Another New Top

Burda 115 8/10 may very well be my new tnt knit top.  This is the same pattern as the white top, but a single layer with the lower of the two necklines.  Even though summer is approaching, I made another long sleeved top.  It's still chilly here, especially at night and I don't have many long sleeve tops in my wardrobe.  This was a roll end  rayon knit from Emmaonesock. ( It pays to watch her roll end section as I've found some great bargains there). It doesn't have a lot of stretch  so it probably doesn't have much, if any  lycra in it,  I didn't have enough fabric for the neckband and this ivory rayon lycra leftover is perfect for a neckband.  It's also from EOS, one of her stock 11 oz knits and it doesn't roll at the edges the way a lot of single knits do,making it easier to work with.

 
I used the same neckband technique from Lynda Maynard that I used in the white top.  You can see how nice and flat it is and interfacing the neckline really stabilizes it and makes it easy to stay stitch and to stitch  in the ditch when you are applying the band.  It's a 3/8" finished width and while she suggests cutting 1 3/8" strips, I added an 1/8" to give me something to cut off when I serged it. You don't really need to serge the knit edge of course, but it looks more professional if you do.  If you are having issues sewing nice neckbands on knit tops, this is the method to use. 
The interfacing I used for the neckline is tricot from Fashion Sewing  Supply.  It's by far the best  fusible tricot  I've used.

Rookie Mistakes

 

Nothing but sewing disasters here.  I can't believe what rookie mistakes I've made.  I am sewing a sweater knit top with little stretch and I made it too tight.  So , I figured I'll add black rayon knit bands down the sides.  Perfect.  I went to pick up the sleeves to sew and I had actually cut a piece out of one of them. I wanted a sample for my board.  There are plenty of scraps, and I cut it out of the sleeve.   Can you believe it?  What a disaster.  Of course I don't have enough extra to cut another sleeve.  Marcy Tilton still had the fabric the last time I looked but I am not sure I even want to order another yard to fix this.  My ufo double top was great, shown above Burda 112 8/10 until I went to hem it. The outer fabric is hard to sew and hem so I figured I'd just leave it unfinished. It's semi sheer.  I  cut too much off and it's ok, but the bottom rolls up unevenly and looking in the photos it looks  like it is uneven. I swear it isn't.   My tnt pants developed a drape at the bottom of the leg after I split it down the middle to make it larger. You can see it in the picture as well.   I re balanced the leg after I did this but why it is in the later pair of pants and not the earlier before I made them bigger I can't figure out.  I did play around with how they hang on my body and they the inseam appears to be too long.  When I pinned it in horizontal dart that drag line disappeared.   Grr.  I need to get my sewing back to even good here before I tackle my wedding finery.  I think that II am just going to let the knit top go.  I don't love it enough to buy another yard of fabric to fix it. 

I do like the fit on the Burda double top so I am going to make another top, but a single layer.  Simple two sleeves and a nice neckline using the new technique I learned in
Lynda Maynard's The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques  I found a copy  in the new book section at the  library.  I  used her single fold binding on knit fabrics for the tops.  It's a really great technique.  Easy to do and it looks very professional.  It's far easier than the methods where you quarter a circle and apply the binding as a circle. and it lays flat and close to the body and even on hard to sew fabric like the textured layer on  my double top.  I was not stupid enough to try and use it with a strip of self fabric, but delved into the scrap bin and used a nice white rayon and lycra knit instead.  A note on fit here.  There are no darts on this top, but my DD cup bust needs darts no matter what I am making.  I added short darts in the front armholes to take up the folds there when I was tissue fitting the top.  Somewhere on the internet, I think it's under David Paige Coffins You Tube videos, there is a video of Marcy Tilton fitting a knit top.  She tissue fits them and she shows how to add these darts.  They have to be small and short and they work.  The only thing I am going to change on  this top is to widen the shoulders a little.  I have very narrow shoulders and the  seams are just past my shoulder bones.  I think that a little more width might be flattering.  I can always cut it off if I don't like it.

The book itself is a strange amalgam of techniques and imop poorly organized.  Sigrid used the pocket staying technique which worked  beautifully as well.  Kenneth King has a similar technique on the Threads website.  Is it worth buying the book?  I don't know but Amazon has it for a good price, well below list.

Finding Fabrics

It's a busy time of year for me so I have been trying to avoid a trip into NYC to  look for fabrics to go with my jacket fabric.  I had a very annoying time getting samples out of Mood.  Forget what I said about Mood having fixed their website.  It must have been an out of body experience because it's just the same as ever, just a little faster, which isn't saying much.  I regularly window shop on Net a Porter for ideas and boy do they have a great website.  Wonderful pictures, fast response time and when you use the back button you land where you left off, not at the  beginning of 7 or 11 or whatever the number of pages which is what happens on Mood's site.  I don't know about customer service because I can't afford to buy anything on Net a Porter.  Mood's customer service?  Nasty and obnoxious.  I have a PO box for mail and Mood says it doesn't ship to PO boxes.  However, it lists usps in their shipping list and they send out samples by mail.   One woman insisted that the site allows you to send to a PO box.  Not without a phone call or in my second try an email. The first woman I spoke to said I should have known to call them after all I should know that free samples go by mail.  I replied why can't they just fix the website?  I don't know about you, but I shop online after 5pm or on the weekend when they don't have hours.  What, I'm supposed to wait and call them when they are open?  Isn't that why we shop online, so that we can shop at our convenience?  

Enough. I love Mood in  person.   If I wanted to bore you I'd go on with a long list of what's wrong with their site.  But I won't as you can find out for yourself.  I buy a lot of fabric online, but not from Mood.  Oh, their samples, which finally came were only 'all right' and they didn't have the color I wanted in the fabric I wanted.

Next place I sent for samples is Banksville Designer Fabrics.  They sent gorgeous samples in the colors I wanted.  The fabric that I would use for the pants and tank top is a double sided charmeuse, but it's not shiny, more like a really gorgeous 4 ply silk crepe.  Only problem is that it's only 36" wide and I'd really have to figure the yardage carefully and cut it in a single lay, which is actually a good way to cut slippery fabrics.  They had a gorgeous gray silk organza for underlining my jacket and two luscious stretch silk charmeuse choices for lining the jacket.  I've decided that I want a hidden splash of color and I have a choice of hot pink or a light lemon yellow.   I am leaning towards the hot pink.  I love a charmeuse lining in a jacket, especially if I am wearing a sleeveless top underneath.  

I am still awaiting samples from B & J.  BTW, they have a website with gorgeous fabrics on it now.  They have chosen to go with unique fabrics and not basics, though they certainly have lots of plainer things in the store. I called and ordered samples.  One thing they do have is the largest selection of Liberty of London fabrics that I've seen anywhere.  The Tana lawn prices are  at the lower end of what I've seen.  If you are into these fabrics, do check them out.  They also have a large selection of guipure lace.  Gorgeous. 

Didn't get to finish my silk blouse yet but it's coming along.  We are leaving tomorrow  to spend Passover with  Josh and Sarah and Jakob.   Sunday Sarah and I are going to the park with Jake while the  Josh and Seth do the food shopping for Seder.   Can't wait.  

Have a great weekend, and if you celebrate Passover, have a good holiday.

Sewing For Fun

That's right, sewing is supposed to be fun and enjoyable.  My escapades with the coat, which I still don't love, had knocked out my sewing mojo.  Then came the issues with my jacket pattern.  All not fun. 

Sigrid suggested I sew something easy to get back into sewing and I did; I  made a pair of pants. Yes, pants.  Without fitting issues pants are easy, especially when I sew them without waist and hip details, which I did.   Having that tnt pattern is really the ticket to making pants fun and easy if your body doesn't conform to the ideal body shape that the sewing companies use.  The other key to a flattering pair of pants is fabric that drapes well.  It just flows over all those lumps and bumps.  A certain weight is needed here as well.  One thing I did was add another inch to the length so that one, they are longer than I've been making them, and two that I could have a deeper hem which also adds weight and hangs well. 

Now I am sewing up two ufo tops.  One is a silk blouse and the other is double layer knit top that I started in the fall and it got too cold for  it.  

I'll show them when I get a new top done so that I have an 'outfit'.  Like Elaray, I really don't like sewing Swap's, especially those with lots of garments. I do however like to sew pieces that go together.  Of course, with my limited color repertoire almost everything goes to together in my wardrobe.

 

Jacket Update

First muslin of my jacket and I was ready to trash it and look for something else.  Claire Kennedy  to the rescue.  She made some suggestions and I altered the pattern to eliminate both the welt pocket and the fact that the lower side is not attached and stands away from the body and is just not flattering or practical.  I altered the jacket to one, enable me to attach the curves to the jacket side and only leave an opening for a small pocket in the front curved seam.  Good for a lipstick or tissue or just interest.  I have actually never made a pocket like this in a seam so I have to look for some instructions, though I think I know what to do. I loved how the front fit, so it made it worth doing more alterations to the jacket and I am ready to make another muslin.

I love the fabric I bought and I am waiting for some 4 ply silk crepe samples for the pants.  Not making the pattern pants, but I am going to take my tnt pattern and widen the legs a lot to give a full pant.  For those of you who have forgotten what I am sewing, after all it's been awhile, here it is again.  I like the width of these pants, but not the pleated front.  Maybe I'll make them a little narrower because I cannot wear much of a heel.

I found this really nice silk and metallic fabric from Marcy Tilton for the jacket.  I like the face of the fabric on the left, though either is probably ok.  The picture on the right has some silk charmeuse of the color I am looking for in 4 ply silk crepe.  In real life both fabrics are cooler. 

By the way, I ordered my samples from Mood's online site and guess what?  They have finally fixed it and it no longer acts like you are using dial up instead of the very nice fast dsl line that I use.   I can now recommend their site; especially for dyed to match silks in all types and lots of
colors.  They should be here today.  or tomorrow.

Living With Pain

Lots of people live with pain for a variety of reasons.  When your doctors can't figure out why you are in pain it's even worse.  Right before my plantar fasciatis got bad I went to my doctor complaining about lower abdominal pain severe enough to finally come in.  This was last June.  She sent me to a gastroenterologist who proceeded to perform numerous tests and found nothing.  He sent me to my gynecologist who looked at all my tests and she said,  you're post menopausal so it's not gynecological.  Lose weight.  Well, yeah I want to lose weight  but I was more interested finding out why I was in pain, by then it had been months.  Good news, you don't have cancer, but we don't know what's wrong with you.  I left depressed and  angry with her attitude.  At this point I decided to go back to my primary care physician and asked her to look globally at my pain and  lack of other  symptoms and see if she could look beyond what the specialists had looked at.  My pain is very close to the surface when palpated.  She thought about it and decided to send me to a woman who specializes in woman's urology  at Stony Brook Hospital.  It took several months to get an appointment with her but it turned out that she actually had a diagnosis and a treatment. She sees lots of women with this problem.  That was in December.  She was wonderful, one of those doctors who actually listen and pay attention to what you are saying.  I don't know that there is a medical name but she said that I have what's known as pelvic pain and  mine is muscular.  There are several other causes.

But, getting treatment turned out not to be so easy.  The two very specialized physical therapists she refers  did not take my insurance.  I could only find someone who could do external pt and the low dose valium I was taking  which was  working turned out to turn me into a zombie.  I couldn't focus and couldn't stay awake in the evening and had trouble waking up.  I didn't feel safe driving so I stopped taking it and called the office.  She prescribed  a larger dose to be taken internally once a day.  I won't go into details, but the generic form wouldn't dissolve.  The insurance company wouldn't pay for the brand name which does dissolve.  $100 for a drug that's been around for how long?  I am still waiting for their decision on whether they will  cover it.  Oh, and by the way during this we changed insurance companies and the recommended therapist takes the new insurance.   So for the last 2 weeks I've been finally doing the therapy my doctor recommended.  It's painful and exhausting and time consuming especially since the office is 30 minutes away.  Hopefully it will also work.

I decided to write about this because there must be other women who have the same problem and haven't found a diagnosis either.   My physical therapist said that her boss is working with a doctor doing research on this.  It's not rare, but the doctors I went to weren't aware of it.  There are medical centers where all your doctors are in one place and actually talk to each other.  If that had been my experience I doubt it would have taken 6 months to get a diagnosis. 

The Moulage a la Kenneth King

Yesterday was the third and last session of my moulage class with Kenneth King.   It was a success; I now have a moulage and a set of slopers to work with to fit garments for myself.  Beyond that it was a pleasure to take a class with him.  He is a wonderful teacher and generous with his knowledge and a great raconteur.  Those extra little details on sewing and fit that I got from him were invaluable to my future sewing.  I wish that Alex was around so that I could make a moulage for her.

We were 10 women and we paired up for taking measurements. Both my partner and I must have done a good job measuring because her muslin needed no adjustments and mine needed adjustment for my low shoulder, we had measured my high side,  and a little taking in at my high hip which has been a challenge to fit over the years.  He was very hands on in this class, going around to each of us with infinite patience so that we got it right and answering any questions we had.  He took our muslins and marked the changes and transferred  them to  our moulage patterns.  Some women needed their side seams straightened out as they were pulling to the back or front  Very much like Claire Kennedy did for me when I was fitting my pants.  That side seam needs to be straight and perpendicular to the floor, not just for fit, but for a flattering fit.  I was thrilled and sort of amazed at how close the fit really was for me; my body is certainly no where near that perfect fitting model size.  It was also  interesting to see all the variations in our patterns.  No wonder it's so hard to get rtw to fit!

Today I sewed the right shoulder lower, and adjusted the high hip on my muslin so that I could put it on my dress form and adjust it to the moulage. I have one of those duct tape dress forms. I needed to pad out the shoulders a bit and I have to do some surgery on the arms.  They are causing some wrinkling on the back, but other wise it fits pretty well.  My next project is to draft sleeves for my moulage from KK's basic sleeve book.  We took the necessary measurements to draft sleeves to fit our moulage's in class.  Pattern review has all his cd's and if you are a member you get a 10% discount. They also have Linda Maynard's Demystifying Fit cd that he recommends for using with  your slopers to fit commercial patterns.  I ordered it this morning. 

 You can see the wrinkles on the back right shoulder where I need to do some surgery on my form.  Other than that I might  actually be able to  drape garments and pin fit to my shape with less time and   trouble. You can also see that my dress form narrows at the bottom.  My moulage also looked like that , but Kenneth suggested I straighten it out for a more flattering fit, which is why the muslin looks big at the bottom.   Trust your common sense and your instincts when it comes to fitting.
KK says that he can measure and draft a moulage and set of slopers in about an hour!

If you have the opportunity to  take a class with Kenneth, by all means do so.  It was worth every penny and while it was hard work, it was also fun and rewarding.

I haven't been doing any sewing since I finished my coat.  Lots of things going on.  But taking Kenneth's class has certainly inspired me to get back to the sewing room so I look forward to some good clothing coming out of that room!  Now that I've taken the class I will be making a muslin of the Miyake jacket and then, if I like it I'll be taking a trip into the city to look for fabric.
Happy sewing.