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!

Problem Child

I am pretty excited because I finished the linen/rayon blouse that was giving me so much trouble a couple of weeks ago. As is so often the case, the problem child has ended up being near and dear to her mother's heart. I just love this blouse: the rumpled look of the linen (hey, what can I say...it camouflages those puckers!); the buttons my daughter picked out; the tunic length; the cuffs, which, for some reason, just strike me as being really beautiful. Thanks to everyone who offered advice an encouragement, here and at PatternReview. It's due in large part to you that this blouse was finished rather than becoming a wadder. Although this is not "officially" a part of my PatternReview mini-wardrobe, it is, in fact, the first piece of my new wardrobe capsule.

I have high hopes for my April sewing projects...let me list them for you.

* A birthday dress for my granddaughter, for which I've found the most adorable fabric. You can't see it in the photo, but it's sparkly!

* Also some clothes for her American Girl "Girl of Today" doll, a hand-me-down from my 16 year old daughter, using Simplicity 7083.

* Several ribbon belts for my oldest daughter.

* Muslins of Butterick 4991, McCall's 2818 and (hopefully) Burda 7944 in preparation for the mini-wardrobe contest.

I also have two other tops I'm itching to make, which will be great add-ons to my mini-wardrobe. I seriously need to figure out how to carve more sewing time from each day. Suggestions, anyone?

Mini-Wardrobe: Part Two - The Bottoms

Deciding on bottoms is ever so much more difficult than deciding on tops. Pretty much all of my experience in sewing for myself has been with blouses and dresses. Searching through the mists of memory, I believe I made a skirt for myself one time that was wearable, but I have definitely never sewn pants for myself. I've never even attempted it, faintheart that I am.

I am pretty sure about Butterick 4233, View A, which is shown in the lower, right-hand corner. I will, of course, be making it in the longest length, just above my ankles. I think I will probably make it from the same red rayon challis that I'm considering for Butterick 2818. I don't actually have this fabric yet, but hope to acquire it come payday!

For my second piece, I'm torn between Butterick 4136, a very basic skirt. Or Burda 7944, an extremely cute pair of trousers. I'm attracted to the Burda mainly because of the high waist. As I'm so long waisted with such short legs, I'm looking for a little longer line than you get with low rise pants. I'm not sure why...I always wear my shirts untucked. I guess this way, I'll feel like I have the option to tuck if I choose to. Either way, the second piece will be made of black linen.






Now interestingly enough, there's a third part to my wardrobe. The pieces are not/will not be part of the Mini-Wardrobe contest, but they will an integral part of the wardrobe. Details forthcoming.

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.

Bordering on Obsession

I know I said I was going to lay my linen blouse aside, but aided by my good friends and enablers from PatternReview, I revisited the blouse, sans underlining.

Let me backtrack for a moment to thank all of you who stopped by my blog or posted on PatternReview to make suggestions or offer sympathy. Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Now back to the blouse. As I mentioned, I started again, this time without the underlining. I now know for certain that the puckering is caused by the linen/rayon fabric shrinking when I press it. Even on low heat, without steam. However, with careful pressing, I've definitely minimized the problem. You can see there's quite an improvement. I think it will be okay once the finished blouse is washed. There's sure to be some general shrinkage and I'm hoping the puckers will disappear into that. And that the blouse will still fit.

Here's the back side of the seam. I just overcast the the seam allowance, then trimmed it down after top stitching. I'm reasonably satisfied with how it looks. I actually would have preferred the finish to end up narrower because of the show through, but I didn't want to serge the seam allowance because I didn't want the added bulk and because I wanted the double topstitching.

So that's where I'm at right now. I'm kind of excited because today, I'll actually get to sew a different seam!

* I apologize for the quality of the pictures. I never realized before how difficult it is to photograph white!