Papercut Rigel Bomber

This is the project that seemed doomed.  I had all these jacket plans for the summer, hatched on that bed in the hotel room in Arizona in May.  It looked, from that vantage point, like I'd have so much summer time to sew jackets!  You may note this is only the second jacket.  There is a third one still out there waiting to happen.

Fabric: Marc Jacobs grey wool tweed, from Mood.
Lining: silk from ramieandlinen on Etsy.
Bands: Pacific Fabrics in Seattle.
Zip: my new local shop 'Nählädeli', after the worst, longest hunt ever.  Who would ever believe that a shop open for about 12 hours a week in a village of 1000 people would be the one place I would find this zip?

Size: XS or XXS?
I sized down (XXS) after reading all the blogs.  I figured I wanted this jacket to fit pretty closely and I didn't want the bagginess issue many have had.  Also I thought wool would be relatively loose.  The blogs were very helpful regarding lining, but because I read so many I ended up confused.  Overall I followed Anna's lining recommendations, but I think I was confused by Kim, who drafted her own lining.  I assumed I had to do that, which made this project slow to begin as I was nervous about drafting anything. Not to mention it was unnecessary, and ended up complicating things later on.

I assumed that I would have no problem at alllll with the welt pockets, since no one else did.  I didn't do a lot of prior research.  Um, oops.  I had everything ready, including a US-purchased 35cm zip that has since vanished during the move.  I attacked my jacket front with scissors and installed my first ever welt pocket to discover...a huge honking hole, because you are not supposed to cut your hole longer than the welt covering bit.  Which the instructions, I must say, did not explicitly comment on!  (Don't tell me it's obvious...)

After that I took a break, read up on welt pockets, found out nothing useful, and anyway managed to do most of the second one successfully while trying to figure out what I was going to do to salvage my hopefully amazing jacket.  When I start a project I am always full of this zeal that it's going to be the best thing I've ever made, and whenever I make my inevitable first mistake, comes the sad downfall that it might not, after all.  That made me hesitate for a long time, because my expectations were so high and my huge mistake was so early.

Contrary to all other bloggers, I found ZERO useful resources on welt pockets.  Who knows - maybe I need scientific diagrams and words instead of pictures, but I did not return to my jacket edified.  So it sat.

And then I finally was ready to try again and...my sewing machine (the Necchi that I stole borrowed from my mother - divine retribution?) broke.

So I packed this baby up in plastic bags, assumed it was hopeless forever, and shipped it to myself, where in a new, leisurely mood and fully freed from any expectations, I faced down the big massive hole in the front of my jacket, and realised there was no way I was going to undo everything and make a new front.  The hole had to be hidden, and it was doable thanks to the loose weave of the tweed and well matching thread.  There's a bit of a fold where I had to pull the fabric around the hole, but I was saved by how the tweed eats the thread so it's invisible.  I sewed a zig zag over the remaining hole and then sewed the last bit by hand.  Salvaged!  And I still really have no clue how welt pockets work : /

The rest of this jacket went along in the same leisurely fashion.  Because of my self-drafted front lining, but normal back lining, I didn't know exactly where to attach the facing to the lining, since they didn't share a seam.  The bottom front where the binding, lining, facing, and front come together was also a puzzle that got pinned and repinned many times.  I sewed it only just before putting in the zip.

It is not as baggy as it looks in these pictures!

Thanks to my coworker Isabelle for the photos!  Many of them are taken at the side of the hospital heli-pad, which at least has a nice view.

I sewed it mostly like Anna, as I said above - normal jacket together, lining together, attached them by sandwiching the hem band in all layers.  After that I diverged slightly.  I sewed the facing and the lining together by pinning everything into place and approximating where they should overlap.  Next I sewed the sleeves in using the Sewaholic method from the Minoru, so my sleevebands were also fully enclosed.  I sewed in the zip and finally sewed the facing to the zip and all the way around the neck.  My technique maximised what I could do without a zip, since I didn't have it until the very end.  Also, my final seam ended up being along the zip and then the neckline, and therefore basically invisible, while sealing everything in.  The most finicky spot was the bottom of the facing/front beside the zip, which just had to be very well tucked together and ironed before I could sew it shut.  This worked nicely in my wool, but if you were planning less visible topstitching on finer fabric, it might not look as well.

What I would do better:
-the thin silk pockets, I would interface the silk.  They are important in a jacket like this and I feel like they are going to fall apart, especially since my welt pocket skills are still just about zero and I'm not totally sure how I attached the pockets to the jacket.

-On size and fit: If you are not short waisted, and if you don't have proportionally short arms, then make the arms longer.  I changed nothing, and this baby hits just above my hips, and the sleeves hit exactly at my wrists.  If I wanted it cozy, baggy, or to go over sweaters, I would need to size up.  To go over a tshirt, it's perfect.  The binding does make a blousy effect at the bottom, no matter what fabric you use.  If you don't want this, then make the binding longer than the instructions ask for.

Ok but, shockingly enough and despite everything, my jacket is totally amazing.  Of course, it snowed yesterday...

Deer and Doe Datura

Hi everyone!

It was a rocky move, and most of my stuff is in limbo.  Luckily I ended up with a few projects still in close reach.

This one, however, makes me a bit sad.  I have a de facto stash because I have moved so much.  I spent the past nine months functionally homeless, and had a huge number of exciting projects lined up in New Zealand before I left.  This Datura blouse is one of those.  The fabric combo comes from The Fabric Store in Wellington, which I desperately miss.  The purple is a Marc Jacobs silk, probably a blend as it needed quite a hot iron.  The beige is rayon with the most delightful feel and drape.

The year I discovered sewing, I fell in love with projects every week.  I followed some blogs, and then I followed the people I discovered through following those blogs, in pyramid fashion (the sewing vortex!!!).  Every time I discovered a new thing I wanted to sew I spent weeks chasing down every version of it and reflecting on how mine would be.  This Datura was one that I was so so so excited about, and I feel embarrassed and sad that it's taken so long to make.  It could have been done in one day, but I was honestly so bored by it, that I took a few days, and treated it as a muslin, ie I didn't finish the side seams.

I used my trusty D&D size 38 and it fit perfectly.  I didn't topstitch or understitch the yoke, and I skipped the back panel altogether - just cut off the extra folds and sewed a centre back seam.  No sense bothering with buttons when they aren't functional.  I wanted this project to be brainless and it wasn't -- the technique for seamlessly lining the yoke was new to me and made me very grumpy.  I felt like the explanation was a bit confusing because I wasn't sure what part should be right side out and what part should be wrong side out when you slide the yoke front into the yoke back.  The diagram made it look like you topstitched it while it's inside out.  Eh??

Anyway, things worked out ok without too many lumps at the shoulders.  I also skipped the bias tape and made a foldover hem using the technique BHL use for the Polly top (my favourite technique!) Basically you make a line of stitching at the depth you want your hem, fold it in, iron it in place, and then fold one more time in and stitch that down.  On cotton, linen, or raw silk it usually works well.  On this rayon it was pretty terrible so I ironed it a whole lot and it looks ok if you don't look too close.

I suspect when I get over my initial grumpiness I will love this pattern and I'll start thinking up variations on it.  This tank is a great basic with just enough details to make it interesting.  My friend Joana took my pictures in Bern, and she was in love with this top, so she took lots of pictures!  I can see that it looks good but I am dissatisfied with how lumpy the yoke came out.  Probably the top stitching, and closer attention to alignment of the lining, would have helped with that.  Now that I see it from a distance I really like the look of it, and it was very comfortable to wear. 

Victory Anouk

I sort of "discovered" Victory patterns in May, while trapped in a hotel room for a month planning sewing projects.  Of course I had known about the company before, but I didn't like the designs on the pattern envelopes at all.  It took Kim to show me how lovely they can be in reality (here, and here).  Once I directed my attention to the details in many of these patterns, they become more interesting.

And Anouk was the most interesting.  I wanted to do it right away!  I ordered all the fabric from Mood, guessing for decent color matches.  If I had purchased a PDF pattern things might have gone differently, but as it was I went for paper patterns and due to my own itinerant summer plans, didn't receive the patterns until July.

Main fabric is a heavy cotton sateen in brick by Theory.
Striped centerpiece is Marc Jacobs silk-cotton, and is very transparent.  The stripes are gold stuff, and are impossible to match.  I actually cut them out one side at a time to try to match the center front and finally gave up.
The yoke is a loose woven raw silk.

I need to hand sew down the lining under the arms, it didn't catch on either side!

nurse photobomb! 

There are not very many versions of this dress online so I've added lots of photos.

My goal with this was to create a synthesis of interesting textures while maintaining the warmth of the brick colour.  I don't look good with such intense colours next to my face so I needed something paler up there.  Of course I had no idea how this would all turn out.

I cut a size 4 based on my measurements (34.5/27/37).
I sewed it completely out of order because I had broken my sewing machine, and my borrowed one had nylon thread in the only bobbin.  So I sewed all the cream coloured parts first using the clear nylon thread (a bit weird to have your thread be invisible!)  That meant I sewed the center piece and the yoke.  I think this pattern is considered intermediate because it requires many small detailed steps prior to the final hurrah of putting the dress together.  My out-of-order construction meant I could at least try on the yoke, which seemed to fit.

The most challenging point is sewing the center piece into the dress front, and gathering appropriately.  I had trouble turning the corners, keeping the waist straps at exactly the same level, and not having small occult holes show up where things weren't lined up just right.  I took this step slowly.  Another thing that confused me was the underside of the center piece.  I initially had planned to use the raw silk for that, but it was too thick and rough, so I used my skirt fabric instead.  When I cut it out I was really confused to see the back side is almost 1 cm wider than the front on each side.  It means that when you fold it over to sew it down, you have a lot of room (a good thing) but was initially really strange looking.  Sewing in the ditch is made easier since you have so much extra fabric on the back of that piece to fold over, and the finish on the inside is clean.  I figured after I sewed in the ditch that all the little holes and ragged bits were at least sewn closed and too small for most people to see.  When I added the yoke, since it's white and the body fabric is red, I didn't stitch in the ditch, but stitched right over the edge of the yoke itself.  It's basically invisible in the dense fabric.

Also, turning those belt straps right side out is a bitch.  I made my nurses at work do one of them : ) 

I started out using hem tape on my side seams, but for some reason it didn't go well-kept sliding off as I sewed, and wasn't staying in place very well.  Maybe it works better on lighter weight fabric?  So I zig-zagged one side to finish it.  I can do a study to see which technique lasts better...

I hemmed as always, by eyeing it.  My hem is about 2 inches and almost certainly irregular.  Because I was running out of thread, I hemmed first and then used hem tape on the loose edge.  (I admit that I should have just bought more bobbins.)

The yoke front: fit perfectly.  I know others have had issues with this.  But you are right if you noticed no buttons.  The borrowed sewing machine didn't seem to have a functional buttonholer, and I noticed that the band for the yoke is quite long anyway.  I sewed 2 little snaps on the far side to keep it straight during wear and just pinned it to wear to work, but I will eventually add two small cream buttons. 

I like this but I usually don't do a shoulder widening on tank dresses, and here I think I should have, or that I should have done a size larger on the yoke.  I don't like how the straps go in at the shoulders.  Otherwise, I'm pleased with the fit.  I think this would be most flattering on a busty person with narrow shoulders.  My coworkers thought I was being nitpicky and really liked the dress on, though.  Also - pockets!  There is no reason to not place pockets in this dress, although the pattern doesn't have them.  If I wear it a lot I will likely add them into the side seams.

Missoni Plantain by Deer & Doe

I originally purchased this Missoni fabric from emmaonesock in order to make a cardigan.  I had a Burda pattern that I thought would work, but adding seam allowances was such a catastrophic step that I never did it.  I also wondered whether some gathering necessary in the pattern would suit the fabric, so I waited.

While I made my birthday Plantains, I realised this fabric would be a perfect plantain!  Easy to put together, and I thought the drape of the fabric would accentuate the nice flare this shirt has.  I was right, and I love the results.

My only changes: I lengthened the sleeves as long as I could on my fabric, and they ended up just wrist length.  I also used the selvedge as my hemline, which meant that I changed the flare slightly since I didn't cut up at the sides of the hem.  I cut my fabric on the cross-grain in order to have horizontal stripes, and to make use of the selvedge.  I used the same size 38 as before.

First lesson: I cut my neckband short, assuming that this loose knit fabric would have more stretch.  But I mixed up mechanical stretch with stretch caused by elastic fibers like lycra - in fact Missoni knits have NO lycra type stretch, and so my neckband was about 3 inches too short.  I learnt this the first time...when I sewed the band on inside out.

Next lesson: it is total torture trying to unstitch Missoni knits.  First of all your eyes cross looking at the pattern of the fabric.  It's hard to even see one single layer of the stuff.  My machine stitches vanished deep into it and trying to remove them without making holes was not entirely successful.  I had to take off the entire neckband and put it on right side out.  That was when I realised there was no way the band was long enough, so I put a pleat more or less mid back.  While I like the pleat and all, it pulls the shoulder seams and puts additional stretch on them.  (Apologies for the smiley face!  My nurses did it!)

Good news: for the most part the sewing machine had no trouble with this fabric.  It is heavy and dense enough that the feed dogs worked well, and it didn't shift around.

Pattern matching:  My technique is sadly unscientific.  I cut out each piece starting at the same stripe of the pattern, and tried to account for seam allowances, vaguely.  (So the top of the side seams, plus the top edge of the sleeves were at the same spot.)  I'm really happy with how it turned out, although I'm aware that a more sophisticated approach would have matched the stripe positioning better...

Papercut Meissa in seafoam green hemp

I loved this pattern when I saw it.  I have been holding off making button up shirts.  I don't wear them much.  Fitted ones always bulge at the bust and don't fit on the shoulders.  Loose ones don't interest me as much.  But I knew I would eventually give it a try.  I was not too interested in the Archer to start because it seems so shapeless, but I was considering the Named Tyler because of the raglan sleeves.  Sunni's version was very interesting, and Scruffy badger has since also made a nice one.  But anyway this trumped all that, I really liked the gathered details.

I found a lovely hemp blend fabric at Nancy's Sewing Basket back in February.  I forget what else is in the blend though - cotton or silk.  It is matte and rough on the inside with a smooth shiny outside face, in a pale seafoam green.  I have been really nervous about things like collarstands and I didn't want to rush the project so I put it away.  Then of course it was Me-Made-May, and this would have been a great addition to my wardrobe.  I cut it in May, hoping to have it done before I left for Arizona.

I cut the XS without any changes.  I'm 34.5-27-37 and this size in Papercut has consistently fit me perfectly in wovens.  I was very surprised how difficult it was to cut.  Initially I thought it was the paper (which yes I know I shouldn't be cutting through) or my scissors, but no.  It was the hemp fabric, which is so rough that it didn't slide along as I cut it, and sheared away from the scissors when I cut across the grain of the fibers.  It's got a nice drape, and irons well and I expected it to sew nicely though.  Because I wasn't sure what was in the blend I ironed it cautiously at first but ended up at the cotton-linen setting.  (hot!)  I was wrong about it being easy - the gathers were stubborn and ended up difficult to place evenly, due to the weight and thickness of the fabric.  It ironed great, but sometimes was hard to pin because the layers slipped against each other (especially around the collar.)  This pattern would work better with something drapey, in order to get smooth gathers and take advantage of the way it hangs.

Although I like this pattern, and I found the collarstand completely straightforward, I dislike how she has you finish the cuffs and the collar.  You are instructed to fold a 1cm allowance on the outside, sew everything together, and then flip the collar or cuff over and tuck all seam allowances into that folded side and topstitch.  The problem that I find with this is that you are tucking a huge number of small seam allowance pieces into a corner that does not overlap enough to do this smoothly.  It's a favourite Papercut technique and one that always leaves me with ragged edges.  I will eventually try the Archer and maybe come up with an opinion on how to best finish these edges when I have seen how other shirts are put together.

I was nervous about this project and after I got back from Arizona it sat for quite awhile as I gathered my confidence.  Finally I got irritated about having things sitting around!  I got very frustrated mid-July with these difficult seeming projects waiting for things outside of my control, like zippers...this summer I've been trying out a sewing system that I think is unwise.  I cut out multiple projects when I was sort of busy and distracted.  I knew I didn't have the attention to sew, but I could cut!  However then I start these projects a bit haphazardly and get frustrated not to see quick results.  I had to really slow back down and back away when I worked on my Belladone as I wanted it to really be amazing, and when I finished it I started to feel back on track.  It can be tempting to cut out a lot but I think I get stressed and feel like I'm not getting things done if I can't sew the projects right away.  A bit of deja vu - I'm moving in a week and have so much to finish before then.

Papercut ooh la leggings

My friend Sarah gave me this pattern in a size XS.  She has been trying to make these but has had trouble choosing fabric with the right amount of stretch. 

I went with some nearly tissue thin silk-viscose blend.  It's very soft and drapey.  I had enough leftover for a Renfrew top (almost...).  I hadn't thought ahead to how much my Necchi dislikes lightweight knits. 

Cutting progressed with the help of my weights (various carabiners as always).  The instructions are great and it's an easy project to put together.  I found that if I pulled tension on the back side of my fabric, it didn't squash up under the needle as badly and my stitches came out ok.  Once I started doing that I had less trouble, although the fabric was a pain to deal with.  I have limited sensation in my fingertips and it's hard to pin fabric when I can't even feel it!  I also straight stitched the waistband down and so that is actually tighter than my elastic - which could have been a bit tighter.  It's a touch higher than I would like, so folding the waistband over gets me exactly the snugness and the height that I like.  I am pretty satisfied with these leggings, although they are definitely a layering item for under dresses.  I think that this fabric is so light that it's hard to mess up.  I'm not sure how they would fit in a heavier fabric or a fabric with more elasticity. 

Sorry the photos are very unflattering.  They are indeed tissue thin white leggings...

I will likely experiment more with this pattern when I have a real sewing machine (not the terrible Singer I have in Switzerland or my borrowed Necchi, which, incidentally is now broken...)  The pattern is easy - I agree with Sarah that fabric choice is the real issue, because if the fabric doesn't have enough stretch or enough return, the leggings will sag or rip.