Empire Surplice Top update

I have now worn my navy/floral Empire Surplice top a couple of times, and I must say, it is quite nice to wear! Too bad the fabric is not fine...it probably won't last long!

The armhole depth is NOT too low after all, as I had thought it was during construction. I DID finally remember WHY I had decided to lower the armholes: Because I reduced both front and back center lengths (to raise my waist), the armholes draft less-tall than they did before (when I was using a lower waist position). When the waist was located at a lower spot on my body (and thus, I had longer vertical measurements), I sometimes had to RAISE the armhole depth! But not anymore...now I must lower the AH depth to achieve just the right ah...but using the measurements which place the waist at this (higher) level puts the garment's waist shaping in a better spot on my body.

The front "skirt" portion does not expose skin, even when it blows open, due to the generous overlap. It also does not spread open when I sit.

The double-bust-dart/tuck thing worked out really well! I love that it provides shaping without being so form-fitting...I will do this again!

Before, I mentioned that, next time, I would reduce the center front length (CFL) and increase the center back length. WELL, it turns out, all I had to do was reduce the CFL (and front shoulder slope-FSS) and I could leave the CBL as it was. Reducing the front was enough to correct the placement of the front Empire seam (it was a little too low in the central area).

On the Navy top, I had used the Dart Override tool to reduce the size of the F-ah slightly, but now, after reducing the CFL and FSS, that won't be necessary!

I did decide to reduce the shoulder width measurements even more...I have been gradually making my shoulders more and more narrow. I am now using FSW=13.75" and BSW=15.5inches. I think this will really improve the shape of my armholes and sleeves, and provide increased arm mobility and comfort.

The Vinyl Tablecloth

"Of all the things you’ve made for me, I really appreciate this one the least."


Well, that is not exactly what was said, but it might have been!

Let me back up a bit.


Because of vacations, birthdays and houseguests, I haven’t done much sewing in the last couple of weeks, but I did manage to churn out a vinyl tablecloth for my son, who is in pharmacy school.
We gave my son a nice (new) dining table for Christmas 2007, and I have noticed that every time I see it, it is covered with laptops, books and notebooks…the typical student’s assortment of junk. And it is beginning to have tiny scratches on it. Bummer. To prevent these scratches and unnecessary wear, I decided to make him a vinyl cover for the table. Now, I didn’t use vinyl tablecloths on our tables when he was growing up so this is not what he is used to, and he was quite surprised when I told him that the tablecloth was NOT for his patio table!

Several weeks ago, our local Walmart put all the fabrics on sale to clear them out…that is where I found the flannel-backed vinyl with UT logos on it. I figured, what the heck, it’d be fun to pull out for parties anyway! So I bought some.

It rained one day during Dh’s vacation, so instead of working in the yard, I took the opportunity to pull out the UT vinyl and make the tablecloth. To my dismay, I discovered hadn’t bought enough yardage…his table is larger than I remembered!







So I had to piece not only the circle (as usual) but I had to piece the piece that was pieced to make the circle! So, instead of one seam (or two parallel seams) across the circle, I had one seam with two others that were perpendicular to that one!














To piece this required matching the pattern…another thing I hadn’t considered when hurriedly buying this fabric!






The pattern was NOT easy to match...the plaid design printed on the vinyl was not the same distance apart all over the piece...I had to fudge the matches a little! Once I finally decided on a match point, I folded under the edge on one piece, scoring that fold sharply to make a crease. Then as I aligned the folded edge to the matching piece, aligning the designs as much as possible, I used transparent tape to hold the seam in place.












Then I unfolded and stitched along the crease made by the fold.






















I trimmed away the excess, grading the seam allowances to reduce bulk.












I folded the now-pieced fabric in quarters and used my tape measure as a radius to draw a quarter circle on the flannel side of the fabric.















Then I cut along the pencil line to create a circle.

















I set the differential feed on my serger to slightly ease the edge as I stitched around it. Then, at the sewing machine, I turned and stitched the hem…which turned quite easily due to the serging!









Once the hem was done, I searched my stash until I found a bottle of glue that was permanent and washable. From the looks of the label, I’d say I have had it a long time!














I glued down the seam allowances on the back side…piling a bunch of heavy junk on top along the seam lines to hold the seam allowances flat until the glue dried.










I gave this to DS when he came over this past Saturday. On Sunday, he emailed me this picture, so I know that at least one time, this tablecloth WAS placed on the table! Time will tell if he leaves it there or not. But at least he will have it to use for parties!

Empire-waist Surplice Blouse

I finally finished the Empire Surplice (crossover) top I mentioned before! As usual, it isn’t perfect…I need to shorten the center front length and lengthen the center back length by .25” for next time...but it is wearable.

The fabric I used was some drapey rayon challis that I purchased last year specifically for use in testing patterns. This dark color makes the style details hard to see in the pictures…I increased the brightness a bit, but it only helped a little.

The blue buttons were from my stash…actually, they originally came from my grandmother’s stash! I put one button/buttonhole on each side, just under the bust…two buttons total.

As mentioned previously, additional
length was needed on the pattern right there at the dart legs to smooth out the angle that forms when the dart is sewn. This extra length also helps the fabric conform to my body a little better, going over then under the bust, going all the way to the rib cage before falling vertically.


I had initially decided to just gather that bust dart, as I had done in my muslin (of septic paper). But in this drapey rayon, the gathers formed a poof of fabric BELOW my bust…not pretty! So I tried sewing two small darts then gathering the rest…nope, that was awful, too! So I went back to the computer, to play with the pattern to see what I should do.





I decided to divide the single bust dart into TWO bust darts. First, I rotated the bust dart out of the way…just as I had done previously to check the ‘flow’ of the waist seam.

Then, I located a point on each side of the bust dart, 0.75” away from BP. Next, I drew a line from each of these new points down to the place where the original bust dart meets the Empire waist seam. These two new lines form a ‘V’ shape under the bust. Then I rotated half the bust dart to each of these new slash lines. But I didn’t want to sew the darts all the way to the tips…I wanted the illusion of gathers…so I drew a circle around my original Bust Point, radius equals 2.5”, and only sewed the darts outside of the radius, basically converting them to tucks. I was pleased with this effect…not full under the bust yet still a ‘looser’ look.







The sleeves were another FUN adventure! I had wanted to see what happens when using a very low sleeve cap…I drafted with (-1.5”). But for some reason, I had also determined that I needed to lower my armhole depth 0.5” (I cannot remember why, but the ah depth was a bit low). These two settings combined to produce a really wide sleeve! The first insertion was comical. I ripped out the sleeve and trimmed the sleeve cap, then tried again…better but still no cigar. Eventually I got the sleeve recut to be acceptable, but due to the too-low armhole depth, my sleeve cap ‘trial’ was invalid…I still don’t know what is the lowest cap height setting I could use on my sleeve with the correct ah depth! But I did learn that I probably don’t need to lower the armhole depth after all…(duh).


I worked very hard to make the hem come out even, yet in wear, the overlap/underlap edges sag a bit and hang lower than the main hem. Bummer! I am hoping my interfacing might shrink in the wash and prevent this from happening in the future! Also, my neckline was fine BEFORE I understitched it, but after doing the understitching, the neck began to gap a bit! Again, let’s hope the interfacing shrinks and corrects for this! Ya know, that is usually NOT something I hope for! But on this blouse, shrinking interfacing might be a blessing!

Tuteur

Ok, I realize this has nothing to do with sewing, but my sister asked if I still remembered how I made my tuteur. I DO still have the drawings and my chicken-scratched notes, but they are smeared and nearly unreadable. So I'm rewriting them for her, and decided, what the heck, I'll share with anyone who wants to make a tuteur for their garden!

I'm not teaching woodworking, though...if you can't figure it out from this, you are on your own!


Tuteur

SUPPLIES (All wood is pressure-treated)

• Purchased Finial
• Square TOP piece, cut 5½” by 5½” by 5/4” thick, edges routed
• 8- 2”x2”x8’
• 2- 1”x2”x8’
• 2½” deck screws
• Hide glue

For vertical supports--
Cut each 8’ 1x2 in half, so that you have 4- 4' pieces, then knock off each corner to make ends arrow-shaped…like this: ’^’.


For legs--
4, each 7’ long
Set saw for:
7 degree bevel, 7 degree miter
Cut end---slide, cut other end…DO NOT ROLL.

For cross members--
4, each 10”
4, each 15”
4, each 20”
4, each 25”

Set saw for:
7 degree bevel, 45 degree miter
Cut right end…roll piece 180 degrees…slide to right…cut left end.
Length of these pieces is measured along the top side…the shorter side. Due to the bevel, the bottom side will be slightly longer.

Assemble the cross-pieces into 4 frames, using Hide glue and a nail gun. Drill and screw to hold.

Mark outside edges of each leg as follows:

1. From bottom- 16”
2. 16” from 1.
3. 17½” from 2.
4. 17½ from 3.

These marks indicate the vertical placement of the cross-piece frames…the top of the frames will be placed at these marks.

On the 3 largest cross-piece frames, mark the center of each side, then mark ¾” on each side of that center mark. This will provide two marks, 1½” apart, between which you will (later) center the vertical supports (1x2’s).

Mark halfway down the length (front and back) of each 1x2 vertical support.

To locate the placement for the top ends of the legs--
On the bottom surface of the 5½” square TOP piece, divide the square into 4 quadrants by drawing two perpendicular lines, creating a + cross. Draw 2 additional lines, 1.5” on either side of each vertical line and each horizontal line, so that you end up with 3 lines going each way.

Drill a pilot hole toward the OUTER corner of each of the center 4 squares. Attach the upper end of each leg with a screw and glue. In this image, the little circles represent the pilot holes.

Oh! Drill a pilot hole in the very center, too, for the finial, which will be put on last!

Then stand and assemble-

• Slide the largest cross piece over the legs. Align the top of the frame with the correct marks, drill and screw.
• Repeat with subsequent cross-piece frames, leaving the smallest until last.
• Align the vertical supports between their marks, centering vertically on the 20” cross-piece frame. Screw into place.
  

You MIGHT be able to get by with only 7 2x2s instead of 8 if you are really careful about which lengths you cut from which stick, but it is easiest to have that 8th one handy, just in case!

Empire waist Blouse/dress

I'm still working on the Empire waist top I mentioned at the end of my last
post. I created the pattern using PMB, and have run into a few problems
that need to be corrected...specifically, the way the bust dart is 'trued'
when placed in the waist seam. The dart's fold line needs adequate length
so that when the dart is sewn and pressed to one side, the cut edge of the
fold line will reach the waist seam. This is not happening. No matter
whether I press the dart toward the side or toward the center, the fold line
area comes up short of reaching the seam.

I'll show you what I mean.


This is my PMB pattern as drafted. You can see there is not a large 'triangle' of fabric created below the dart at the waist seam.

The green line is the center fold line of the
dart. The dart legs are pink and blue.













If I rotate the side part of the pattern to superimpose the pink and blue
lines...as if sewing the dart...you can see that the green line does NOT
extend long enough to reach the lower, cut edge of the waist seam.























The green fold line is short by about an inch!
The numbers on this pattern represent the length of the dart's fold line (green) before I extended it to the cut edge and after extending.


But also, look at the SHAPE the waist seam takes after the dart is sewn.
It is like an inverted V...a ^ shape.
This is not right and is certainly not
desireable! That waist seam should be curved as a smooth line, more like the bold pink line I have added.








I pulled out one of my drafting books, Patternmaking for Fashion Design,
by Helen Joseph Armstrong. On page 429 of the Third Edition, she
shows how to 'true' the draft to prevent this problem.

I followed her directions for modifying the PMB draft.

Below is a 'before and after' view of this pattern...on the left-- as drafted,
and on the right-- after my corrections. Even if I planned to gather the
dart, instead of actually sewing it, the pattern would STILL need the extra
length at the dart legs to prevent the -^- shape, even though the fold-line
shortage becomes less of an issue.





Anyway, these changes should take care of the FRONT pattern.



But notice the changes HJA makes to the back pattern.

The upper back waist dart on my PMB Empire dress pattern (on the left here>>>) is always much shorter and narrower than the corresponding dart on my Torso/Blouse draft, and I have always wondered 'why'.

Also, the lower back dart...in the 'skirt' portion...on my PMB Empire dress is also much smaller than it would be on the Torso/Blouse draft. I sewed a muslin as drafted, but the back was loose and not very well fitted to my shape.

However, if I just pasted the darts from my Torso block onto this dress, there was a bit too much contouring back there, and it seemed....well, 'uneven'.

But once I saw this example in the Patternmaking book, I knew what the answer was!

I DID need to paste the larger TORSO dart onto the lower (skirt) portion of the PMB dress, but I did NOT want the larger Torso dart in the upper back part! No, I needed to keep the dart that drafts on the PMB back bodice, and then trim the side at waist (shown in PINK) to make the bodice seam match the width of the skirt portion! PMB doesn't do this (original side seam on bodice shown as bold green line)...it just makes the dart of the lower/skirt section as narrow as the dart in the back upper/bodice, so the seam lines will match in length.

I tested this on my septic-paper muslin and it seems to work nicely, so I am cutting 'real' fabric for a test Empire blouse!

Oh, you might be confused because I keep going back and forth between calling this an Empire blouse and an Empire DRESS. In PMB, if it has a waist seam, it is a DRESS, even if it is only blouse-length, so technically this is a 'dress' pattern. But I am making a blouse!

Blue Blouse-part 2, completed

As promised, here is the finished blue blouse that I talked about before :



It turned out to be wearable after all, although there are MANY things I wish I had done differently! Everyone at my sewing guild told me NOT to mention them...that no one (but me) would see these 'mistakes'.

But I see them.

And, of course, I will mention them! :)

Let's start with the button front. I want my front button extension to be slightly smaller than it drafts in PMB with smaller button sizes, especially if I am sewing the buttonholes vertically instead of horizontally, which I often do. Generally, I want the button extension to be about the same as the button width. Well, in PMB, if I draft with a 0.5" button, I get a .75" extension (I don't know *why*...drafting for a 1" button gives a 1" extension! anyway...). I usually try to remember to trim off some of the extension, but this time I forgot. So I have a flappy front.

Also, I used the button placement that drafted with the program...again, a mistake. I usually draft an extra button or two, so the last button is not so close to the hem of the garment, but I forgot to check that and just mindlessly marked the placement of buttons according to the placement and number on the printed pattern! duh. My fault.

Also, after washing this blouse, the front facing shrank just enough to cause the front hem to want to turn under/pull up...I hate it when that happens! Perhaps if I don't point it out, no one will notice...?

The modified Italian collar did work out better than on previous attempts, but next time I will even add a little more length to that outer edge when I slash the collar pattern between the shoulder and CF.

The waist is no longer too tight on this blouse...not because of the new diet, but more because I raised it upward a bit by shifting/changing the relationships of my pattern pieces!

The Back Shoulder Slope is still too long, but I will have to live with it on this blouse and change it for the next one. That results in a baggy back armhole area...and excess fullness in the back of the sleeve (it kinda collapses!).

The Front armholes are not the right shape on this blouse. Remember, I sewed those princess seams deeper (to increase dart size) and cut the armholes lower, and generally made several changes to the armholes.... I obviously didn't get the lower curve shaped just right! Also, I generally need to 'scoop' the front armholes that PMB gives me anyway, and I didn't do this on this blouse. You can see this fault results in folds of excess fabric in front of the lower armscye...next time!

For this blouse, I lowered the sleeve cap height by 0.5" (setting -.5) and if I had lowered it even more, tis blouse would have been more comfortable to wear. Since finishing this blue blouse, I have reworked a few measurements and sewn several test blouses (of septic paper..no pics!), and the test with the sleeve cap lowered 1" gives even better arm mobility! I will try a cap height of -1.5" for the next test....how low can ya go?

Before, I thought I might have reduced my shoulder widths too much on this test blouse, but I have decided that is not the case after all. This shoulder placement is fine...it is the lowered cap height of the sleeve that is key here...not the shoulder widths! Ok, that is ten years of insight in a nutshell!



I generally sew on my buttons by machine, using transparent tape to hold the buttons in place.

The End.

Now off to sew another test!

I am working on an Empire-waisted blouse...more later!

Mirrored sideseams

On the Patternmasterusers chat list on Yahoo, we've been discussing these undesireable wrinkles that frequently occur just behind and below the back armhole of PMB garments, especially on Princess styles. I mentioned that, on my patterns, the Princess style creates a 'gap' between the front and side front patterns at bust level and that this loss of bust width is compensated for by increasing the width of the back pattern at underarm. But this changes the shape of the back sideseam...I've talked about sideseams before.

But hours later, I'm still thinking about those wrinkles of fabric at the side/back armhole area. So I opened PMB and drafted and compared a few patterns...not even Princess ones, but just the basic Torso. I used my own measurement chart with ZERO ease at bust, waist and hip. I set the SS position to ZERO at bust, waist and hip. Below, you can see what I would get.

If I aligned the back to the front at the underarm points, you can see that the back pattern extends lower at the hem than the front pattern. But think of it (and look at it) this way: When I align the front and back at the hems, you can see that the back armhole level is HIGHER than the front armhole level. And this is because the sideseams are NOT mirror images.

























Now, I can imagine that because this back armhole is higher than the front armhole, once the sideseams are sewn and the sleeve is sewn in, it is likely that this higher back armhole will be 'forced' downward on the body, creating folds. The balance of the patterns is off.

With the sideseam positions set at ZERO as above, the HEIGHT of the back armhole is 8.471".
The HEIGHT of the front armhole is 7.743" (as measured straight up).




But look at what happens if the SS tools are used to 'force' the front and back sideseams to become mirror images: When the Front and Back patterns are aligned at the hem, there is only a tiny difference in the heights of the front and back armholes...and it is the FRONT that is higher, not the back!





To force the sideseams to become mirror images, I used a Side/Arm Position of (-1) and a Side/Hip Position of (+.5). As you can tell by the size of those waist darts, the S/W position is still in the ZERO position, but that setting only affects the size of the waist darts, not the placement of the waist at side seam.

With the sideseam in this position and the front and back sideseams having mirrored shapes, the HEIGHT of the back armhole is now 8.954" and the front armhole is now 7.326" tall.

This means that moving the sideseam as I have had changed the balance of my patterns...I have gained 0.483" in back armhole height, and lost 0.417" of front armhole height!

I am thinking that the taller back armholes combined with the shorter front one is less likely to result in the folds of excess fabric that are fequently seen on PMB garments in back. Not a scientific study or anything...purely conjecture!