much!.
Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I ‘trendy’d’ this pattern up a bit by:

• I changed the sleeves to more drapey flutter sleeves which are like a half moon shape. They give the top a more romantic look.

• I used a lettuce edge on my serger for the sleeves and bottom hem.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will sew it again - this version and the sleeveless version.
Conclusion
Great wardrobe builder, gives a nice romantic look to a pair of jeans. I just wish I had finished this DURING the summer not after!