Red and Wrong

The sky was looking a bit ominous, so I went outside and picked a small bouquet of daffodils from my yard. I wish your monitor was scratch and sniff...they smell so good! They smell like Spring...especially when you consider that I can also smell rain through the open window beside me.

Rain? Yep. We just had a short rainshower that followed the brief HAIL STORM that just suddenly occurred!!! And this was less than 20 minutes after I picked these flowers!!! I hope it didn't harm the ones I left behind.

Strong wind and hail?
Good grief...in like a lamb, out like a lion?

I gave a bit more thought to HOW to eliminate the excess width that is created when one rotates part of the bust dart to the CF area to create gathers. This is kinda what I was thinking: Using my previous pattern, what if I just 'shifted' the width of the above-bust area medially, until the excess is gone? Here's a picture to show what I mean.

On the left is my pattern with the excess width (little triangle pointing downward at CF/neck). The next image with green lines indicates the original width of that area, before the excess was added. Third, those green lines are 'shifted' to the right until they touch the CF line. Lastly, the pink line indicates the NEW sewing line, which is basically removing the excess at the side of that section...the yoke seam.

I decided I would try this on the next pattern. But I also decided to do a few other things differently, too! I would make an awful scientist, because I introduce too many variables in my experiments!

Ok, on this knock-off of the Jalie 2794 (take three), I again drew guidelines:

• blue = grainline.
• green = future locations of dart rotation (directly opposite BP and toward lower ah).

Plus, I located a point on the side seam...this time, it was 1.5" below the underarm (before it was 2.5"). I also drew an ARC (orange) to connect the new point on the sideseam with the neckline to create the yoke shape.

Then I removed the yoke area.

I selected everything above the bust level (green) and rotated counter-clockwise to close ONE FOURTH of the bust dart (before, I put HALF of the dart into CF). This put less dart into the CF area and created less excess width to remove. Remember, before, I was not thrilled with the amount of gathering at the center front, so I was hoping this would be just right.

Next I selected the area in bold black and rotated CCW to close the remaining bust dart, which opened a dart in the yoke seam. THis one is larger than on the previous one because it is 3/4 of the dart (as opposed to being only half before).


Now it was time to 'shift' the upper section medially to eliminate that excess width at the front. I selected the neck and upper section of the yoke seam (light blue) and moved it toward the middle, such that the length of the seams did not change. Then I redrew the ARC that is the yoke seam, and Voila! a new pattern to try.

Now here is where I messed up. Remember that top I made last fall? The NO DART one from the red textured knit? Well, I hate that top and never wear it. I decided to rip it apart and recut it from this pattern. I dug until I found the remnants of that piece...not much, but enough to cut out the two new yoke pieces and a band for the neckline.

The new pieces were easily cut from the scraps of the first top.

Oh! This time (after this photo was taken) I re-cut the band to be only 1.5" wide, whereas before, it was cut 2" wide. I think I like the narrower band on the top...but wider was ok, too.

Either way, when the top is finished, I have to miter the band at the center of the V...i.e., sew across the folded band at a 45 degree angle to create a 'v'.

I left the very bottom of the sideseams unripped, to leave the hem as is...hoping to avoid one step in completion of the new top.

Then I layed the patterns onto the old top. Below, you can see the relationship of the YOKE pattern to the FRONT pattern...although the yoke WILL NOT be cut from this piece (it was cut from the scraps, remember?). But this clearly shows where the bust dart went.

When I carefully positioned the new patterns onto the previously cut top, I coud see that the old FRONT pieces were a little bit too narrow right where the yoke seam meets the side seam. I decided that I would go ahead and cut it anyway...I had ruined the old top by ripping it apart anyway, so if it turned out too tight, I would just give it away. And FYI, I had drafted this NEW pattern with only ONE inch bust ease this time; the leopard top had 2" bust ease. THis pattern had only 1" bust ease, and the fabric STILL was not wide enough...so I would actually end up with even less! But I proceeded.

Here, you can see the front pattern piece overlayed onto the now-finished top. The end of the ruler is aligned with the side seam of the top...it is a good 1" smaller than the pattern. This means the front of this top is 2" narrower than the pattern calls for! I spread out some of the gathers that should have been the bust dart to make the yoke seam longer to help make up for the lack...that enabled me to sew on the yoke, which was the correct width, but it didn't add any front width BELOW the yoke seam, and THAT is where it was needed!

The old sleeves were used as-is, because I couldn't make them any larger! ("what?" you say!)
I know...I thought the sleeves would be wide enough to reuse, but it turns out the back was at least 3/4" too small...so I just sewed them in as is. This means there was NO ease in the cap seam...and possibly, the cap seam was smaller than the armhole.

Oh! The back neck on the old top was wider than the back neck on the new pattern...one of the very areas I wanted to change! I could narrow it some, but not enough without making the top too short in length...so I decided to use the band to pull it in (by stretching the band in that area when sewing it on). But I probably stretched the band too much in the front neck area, too...the neck is sort of being pulled upward.

So, between the neck pulling the front up, and the sleeves pulling in the bodice, and the front width being inadequate, this thing didn't have a chance!

Lemonade.

Overall, the fit is not as bad as it ought to be, but it is tighter than I desire. The pattern, though, is probably good...if only it had been actually USED correctly!!!

Although the front neck depth was increased this time, it is hard to tell it, because the band is pulling up the front (didn't I learn not to do that on the FIRST top?).

Also, I like that the amount of front gathers is less than before. THIS TIME, I only gathered from bust level UPWARD...but not below the bust (so I didn't use that point that was located on the CF that was below the bust level). I actually think I could have put a full HALF of the bust dart into the CF after all, since I removed the excess width AND since I only gathered ABOVE the bust level.

The back isn't awful...it would be fine if the skimpy front wasn't pulling it out of place! But because the front was too narrow (and I used it anyway!), it pulls the back tighter and shows 'bra bulges' (what? Surely *you* don't have those!? Sigh. Yes I do.).

The shoulders are MUCH better this time. I used the NO BACK DART setting and used the ARMHOLE SHAPE TOOLS to reshape the armhole to be much more of a slant. I have found that drafting WITH a shoulder dart produces a smaller back half of the sleeve than drafting WITHOUT a shoulder dart. I have been trying FOR YEARS to get adequate back width (driving room) in my garments, and the advice given was always 'increase the BACK SHOULDER WIDTH", which increases the size of the bk shoulder dart. My friend, Heidi Jung, assures me that I only need a 3/8" width shoulder dart...and to get that, I just have to use a BSW measurement that is .75" larger than the FRONT SHOULDER WIDTH measurement. It is the ARMHOLE SHAPE TOOLS that enable me to increase the width at the lower back armhole without using a large back shoulder dart. The AH shape tool seems to work better now than when it was first introduced (ten years ago?)...when it created large circles and jinks with only a few clicks.

Oh, I reduced my NECK CIRCUMFERENCE MEASUREMENT to 13", even though it measures more than that. I don't need to make it larger (to control the size of the back shoulder dart) if I am not using a large BSW and NOT getting a large shoulder dart!

I know this works in a knit now...I just have to prove it in a woven!

Here is my STYLE SHEET info:

Garment Type: Blouse
Style: Blouse
Closure: No Closure
Front Neckline: Square
Back Neckline: Jewel
Hemline Sweep: Straight
Hemline Shape: Straight
Front Darts: Side
Back Darts: No Darts
Sideseam Shape: Fitted

Front Waist Darts: 1 ...didnt' sew these!
Back Waist Darts: 1

Front Neckline Depth: 6
Back Neckline Depth: 0.75
Neckline Width: 0.5 ***WIDER than last time...better.
Neckline Point: 0
Front Neckline Shape Up: 2.7 clicks
Front Neckline Shape Right: -2.2 clicks

Armhole Depth: -0.75
Dart Override: 0

Side/Arm Point: -1
Side/Waist Point: 0.75
Side/Hip Point: 0

Cf/Extension: 0
Cb/Extension: 0

Shoulder Pad: 0
Shoulder Point: 0

Finished Cb/Hem Length: 24
Hip Depth: 8

Bust Pt Vertical: 10.5
Bust Pt Horizontal: 5
Upper Front Dart Length: 1.25
Upper Back Dart Length: 0
Lower Front Dart Length: 8
Lower Back Dart Length: 6.5
Back Shoulder Dart Length: 3.5 ***used NO DART option


Sleeve Style: Set In
Sleeve Underarm Seam: Tapered
Sleeve Hemline Shape: Straight
Sleeve Length: Wrist
Sleeve Cap Ease: 0.35**********
Sleeve Underarm Length: 20 ***used sleeves from original top, so these don't apply
Sleeve Overarm Length: 24.755 *****
Sleeve Hem Circumference: 9.5
Sleeve Elbow Depth: 8
Sleeve Elbow Circum.: 13
Sleeve Cap Height Adj: -0.75

Front Armhole Shape Down: -1 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Up: 1 clicks ***this is TEN clicks...and is the key to using NO BACK DART.
Back Armhole Shape Right: 0.2 clicks ***this is outward.

Chest Ease: 1
Waist Ease: 3
Hip Ease: 3.5

Chest Circumference: 41.5
Back Shoulder Width: 17.5 ***used NO DART...This # will be reduced to 15.75" next time.
Neck Circumference: 13
Natural Waist: 34
Hip Circumference: 42
Crotch Length: 29
Height: 66
Weight: 161
Bra Cup Size: D
Center Front Length: 14.875
Front Shoulder Width: 15
Front Shoulder Slope: 18.125
Shoulder Length: 5
Center Back Length: 16.5
Back Shoulder Slope: 18.125
Bicep Circumference: 12

Yellow Top Redux

Well, I decided NOT to wash and try to shrink the yellow top, being fairly certain I had probably prewashed this fabric before putting it into my stash.

So on Monday, I ripped the entire shirt apart.

Then I adjusted some measurements and settings and recut the pieces. I superimposed the NEW pattern onto the OLD pattern before I printed, so I could line up the pieces with the old pattern before cutting on the NEW lines.






By Monday night, the shirt had been resewn...version 2.

Here is the comparison...the BEFORE and AFTER pics. I am holding up 2 fingers in the pics of the second version (not giving hippie signals!) to indicate which version is which.







As you can see, it really is NOT better. Probably, it is worse...although the narrower shoulders ARE better.













But the shorter upper back (distance from neck to armhole depth) is definitely BAD.

The slight loss of bust and hip ease was not good, either.







The sleeves ARE better...less full...but are still too full and fluttery. Plus, look at the way the back of the sleeve is plastered against the back of my arm (that's a clue!)...yet there is all this extra room in the front of the sleeve.


I pulled this up at the shoulders, so the second version's neck is higher and the hem is shorter.

But still, it hangs on my backside. I wonder what using a CB seam will do?

Navy Dress Part 2

I have been trying to update my progress on this dress, but have failed miserably! It HAS been finished and even worn...twice now! But it was not an easy project! This thing has almost kicked my butt!!! Everything has been more complicated that it should be!

I spent time researching how to do the facing at cb when there is a zipper there...in the end, it was easy, but I *thought* it would be hard so was apprehensive. Basically, I have made everything harder than it needed to be, which *is* my Modus Operandi!



But let me back up a bit...

Since I didn't want to compromise the 'breathability' of this fabric, I chose NOT to underline the dress, as I DID plan to line it. So I fused strips of interfacing above the hem area, so that my hem stitches could catch something other than just the fabric, and hopefully, be invisible. More on this later.

I inserted an invisible zipper...hadn't done one in a while...and my stitching was not quite as close to the zipper teeth as it needed to be to remain 'invisible'...so I stitched each side again a bit closer. Then I zipped it closed. Ackkkk! The cut edges of the neck were not aligned...I had allowed one side of the zipper to shift! I had to rip out one side of the zipper...which had been sewn TWICE!!! And in black thread...on a black zipper. I had to go sit outside on the deck in order to see well enough to rip!

I had taken lots of pictures during the construction of this dress, but DH accidently deleted them before I could upload them to my computer. sigh. He was putting them onto my computer in anticipation of his taking the camera with him to his parents house, and he was doing this while I was very busy and unable to supervise where all my pics were on the memory card and where they should go on my computer. Some were deleted, some were not. sigh.


Next was the French pleat at the back hem. This kick pleat is the slit with underlap kind...oh why did I have to do a French vent? A simple slit would have looked just as nice, even showed a bit of leg! But I planned this without regard for that. And lining a French vent is tricky if you haven't done it in along time, epsecially if you have never been the one to make the pattern! Anytime I have done this in the past, the pattern was made by a professional patternmaker and a template was provided to 'adjust' the lining. Well, this time, I had to make my own pattern and figure out my own 'template' for adjusting the lining!!! And of course, I did it wrong at first...allowed too much seam allowance on the lining edge, so that when the edge of the lining was sewn to the edge of the vent flap, there was excess lining width. Had to rip and resew. Then realized I should have HEMMED the lining before sewing it to this edge of the vent flap. Rip again, then hem and resew. Sheesh! of course...my pictures detailing the steps are gone. sigh. I can show the end result.

Once the zipper was in and the princess and side seams were sewn, I tried the dress on. It was 'roomy' to say the least! I had allowed 5" of hip ease and 2" waist ease...apparently that was too much. I took in the sideseams from above waist to the hem to remove 1" circumference...better.

There was still a fullness above the bust, especially on one side. I decided this was because I really needed a bit more length in the front bodice above the underarm level, which made the front bust level a bit too high. I need an additional 3/8" front length....which also would draft a larger bust dart...but that is for next time! I decided I couldn't fix the Bust Height problem in this dress so I moved on.

I had not yet set the sleeves, but the depth of the armholes was bothering me. I was afraid I had drafted the armholes too deep. I do have square shoulders and often need to raise the AH depth, but had failed to do that. duh. Then I realized that the AHs had stretched....why hadn't I staystitched? duh. I put the pattern on the ironing board and aligned the garment onto its pattern and steamed the AHs back to size and shape, then used some fusible tape to keep them stable...sorry, that picture was deleted. sigh. I'll take one of the fusible product I used to 'fix' the AHs.

Now on to the sleeves: The first set of sleeves were bad (cap height was too low, and I had not allowed enough cap ease), so I redrafted, created and cut new sleeves. This time, I basted the sleeves in! Still not perfect, but usable, once I rotated them a little to look/hang better.

But before I made those new sleeves, though, I wanted to address that b-AH. I was considering trimming out the back armhole, as if removing the 3 clicks outward that had I added during drafting by using the AH Shape tool. I felt like the back was too wide, but I sure did hate to try this, as once cut, this alteration could not be undone! Finally, I did it. And the new sleeves went in nicely!

When cutting out the sleeve lining, I forgot to cut the front underarm area a bit higher than the pattern (to allow extra fabric so the lining will have room to go over the underarm seam allowance)...so I figured I might as well NOT cut the back higher either....so then I had to decide HOW to do the sleeves. In the end, I just sewed the lining's armhole to the garment's armhole...to treat them as one. Then I lined the sleeves separately...then inserted the garment sleeves into the dress by machine, and sewed the lining sleeves to the lining AH by hand. Not my preferred way to do it, but it worked!

The dress feels wonderful as I put it on. I lined it with Bemberg rayon...my first time to use this. I really like the way it feels! I had some issues sewing it, though. I didn't change needles between the shell and the lining, and after sewing nearly ALL the lining seams, I realized I had 'loops' on the bobbin side every now and them...and had to go back and reinforce some of the stitching. I don't know what would cause this, unless it was the needle size.

Then I wore the dress to the wedding. It wore well...was comfortable and allowed adequate mobility. However, I felt like I looked like my grandmother. I was NOT happy.

Well, the blouse was awful!!! When I said I had "finalized the pattern", I suppose that was wishful thinking! duh...it seems that EVERY decision I made was the wrong one!

I forgot to lower the back neck depth, which is vital to the correct fit! Plus, as this is an Empire style, I was a bit uncertain as to HOW HIGH to make that Empire waist seam...so I erred on the low side. I had also chosen to convert the bust dart to gathers instead of sewing it as a dart. Plus, I decided I had created too much overlap of the bodice area (crossover above the Empire seam), so at the last minute before printing the pattern, I had lessened the amount of crossover. ..which resulted in 'over exposure' in the cleavage area.

Can you visualize this?

• Because the back neck wasn't cut low enough, the whole front was 'pushed' more forward on my body than designed to be.
• The Empire waist seam was lower than it should have been, resulting in-
• 'poofs' of gathers on each side of my lower front rib cage.
• and lots of skin showing in the too-low Vneck!

It was NOT a pretty site! (there are NO pictures of that mess! )

So I spent part of last weekend ripping this blouse apart. Yep, the whole thing...topstitched, sewn and serged...all out! I now have the individual pieces again laying on the cutting table and have 'corrected' the pattern, so will recut them to raise the waist and lower the back neck. What a pain!

Why not just toss it into the garbage? you might ask. I am too attached to the outcome...I have already SEEN the blouse in my head and would like to have it! I am a Taurus...stubborn, ya know.

But this week has been spent on other pursuits and the pieces are still waiting for my attention!