Gladys B.

January 23, 2013

Papercut Patterns – Petrouchka Peplum Top

First “Real” Petrouchka Peplum Top

Taking advantage of the free worldwide shipping deal Papercut Patterns had right before Christmas, I ordered three patterns, one of which is the Petrouchka Peplum Top. The patterns arrived on a Friday and I spent the evening making a muslin and adjusting the pattern. By Wednesday I had a top that I dared to wear to work on Thursday. In the picture is my first “real” version of the top (made out of the same fabric as my first Renfrew top).

Sewing notes:

I didn’t have enough for the inside of the peplum so I used some really thin white fabric instead.
I am going to re-do the collar. I didn’t shorten the neck binding as much as I should have. When I wear the shirt, the front and back of the neckline gapes.
Will see about widening the neckline for a more flattering look on me and my slopey shoulders. According to The Perfect Fit book, raglan sleeves are not flattering on those with sloping shoulders. Whoops.
Took off 3/4″ on the front shirt sleeve seams.
Took 1″ off the center back.
Took 2″ off the back length.
Tool some length off the front so that the curve of the pattern would still be there and the spot where the front seam landed on me was still the same. Slightly tricky.
Sleeve length I kept the same.
Graded the sleeve seams and the side seams of the front and back so that the armpit seam would be higher (adjusting for petiteness).
Also didn’t have enough fabric to avoid piecing the peplum together with each piece on a different part of the grain using up every inch of fabric.

I love the peplum, it’s flattering and seems fancy even though the raglan style is casual. Both fancy and casual at once. Easy to make. And surprisingly easy to alter the pattern. Or my brain was just working that day.

Overall, I liked this shirt a lot and can see myself making a few more so I can perfect (and practice) fitting the shirt to me. This top was the first item of clothing I have made (and worn) for myself in over ten years – so this was a major accomplishment.

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December 31, 2012

A Wearable Renfrew!

I finally made my first official, wearable piece of clothing in about 10 years. And no, it wasn’t even for me. I don’t think the Renfrew top is that flattering on me per se, but it *does* look nice on my sister. I gave it to her for Christmas and she’s worn it almost everyday since. I’ll have to make her a few more to vary it up a bit.

It’s a straight up size 2, no alterations except that I sewed 1/4″ seams instead of 5/8″ seams. The arm hole seams fall a little too much off her shoulders, so the next Renfrew I make her I’ll sew the arm holes with the 5/8″ seam allowance and leave the rest of the seams at 1/4″ (she doesn’t like things remotely tight). I had a hard time figuring out how to size this pattern that is meant (and sized) for knits with her measurements. I.e. her back shoulder to shoulder measurement is 15.5 inches which, measuring the pattern meant I’d have to sew a 8 or so. She didn’t want it tight, but I didn’t want her wearing a bag either. Seems that the size two works for now.

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November 19, 2012

Knitting and Napping

Not sure why the keyboard is better than the sofa, but we’re hanging out together. Inches apart.

I have a few too many projects I’m working on. For someone whose free time is all her own, it somehow seems impossible to accomplish everything. The last few nights I’ve watched Netflix and listened to interviews while trying to finish a scarf/shawl I started on Labor Day. I want to move on to my next knitting and sewing project and I feel like I can’t concentrate on the next thing until the current thing is done. Easy to be inspired. Hard to stay committed and see it through.

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November 13, 2012

Studying

How to Make Clothes that Fit and Flatter by Adele P. Margolis

I’m receiving numerous books about sewing, tailoring and fitting in the mail these days. All of which I’ve bought for myself of course. One recent arrival is a used copy of “How to Make Clothes that Fit and Flatter” by Adele P. Margolis. I’m a third of the way into it and throughly enjoying it. One great quote I’ve read:

“Some sewers approach darts as if they were put there by an act of Congress and must never be moved or tampered with without official sanction. You need not be a slave to a pattern. Change it to fit you. Darts and control seams are there to do the shaping for you. They are waiting to be used by you. All it takes to change a pattern for the better is a little arithmetic, a little courage, a little judgement – and the information that follows in Chapter IV.” – last paragraph in Chapter 3, The Shape of Fashion, 1969 edition.

I’d venture to say A LOT of courage and judgement. And yes, I’ll be reading Chapter IV.

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November 6, 2012

Colette Meringue: Rounds 1, 2 and 3

While puzzling over the Renfrew, I’ve also been puzzling over the Meringue. The skirt seems to be much easier to work out sizing adjustments versus the Renfrew. Fewer problem areas. Below is the first attempt at the Meringue. It’s a straight up size 6.

Rnd 1 Meringue Front. Not a fan of the puckers.

The back looks fine. It’s bit tight and high though.

I didn’t agonize over the finishing of the scallops. I did go out and buy an invisible zipper foot so I could practice with that. Due to my petite/short-waisted figure, I lowered the top of the skirt by 1″. Easy enough. See Meringue Round 2 below.

Meringue Rnd 2 Front. Puckering.

I’m having trouble with the front. It’s a bit tight across the quads. I don’t like that puckering. I undid the side seams and kept the 5/8″ seam allowance on the back of the skirt and did 1/4″ seam allowance on the front. It helped a little bit. See below.

Rnd 2.5 of the Meringue Front. The puckering is better. I was sitting in it so it’s wrinkly!

And here’s the back of the skirt.

Rnd 2 Meringue Back. It still fits even with the lowered back.

I experimented with making the bottom a tiny bit narrower, starting at the part where it’s the tightest across my quads (sounds better than thighs!) and I made it shorter by removing the scallops (i.e. just pinning the skirt up higher). I would wear the skirt this way in the winter to work with tights and boots.

Rnd 3 Meringue Front.

Rnd 3 Meringue Back. The wrinkles are from testing the skirt in the sitting position.

I think the skirt is ready to be made into a “real” skirt. Stay tuned.

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November 4, 2012

Renfrew Round 2 and 3

I’m reconsidering the decision to get back into sewing clothes for myself. Wearing my Renfrew muslins around my apartment and staring at the vertical/horizontal/diagonal wrinkles in my practice shirts is not encouraging. And no, it’s not my sewing skills that make the muslins ill-fitting. It’s my petite, semi-muscular bowling pin shaped body causing my angst. I may be destined for a life of $1/yard fabric, wax paper, tape and numerous pattern fitting books for the rest of my life.

I made a Round 2 muslin of the Renfrew. Changes to the pattern: I adjusted the size of the sleeve to allow more room in the bicep area, lengthened the torso by 1″, added 1″ to the back shoulder and took off 1″ on the front shoulder, added 1/4″ to the back side arm seam, and adjusted for some swayback. Pictures below of the result.

Renfrew Front, Back and Sleeve Pattern Adjustments

Rnd 2 Renfrew Front

Rnd 2 Renfrew Back. Look at all the fabric in the middle!

My biggest concern is my swayback. I didn’t know I actually had one, but according to the fit sections in the numerous sewing books I have, the large amount of fabric pooling around my back indicates that I am indeed in possession of one. Sigh. This is the biggest thing I’m having trouble adjusting for. There are numerous blogs/books that mention how to adjust for a swayback and they seem to work for those authors, but somehow not for me. Or maybe I just have a number of questions after reading about how to adjust for a swayback and no one to ask. After sewing Renfrew Round 2 I added a partial seam to the back to take in some fabric. That sort of worked, though I would have to sew the seam from the top to know if that adjustment would really work.

Rnd 2 Renfrew with Partial Back Seam. If I had started from the top, it would have worked better I think.

I made an entirely new pattern for Renfrew Round 3. For the sleeve I used the size 6 and shortened the length by 1″ (not shown. I needed to make a few adjustments in order to fit the sleeve onto the bodices and was more concerned about the back). For the front bodice, I used Renfrew Round 2 as is. For the back bodice, I used the size 2 neckline, size 8 arm seam, size 4 bust, size 2 waist and size 4 hip, keeping the shoulder adjustment of the additional inch, and shortening the length by 1/2″ and adjusting for the swayback. With all of those changes I was anticipating cutting into my fashion fabric, but not so fast. Result (without sleeves, neck band or waist band) below:

Rnd 3 Renfrew Back. There is less fabric in the middle, so a tiny bit better. The upper back is still a bit tight.

The back seems a little bit better, but it’s definitely not where it should be. I still need to figure out the tight upper back and the swayback. And how far into the armpits is the shirt supposed to go? I haven’t even mentioned that question of mine.

Maybe t-shirt-like tops are not the type of top I should have in my arsenal of clothing despite their enormous practicality. Or maybe I should try the back seam idea. Though having a back seam is not ideal. Thoughts?

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October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Abby the cat and I. That’s my first ever carved pumpkin in the picture. Easier to carve than I thought it would be. Though I did only do the “classic” pumpkin face.

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