Janet Celeste Gena crop vs Stitch Witch Atlas - a review

 The Gena is available on etsy. It's by Janet Celeste Patterns, which I've never heard of before.  I made a size C.

This pattern is fully lined - you cut 4 identical pieces.  There are no shaping darts and it is quite short.  I'm short waisted. This is *really* short.  You finish with the shoulder straps and a few options are provided.  Sadly, hand stitching is clearly the best of the lot.  For future reference....

I decided to cowboy my own instructions and didn't sew the bottom together.  After sewing the top, I finished the straps (which was not that easy and made me regret this choice) then topstitched the hem.  The problem with this is that it becomes a bit more curly rather than sitting flat.

 

The final result is really too short, even on me, and pulls funny.  My feeling is that it's too small, that somehow my wider back needs more accommodation than this.  However, I used a piece of fish fabric that's absolutely precious to me.  My pattern placement is fantastic.  And it's the middle of the winter.  I'm well aware that midsummer I will probably wear the hell out of this, (it matches my favourite summer shorts) so it's going into the closet. 

 

I did however think that a knit version would be amazing.  I stuck the pattern pieces together to get rid of the side seam and I lengthened the pattern 2" (lines are on the pattern to do this.)  It was very short work in this drapey and beautiful jersey - modal? The fabric is from Mood.  I just topstitched the shoulders together.  I did learn one major life lesson though - why you sew long continuous knit things in two separate goes, from the centre out. I've seen this in instructions but not really understood why...By the time I got all the way round on the hem to the second side, the grain had twisted in a horrible way.  It was not fixable but I managed to cut off the end and just put that side under the other one so it's less obvious...though heh, it's totally reversible so it ends up on top half the time.  I will *definitely* be wearing this top a lot, even before summer!   

The Stitch Witch Atlas is a bit more sophisticated of a pattern at first glance.

I was totally sucked in by the Hollywood dart, which is a rare choice these days. (Ominous overtones of Vogue 1247, see here.)  There is a partial front facing, which I was willing to commit to because it does go all the way to the underside of the armhole, but the back panels are fully lined.  The side seams are thus somewhat visible inside the top. 

I cut size 6.  Again I risked a piece of very precious fabric - my last scrap of linen with flocked spots.  I was very kind and used most of this fabric to make a dress for a friend (it was a masterpiece).  I should have bought the entire bolt, I love it so much.  The back is a lightweight silk linen that I had hoarded together with the dots, and the linings of both front and back are white voile.  I did interface the front facing since my fabric is so light.  

WELL since V1247, my relationship to Hollywood darts has not improved.  I do not like this at all.  I hate facings.  I hate this facing.  The dart makes everything lumpy in a weird way.  The top is also very short, and it also seems too small through the back.  The curve of the back straps seems thinner and higher, I was really unsatisfied with a lot of my photos too - it just doesn't make me feel as comfortable.   For this cross back type of garment I clearly need to size up.  I think this top is a lot nicer in the photos than it feels when I'm wearing it, which makes me think another version someday, fully lined, might be fun.

Initially I thought that the Atlas would be the clear winner of this comparison test.  I thought the finish on it would be nicer and that the dart would add shape.  The Gena does have instructions for adding a dart, and that would definitely help the front to not stick out a lot, but I will probably resolve that issue by wearing sporty compressive bras with it.  In the end I found the Gena to be easier to make, with a better finish and enough instructions on how to hack it that it spurred me to creative effort. (ahem, follow the instructions!)  I didn't find either PDF particularly hard to put together, and the instructions on both were fine.  Possibly mashing the two together conceptually would get the best result, ie make the darted Atlas but with the lined finish method of the Gena.

Colette Mabel miniskirt x 2 and a bonus tank top comparison

I went to work one nightshift, and in the middle of the shift realised the thing missing in my life was a miniskirt.  The Mabel Colette miniskirt.  Because, like everyone before me, though I know I could draft my own or muddle my way through, the interests of a well fitting miniskirt in 1 hour flat trumped any interest I had in the self-drafting learning process.

So two days later I had two miniskirts!

First of all I took that pattern home and decided to sew the size S, based on my hips.  I shortened the version B by a few inches - making it 19" long.  The version A is supposed to be 17" long.  I removed the kick pleat.  This is a lovely purple stretchy merino with a funny texture that almost looks felted, which I have had around for a long time and really adore.  I'm happy to finally be using it.  The skirt turned out way too big though, hanging on my hips pretty loosely.  I also used a zig zag that was pretty loose and so my stitches came undone rapidly.

Version two is view A, size XS, and in a funny merino that is smooth faced with a terry like interior that is scratchy.  It is a blend with some poly and retains its shape well.  It is the perfect miniskirt, and I'm hoping the scratchiness will go away with time.  Despite that I have worn it a lot!  I've worn the other one too even though it was big, but I plan to take off the waistband and take it in when I can get to the overlocker.

The pictures of Skirt 2 are with a bonus Deer & Doe Givre tank top.  It's a size 36 at the bust sloping to a 38, and other than needing a little scoop out of the armscye it fits great.  I was comparing it to the Patterns for Pirates Essential tank, though I know they have quite different shapes I was curious how they would compare.

The P4P top is a size XS.  I shortened it by 2 inches but kept the shape of the hem.  I made these two tops too fast, and so the hems are not done very well.  That bothers me a lot.  The shape of this tank top is otherwise really nice and I like the racerback.  Probably it's good to have both some racerback tops and some plain tops in my wardrobe.  I also find the Mission Maxi tanktop to be a perennial favourite (that's what the jungle plant top is, above). 
 

A Review: True Bias Hudson Pants

My sewing friend Tessa went crazy over Hudson pants.  I tried to talk her into making Anima pants since I am basically a specialist in them (see here, here and here) but something about the Hudsons had stuck in her brain.  So of course like the lemming I am, I decided that I had to do a comparison test and see why Hudsons have gained a cult following.

Size 4.  (I'm 5'4" and 27-37)
Fabric is Charley Harper organic cotton from Ugh Spotlight, and the bands are a merino wool ribbing blend by Helmut Lang which I bought at The Fabric Store last year, snagging the last 30 cm piece.  That's why I went with such a dull main colour - I wanted something to go with these bands, and the organic cotton is so soft and snuggly.

Well, making the pants is nothing special.
I skipped the drawstring.

Overall, I found the fit very different from the Anima pants.

The Anima: is very long; I remove 10 cm usually.  It has a fake fly (wtf?) and the pockets are the usual fold over types which can bag out.  They are pretty high waisted and are otherwise loose around the bum and hips.  In the Anima I've been making the XXS though it took a few tries to settle on that and stick with it.  I have permanently removed a 1 cm wedge from the front waist which makes them slope down so the waist isn't quite so high, but I'd call the fit easy - they go pretty close to the natural waist.

The Hudson: has a modern, low waistband which is thicker than the Anima.  It sits low.  I would be tempted to add an inch of raise to the back to accommodate my amazingly muscular bum.  In fact I could add that inch all the way around.  The pockets are lovely and I like the addition of the bands on the pockets, which adds heft.  The pocket construction means they won't flap out.  The fit through the bum and hips is snug.  These are short.  I didn't modify the length at all, and I think I'd prefer another inch of raise...because they are so short that if I bend my knee I feel it pulling down the waistband.

I think the Anima pants are awesome loungepants.  But the Hudson pants actually if you made them in the right material, you could wear out of the house.  I guess that's why they've become so popular.  I like them despite my dedication to Papercut patterns.