The Replacement

A replacement has been chosen for Butterick 4991 and it is Butterick 5046. I've always liked Butterick patterns, can you tell?

I know that a lot has been written over at PatternReview about the drawbacks of purchasing a pattern on the basis of a fashion illustration. In my own defense, let me just say that I've actually seen this pattern made up; it was in last summer's edition of Sewing Today and it was really cute. I'll be making view D (with the sleeves) but I'll likely not use contrasting fabric for the sleeves and band. Choosing a print of any kind is fairly revolutionary for me, so unless I'm hijacked by some sort of coordinating fabric, I'll be sticking to just one print.

I had kind of told myself, after the terrible time I had fitting Simplicity 3837 (Review), that I wouldn't make any more garments with a wrapped or crossover bodice that also had a seam directly under the bust, but here I am again. Even though the Simplicity pattern was made from a knit, I'm hoping I can apply what I learned making that top to this top designed for woven fabric.

The fabric, like the pattern, comes from my small stash. It hasn't been stashed long, only since December, but I've been anxious to use it. The pattern, in fact, was purchased with this fabric in mind. I like the pattern/fabric pairing as I think that each enhances the vaguely Asian feel of the other. You can't tell from the photo, but the gray areas of the fabric are actually a silver metallic, which will mesh perfectly with the other fabrics chosen for the larger wardrobe capsule I have planned.

I think this top will be a nice addition to my mini-wardrobe and a much more realistic choice given the time frame.

ETA: Bunny asked about the fiber content of my fabric. It is 100% cotton. I believe it's actually intended as a quilting cotton.

What Was I Thinking...

...When I chose Butterick 4991 as part of my mini-wardrobe? There's no earthly way I could construct this particular garment and three additional garments in the space of one month. Talk about a moment of irrational, cockeyed optimism!

I mentioned in an earlier post that the garment has 14 darts. True, but the garment is also fully lined, meaning there are really - please sit down and place any drinks you may be holding on the table - 28 darts! Eegads! It will take me an entire month just to mark the darts to my satisfaction!

Don't get me wrong, I still intend to make this vest, but it will be an add-on piece to the mini-wardrobe I'll be making for the PatternReview contest. Now off to peruse the pattern company websites for a more suitable choice...perhaps something from a knit with no darts!

Mini-Wardrobe, Here I Come

I cut a muslin of Butterick 4991 last night. Of course, I encountered my first dilemmas: (1) how to lower the bust apex by 1" when there is no apparent shaping pointing directly at the bust; (2) given that there is no apparent shaping pointing directly at the bust, does it really matter; and (3) why is the back lining identical to the back other than being 1/8" wider at the bottom and given that, why is the front lining exactly the same as the front (other than being shorter, of course).

Carefully sidestepping the philosophical ramifications of #2, and realizing that there actually are darts pointing at the bust apex (but they are a cool design feature and I didn't want to shorten them) I decided to just add my standard 1" above the waist to the pattern pieces, except in this case, I added it below the armscye and above the bust. This put the bust apex at least in the general vicinity of my own. I was a little concerned that the waist darts still ran up onto my bust, but a careful perusal of the photo on the pattern envelope revealed the same on their model.

I'm making View A, the vest. I love vests; with just a few pattern pieces and no sleeve, what's not to love? This particular vest, however, has 14 (count 'em!) darts, 12 of which are top-stitched and so must be perfectly stitched. For my muslin, I'm just marking with dressmaker's carbon, but for the real deal, which will be made of black linen, I think I will need to thread trace. In case you didn't see my previous post about this pattern, this is the fabric I intend to use. Yummy, isn't it?

I am very excited to actually take the first steps toward a mini-wardrobe. I have been completely snowed under with work the last couple of weeks, so hopefully I will manage to keep up with that and still find some time for sewing in the coming week. Happy sewing, everyone!

Mini-Wardrobe: Part One - The Tops

I'm starting to plan the patterns and fabrics I'll be using to construct my entry for the PatternReview Mini-Wardrobe contest. Since my current wardrobe consists almost entirely of jeans and t-shirts, I'm going to use the contest to add some nicer pieces.

The first definite piece is Butterick 4991, View A (Vest). I'll be making this out of silver foiled, black linen. This is the same linen I posted about a couple of weeks ago. I chose this pattern because (a) I wanted a cropped jacket or vest and (b) I felt like a boxy shape wouldn't be the most flattering for me. My shape has gotten pretty rectangular as I've gotten older and I felt like the tapered silhouette of this vest would add some shape. If it turns out well, I may make try grafting a different collar onto the jacket. I will probably just wear the vest over a cami or a short sleeved tee.

Next on my list is McCall 2818. (Wow, that picture is really tiny; sorry!) I'll be making view D, the split neck shell. This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern. I'm eager to try it out and see how the instructions are. As a bonus, I can learn how to fit a full bust! That will be useful information if I ever get a full bust! I'm not sure on the fabric for this yet. I did see a nice red rayon challis an Hancock the other day; I may go back for that.

Mini-Wardrobe: Part Two - The Bottoms will be coming in the next day or two.

The Lengths We'll Go To

This is some silver foiled, black linen that I've been wanting.

I first saw it at the Joann Fabrics nearest my home. I fell in love with this fabric. I didn't buy it at the time and Friday, when I finally made it to back Joann to purchase it, of course it was gone.

So yesterday I called another Joann to see if they had the fabric in stock. I was put on hold and no one ever picked my call back up. I hung up and called back...the line was busy. I tried every five minutes for half an hour but never got through again.

I really wanted this fabric, so I decided to make a special trip to Joann just in case they happened to have it in stock - a 45 minute drive one way during rush hour traffic. I was almost there, less than 200 yards aways, so close I could almost smell the sizing in the fabric. I stopped by my bank to withdraw enough cash from the ATM to purchase the fabric...and realized that I had left my ATM card at home. I returned home empty handed again.

This afternoon, armed with my ATM card, I made the drive again. I pulled up to the ATM at my bank and...it was temporarily out of service. Undaunted, I dashed into the nearest Safeway, used the ATM, and continued on to Joann. And they had the fabric!

Finally, success. I'll be using the fabric to make this Butterick 4991, View A, hopefully as part of the Mini-Wardrobe contest on PatternReview.com.