Pop Quiz For Ya'll

Many of you know I am making another pair of jeans for my Spring Mini-SWAP at PatternReview.com. I know, I know, that's three pairs of jeans in less than two months. What can I say? I really only had two pairs of jeans that fit. And when I say "fit" I mean they had major gaposis in the back and a waist that was too big. So, today I'm working on those jeans.

Now, let's see who is as addicted to PatternReview.com as I am. Here's the pop quiz part. Which PatternReview.com member inspired these jean pockets? This is one of my favorite PR members. Mine aren't exactly like theirs but the pockets were certainly inspired by this member . . .

I did experiment with putting the octopus on the pockets. When my husband started calling me Octopussy and Tentacle Butt, I realized that 7th graders would have way too much fun with the motif too.

Burda 03-2009-101 Pleated Dress

Here is BWOF 03-2009 #101. It's basically a long, loose shirt dress. I really liked the model photo and the mannequin shot.


I thought the line drawing was uninspiring. But, it's accurate. It does look like a sack when it's untied.


I fixed the yoke piece and finished the dress last night. I love the color and the floofy hem a the bottom. It's a silk duppioni my darling husband bought the last time he was in Houston. He rocks. I cut it off at the knee instead of below the knee.

This is item number one for my mini-SWAP. I'm wavering on two jackets. Not that it's too much sewing but that the collars on the jackets won't go with the collar on this dress. I'll make mock-ups and then let you guys help me make the call.

I really like this dress. I think I need to press the neckline again.

Shoes a present from my husband also. He bought them last year for my birthday from DUO.com.

Dumbass Move #2

So this must be the week of dumbass. Can you see what is wrong with this picture below? Somehow I traced off the wrong pattern piece for the yoke. It is the same basic shape but much shorter in length. When I put the dress together the back of the main dress was too wide but I often have difficulties with the Burda pleating directions. Undeterred, I just pleated more and moved on. When I went to attach the yoke to the front sections, WHOA, something was really wrong.



As you can tell from this photo, it's considerably shorter. My clue should have been the markings on the sleeve. What are they for, I wondered. Well, they aren't for my dress . . . After looking at the piece with a critical eyeball, I realize it was for the men's shirt # 131. It's also a green tracing line but it's on the opposite side as the sheet I was tracing from. So, in other words, I traced the wrong side of the sheet. I always put my pattern sheets on the window. It's great because I can see the lines clearly but, I also see the other side of the pattern sheet.

Here's the wrong on top of the right.

The dress should be done tonight or tomorrow. I had to rip off the yoke and iron out the pleating I had done. Ever have a week where you feel like you are spinning your wheels?

Questions and Answers

E Lohroff has left a new comment on your post "Couture Jacket Class -- 1": Why did you make the seam allowances 1" on the traced pattern?
E Lohroff, We use 1" seam allowances just in case we need to let the pattern out. She said that I probably didn't need to because the pattern is very loose in the chest and waist but she wanted me to add the extra just in case. .

JoanneM has left a new comment on your post "Couture Jacket Class -- 1": Dawn , I want to ask you a few things about your class.Is it offered by your local indy fabric store? Who is teaching the class? I recall you saying that Claire Shaeffer would be attending at some point. Do they run these classes all year or is it a special one time only? I am trying to gauge whether I should investigate the possibility of such a class in my area.Looking forward to your jacket and process.Thank you!
Hi Joanne, This class is offered through Seams Like Home which is our local fabric boutique. The teacher is a local woman who is a member of ASG and has attending several Claire Schaeffer classes. Claire Schaeffer herself is coming up and this class is to make a jacket for when we meet her. Our instructor and the boutique thought it would be great idea to run the class now so we would have plenty of time to get our jacket done before the event in July.

Rachel has left a new comment on your post "Burda 09-2006-115 Wrap Dress": I love the dress and the pattern. How do you draw on your pictures? I have tried to do that, but I can't figure it out.
Rachel, I use Paint.net. It's a free program and it does everything I need.

Elbee has left a new comment on your post "Burda 09-2006-115 Wrap Dress": Hi Dawn. The dress looks really great on you. Curious as to why you wouldn't have used the coverstitch machine on the neckline. I covet a coverstitch machine and imagine that I would have used it here. Thanks.
Hi Elbee, I have the Viking 936 and it doesn't like to coverstitch over narrow things. It's not the density of elastic, it's the width. I have a hard time keeping it lined up. I don't know if this is a Viking 936 thing or if it's just me.

Rhoto has left a new comment on your post "More Loot for the Necchi": Hi Dawn!!If you DIDN'T have the original sewing manual for your Necchi, where do you think you could be able to find it??Rhonda in Montreal (PR), whose friend just bought a machine without a manual (obviously ;) )
Rhonda, There is a Necchi Sewing Machine yahoo group and that where I would start. They are a wealth of information.

E Lohroff has left a new comment on your post "Here We Go Again": Are there two different "rises" on this pattern? You indicate this is low rise. Is there a bit higher one for us who have trouble keeping our shirts tucked in?
Yes, there are two different rises on this pattern. The ones I have made are the lower rise. I wouldn't call them really low but they are not at the waist.

Rachel has left a new comment on your post "Here We Go Again": In my previous post I forgot to ask, what type of needle do you use for topstitching?
I'm using a Denim needle size 100 or a topstitching needle in a 100. I just play around and use whichever one seems to be working at the moment.

melissa has left a new comment on your post "Jalie 2911 - Cozy Pullover Top": Very nice! It reminds me of that 11/06 Burda pullover we both made.And I'm really surprised to hear your love for wool jersey. I used it for the first time recently and found it awful to work with - curling hugely at every opportunity, and in both directions, and after only a few wears (and no washes), it's bobbled a ton, too. So for the money I'm not very keen to sew with it again. Can you tell me/us a bit more about why you love it so much?
Melissa, I'm surprised you don't love wool jersey. I have bought it twice. Once was from Gorgeous Fabrics and once was from the Fabrics and Notions coop yahoo group. They are very different from each other. The Gorgeous Fabrics jersey was very thick and had some lycra in it. The coop fabric was thinner and softer. Neither one of the rolled or curled while I was working with it. It acted like a beefy cotton interlock. Maybe you just need to find the right brand.

Michelle has left a new comment on your post "Jalie 2911 - Cozy Pullover Top": Just a quick question regarding Jalie tops as you have made so many of them...I have made the Choice of T's 2005 and the 2806 and love them both. However, I noticed that the arm hole is cut quite high especially on the 2005 (I made size U). What is your experience?
Michelle, I prefer the newer arm style of the Jalie patterns. The 2005 pattern is the older style and doesn't fit me as well as the new ones do. If you check this blog post you can see the differences between the old and new styles.

Couture Jacket Class -- 1

I learned a lot of things today in class. This was our first real class. Our job was to come to class with the stitching lines drawn in on our pattern sheets. I measured in at a size 10 so I drew a stitching line in 5/8" inside that line. In the following pictures, you can see it as the thin, red line.

The first thing we did was a tissue fitting. I've attempted this before but have never been successful. You really need another person to help you with this. We did the fitting with just the main body pieces; no arms or collar. I found out that I should be taking a 1/2" tuck out of the front between shoulder and bust (yes! it's what I have been doing!) and adding a 1/2" to the back (oops, I've been taking a tuck here too). It turns out I have a forward-thrusting neck and I need to add a bit more space to the upper back to make the collar come up where it is supposed to be. Can you think of a worse name for an alteration? So now, I've got to do a swayback adjustment and a forward thrusting neck adjustment. Both of these make me feel like singing The Old Gray Mare.

I also learned that truing your muslin is a job all by itself. I spent most of the class tearing my muslin, hand basting the edges together, and then ironing the snot out of it so it would go back on grain. Luckily, my muslin was nice quality and needed very little help to get on grain. Here you can see the hand basting, the tuck, and the drawn stitching lines.


Here you can see the additional tissue for the 1/2" addition to the back piece.


After attaching the pattern pieces to the muslin, we used tracing paper and a wheel to trace out all the markings, stitching lines, and seam allowances. We used 1" seam allowances on all the edges. I have a double wheel tracing wheel so this step went pretty fast. I will wait until May 17th to cut it off the muslin. There is no class on Mother's Day so I'm off the hook for two weeks. It's a good thing too. I need to get some stuff done for the SWAP. I did trace out the Patrones pattern and put it on muslin too. While I had everything out it seemed like the most efficient thing to do.


Hopefully I'll have the duppioni silk dress done in a day or two so you guys can see it. The Jalie jeans are already cut out and waiting to be made into pats. Then, it's on to the two jackets.

Urban Threads and I'm a Dumbass

Urban Threads has a great free embroidery pattern right now. I decided to put it on one of my girl's plain shirts as a trial run.


It's cute, no?


Well, it would have been cute had I not put it on backwards. This is what is really looks like. I had to hoop the shirt upside down because of the hem. So I flipped the image. Well, I should have just rotated it. Instead I vertically flipped it. Oops. Not a big deal unless you are using text.

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Tomorrow is my first real Couture Jacket class. I'll keep you posted. I decided on the hideous pink jacket. It's Vogue 8481. Our first few classes will just be making the muslin and fitting. I'm glad because I think I will need a lot of help with the fittings.

Burda 05-2009 #108 Vest

I feel like I've been working on this forever. I cut it out last week and finished it up today. With all this neighbor business, I've been pretty stressed out and busy. Then I had Kindergarten Round-Up with my son. I really need to get crackin' on the mini-SWAP at PatternReview.com. Yikes.

I love the cropped length of this vest. It will be perfect with turtlenecks in the winter too. It's a mini-houndstooth that my husband picked up the last time he was in Houston.



Here it is from the side. Does this make my butt look large or what? Sheesh. It doesn't bother me but wow, I forget it's back there. ETA: I guess I should say prominent butt. It's not large but it is very sway-backish and sticky-outy. How's that for scientific? :)



This finishes just below my natural waist.


I really like the wide collar pieces but got rid of the cap sheets.

Here it is turned inside out. I made sure that the lining was a little smaller so that the fashion fabric would be pulled to the inside.

I am so pleased with the Necchi buttonholes. Aren't they perfect? I'll have to show you my new chisel too. I went to Lowe's for sewing supplies the other day. More on that later.

The lining is shown up above and then pressed down. This make a little tuck in the lining fabric.

I'll do a proper review a little later today. I'm off to the library book sale. I am hoping to score some sewing books. We'll see what they have to sell.