The Design Loft

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 6

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:22:00 +0000

I've made some progress on my t-shirt pattern. This is version 3.0 and as you can see some more work is needed on the armhole. I've moved most of this discussion to the Fashion Incubator forum (membership required) so I can get some help from other pattern making - fitting experts. Trying to fit something to yourself is hard enough, but fitting an adult is outside my experience. Kids are so much easier. Anyway, there are additional pictures and discussion there. I will say that the shoulder point location is still an issue despite moving it out in this version as is the back armhole. One thing I'm considering is adding a dart to the front even though I am resisting it for the moment.

The other news is that I've been sidelined with a rotator cuff injury. I've been having shoulder pain for several months and aggravated it when I started attending some exercise classes last November. And really, I've had problems with my left shoulder for years. When I worked as a sewing machine operator many, many years ago, I would come home with a lot of aches and pains in my left shoulder. I chalked it up to just using muscles I haven't used previously and bad posture. I've been ignoring it and finally it reached a point where it was obvious I was in a lot of pain. I have a high pain tolerance apparently and didn't connect the dots that I shouldn't be feeling this way. So to prevent further injury and hopefully to prevent surgery, I start physical therapy next week. I won't know what activities I have to limit while I heal. It certainly took some wind out of my sails. Anyway, I have some projects I'm working on that don't require a ton of shoulder movement but are not very interesting to blog about. One includes my sodaCAD project which is still in Alpha. I'm also reading more.

Hungry Hippo pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:14:00 +0000

I immediately cast on a new project after finishing the February Lady Sweater. I'm working on the Hippo by Susan B. Anderson and it is going really fast. I finished up the body today and I've started on the head. It has been a really fun knit so far.

The only problem I've had is finding the poly pellets used to give the toy a little bit of weight - none of my local craft stores seem to have it. I did find some poly beads in my stash and used those. I sewed the beads into a fabric bag and placed it in the body of the hippo. It does make a difference. If anyone has any suggestions of where I can buy poly pellets, please leave a comment. I think I'm addicted and I know I'll be making more of Susan B. Anderson's toys.

DH says the Hippo body looks like an Adipose.

The Hippo pattern and other really awesome knitted toys can be found in Susan's book Itty-Bitty Toys: How to Knit Animals, Dolls, and Other Playthings for Kids.

My February Lady Sweater Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Finally done! The sweater needs a good wash and block. I'm not sure it will block very well because the yarn is cotton-acrylic, but we'll see it if will grow in length some. I will probably replace the buttons with something better once I can get to the next town over.

I discovered the reason I was having so much trouble with my gauge. The inexpensive circular needles I bought at the beginning of the project were more like a US 4 instead of the 5 I thought I was buying. If buying cheap needles off Ebay, keep this in mind and check it. My circular Inox needles were exactly right, but too short for the yoke. Anyway, I also inadvertently grabbed two US size 4 and two US size 5 double points when working on the sleeves. Oops.

I'm happy with the sweater but so ready to move on. I cast on a new project last night - more about that later.

Knitting stitch markers

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:09:00 +0000

I recently made up some knitting stitch markers - or jewelry for knitting. There is a nice tutorial by Knottygal and you can browse Etsy for more ideas of how to put them together. These were just part of a random assortment of beads from Wal-mart and beading wire.

Not another hobby

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0000

DH always has a hard time shopping for me. Especially for girly stuff like jewelry. He thought I might like jewelry making and encouraged me to try it out. I resisted for a long time, but finally caved the last few weeks. It is easier and more fun than I thought.

These two necklaces are my first attempts. I need to work on a few skills like wire wrapping and working with split rings. But, I think these turned out ok. The chain necklace with the pendant can be changed out with others as I make them.

I don't need another hobby, but I think I'm hooked.

Thrift store finds

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:22:00 +0000

I've been complaining for a while about the rise in prices at thrift stores. Both the Goodwill and the DI have raised prices over the last year and it just hasn't been worth the effort to stop at either store. Goodwill in particular has raised their prices to be comparable with retail prices on some items. While it is understandable that prices have to rise to cover the cost of transportation and labor, I'm thinking they have forgotten who they serve.

Anyway, there is a hidden away thrift store in the next town over. It's small, but the store supports the county hospital and is run entirely by volunteers. Even better, everything on the racks is pre-laundered. You know how your thrift store finds have that thrift store smell because the clothes are donated and put on the racks in whatever state they were received. The stuff I brought home last week have that fresh laundered smell. So nice. Even better, the prices are a true bargain. I bought the vintage sheet set, two pillowcases, and a knitted sheet for a mere $3. The rose sheets are destined for another blouse, the knitted sheet for more t-shirt pattern testing, and the lace of the pillowcases for some little girl dresses.

My February Lady Sweater pt. 9

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:16:00 +0000

I cast off the body of the sweater over the weekend and the fit is definitely improved. The next step is to pick up the stitches around the armholes and start on the sleeves. I think I will be doing both sleeves at the same time in hopes that I end up with identical sleeves. It looks like I will have short sleeves, despite reducing the size of the body of the sweater.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 5

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:12:00 +0000

Here are the results of my first and second pattern test. I had enough fabric to make two shirts. Each shirt revealed problems with my construction and fit. I had added about 1" of extra ease in shirt 1 and that was reduced to 1/2" of extra ease in shirt 2. The pattern was designed with 3/8" seam allowances. This allowed for an 1/8" cut off on the seam edges so that the seams finish at 1/4". I had difficulty in shirt 1 maintaining that cut off allowance, improving on the second.

One thing I did not notice is that this fabric is directional. With napped fabrics, the fabric can look darker or lighter depending on which direction the fabric lays. This interlock is not napped but it definitely looks different in different directions. I had switched the direction of the sleeves on shirt 2 and so there is a color variation. It is subtle and hardly noticeable except in certain light.

Finally, there is an issue with the fit of the armhole, which is just a bit too tight. This creates unsightly wrinkles in the underarm area. I guess I never noticed on the original shirt, but the problem exists there too. So, a bit of adjustment has to happen. I need to lower the armhole a bit and scoop out the front. This means the sleeve will need a bit of adjustment as well. The armholes will no longer be symmetrical front to back, which is how it should be. Anyway, more on that as progress is made.

The shirts are fine and comfortable enough to wear, but a modeled shot may or may not appear on the blog

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

I hope all had a wonderful holiday season! We did, but certainly not as snowy as in years past. We had more snow than anyone else in our corner of the state but it is melting quick. Very strange weather for us.

Anyway, I managed to make some progress on my t-shirt pattern. I was stuck in "analysis paralysis" trying to decide the best way to do the neck and sleeves. I spent a bit of time testing out my machines and different ways of doing a binding. The binding above was accomplished by serging the binding strip to the body and gently stretching it. Don't stretch it to it's maximum or you will have problems later. Be sure to test on scraps to know how much you should stretch it.

In this picture I am stitching the binding strip to the neck. The binding strip is on top so that I can stretch it as it goes through the machine. The shirt is supported by the table. Don't let it hang down in front of the machine or gravity will do more stretching of the shirt than you intend. I did edge finish one edge of the binding strip by serging. I didn't have enough green thread, so some of it is in black.

Before I get to far, stitch one shoulder before attaching the binding strip. Then attach the binding strip. Finally, close up the other shoulder, including the binding strip. Attach the binding strips to the sleeve hems too.

This picture shows about how much I stretched the binding strip.

After closing up the second shoulder, attach the sleeves and sew up the side seams. This is the shirt just prior to topstitching. Just fold the binding strip to the inside and topstitch carefully from the right. You can see an example in the first picture of how it turned out, but I'll post a picture of the finished shirt later. I used a regular straight stitch for topstitching. I don't need the neck to stretch to pull it over my head, so it actually turned out fine. My Babylock Evolve does have a chain stitch option, and that is how it should be done. BUT, it takes a good amount of time to switch it over and because of the overly large presser foot, you can't easily see where you are stitching - too much bother. Industrial chain stitch machines look a lot like regular machines. I believe some vintage domestic Singers also have the ability to do a chain stitch, so if you have that option, than use that.

A few last words on the binding. The original shirt had a double fold binding, which is difficult to reproduce at home without the proper folders and adjustments to your machines. The binding I did is less bulky and easier to execute with home sewing equipment and it turned out just fine.

My February Lady Sweater pt. 8

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:49:00 +0000

So here is the sweater after ripping back to the yoke and restarting. Already the proportion is much better for me, so I am glad I ripped it all out. It took a bit of time to re-figure the lace pattern repeat, ripping out that first row of lace about 5 times. Once I got past that first row, the lace is much easier to knit the second time around. I can read the knitting to know where I am, so I've definitely hit the zen part of knitting - at least with this project.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:44:00 +0000

I found my stash knit fabric that I had intended for my first sample. I bought this fabric about 12 years ago or so. Yes. It is army green. I bought this to match a beautiful wool fabric that was also green. I was going to make a tailored wool jacket with some kind of knit top underneath. It's never happened and now, all these years later, they aren't as a good match as I thought. Anyway, it needed a good wash because I had been using it as a Christmas tree skirt...

Patterns for knits need to include shrinkage. The amount of shrinkage to include in your pattern depends entirely on the fabric. You will have to wash test it to know for sure. There is much more on this topic that I may write about later.

In the mean time, my pattern is intended for knits that have already been pre-washed and shrunk from thrift store knits. So no extra allowance is included for shrinkage.

At this point I needed to double check the amount of stretch in this fabric. Fold the fabric so that you are not testing on the edge of the fabric. Place two pins 5 inches apart.

Pick up the fabric and hold the left pin in your left hand at the zero mark and then stretch the fabric as far as it will go with your right hand. Watch where the right pin stretches on the stretch ruler. In this case, my fabric stretches about 30%. Only stretch the fabric as far as it will reasonably go without overly stressing the fabric.

Let go of the fabric with your right hand and watch to see if the fabric returns to it's original position. Knits that do not return at all, have no recovery. In this case, my fabric returned to the 10% mark, which isn't great, but probably ok for a top.

I had forgotten, but this particular fabric is an interlock rather than a jersey. Interlocks do not stretch nearly as much as a jersey. I had originally planned on adding about 1 inch of extra wearing ease because I wanted a bit looser fit. Now I wonder if I should add a bit of extra? Once I work that out, I will modify my pattern and cut it out.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:46:00 +0000

I did the first rub off for the t-shirt I am cloning. You can see that the armhole is symmetrical for the front and back, which is fairly typical for t-shirts. Technically, the armhole should be different front to back and if you have fit issues, this would be one place to adjust. In this case, I'm leaving it alone.

The original pattern also had binding on the neck and sleeves. I wasn't sure how to accomplish that and have it look neat on a home sewing machines. I think there may be a way that I'll play with later. At this point, I added seam allowances for a narrow neck ribbing.

Patterns for knits are designed with the amount of stretch AND recovery. The original t-shirt had some spandex, which means it stretches and recovers a bit better than a 100% cotton jersey. The original t-shirt is pretty slim fitting because of the spandex and because it is meant as a layering t-shirt to wear under other tops. I wanted to have a pattern I could use with 100% cotton jerseys, so I plan on adding a bit of extra wearing ease.

I noted the amount of stretch for the original knit fabric on the pattern. The stretch ruler is found in the Armstrong pattern drafting book. I'll target my knit fabric shopping for between 50-60% stretch - just have to remember to take a copy of the stretch ruler. I do have some stash knits but it has taken me over a week to find it. More on that later...

My February Lady Sweater pt. 7

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:46:00 +0000

It's finished. Sort of. I cast off the bottom for the second time this week.

There were a couple of things I did that came from EZ's original pattern. She did a row of decreases right before the bottom band is knitted on. That helped reduce the tendency of the lace to stretch. Also, she cast off in pearl stitch and it does looks so much nicer than the cast off in knit that I did on the sleeves.

But, I may be crazy.

I'm ripping out the sweater all the way back to the yoke. Even though I tried the sweater on as I went along, the sweater is huge on me. Even accounting for some positive ease to accommodate wearing the sweater over something else, the width at the base of the armholes is at least 6 inches more than I need pre-blocking. The width at the base of the yoke is about where I should have ended my increases for the raglan length. I think I had already reduced the raglan length once before. Anyway, I need to go back to the Custom fit raglan sweater charts and see where I need to make some adjustments. I'm not entirely happy with the sleeves either.

It shouldn't take as long to reknit because I'll be reducing the overall circumference. It will give me some extra yarn to increase the overall length and possibly lengthen the sleeves. I also wanted to do some kind of finishing on the neckline, which is not possible now as I have just a small ball of yarn left.

Also, all this back and forth will help me create a basic set of measurements to use for future knitting patterns.

My cash wallet - finished

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Finally it is done. I started this thing clear back in May and it has taken me this long to locate all of the supplies and get it finished.

The wallet is designed with a fabric cover stiffened by interfacing and held closed by an elastic band. The interior envelopes are closed with magnets, with one zippered pocket for change. The inside of the wallet has slots for cards, though I doubt I will ever use it because I would be afraid of them falling out. It's hard to see the slots in the picture below, but there are three in front and back.

Pros: The pattern is rather clever. There were some things that I didn't expect and I initially liked the approach. I like the removable envelopes so that I don't have to carry the whole wallet if I don't need it. And the wallet does fit into my purse (barely) whereas my cheap plastic coupon file from Walmart did not. I like the zippered coin envelope because I always had change flying about when I was using paper envelopes. I expect the fabric envelopes will last far longer than the paper.

Cons: Let me first start with the supplies list. The hardest thing for me to find were the magnets. My local hardware store did not carry magnets with the right width. You really do need to have magnets that are 1/32 inch in width. You can have a larger diameter, but the thinner the magnet, the thinner your wallet. I ended buying some from babemagnet for a reasonable price. The magnet search delayed the project the longest.

I used a hair elastic for the closure, but I think 1/8" elastic would have been a bit better. The hair elastic is already stretching out of shape.

The pattern is clever, but could use some refinements. This is just my inner pattern making voice. My construction of the zippered envelope ended up being very sloppy, partly my fault, but partly not. I think some of the pieces could have been adjusted to incorporate the turn of cloth concept to accommodate the bulky seams.

There are some time consuming processes such as fusing the interfacing to the envelopes which drove me batty. In any event, the same Etsy seller that sells the patterns also sells finished wallets and envelopes. Considering the cost and time involved, save yourself the trouble and buy one already finished. I can't remember the price on the finished wallets but they should retail for more than she is selling them, considering the labor involved. Her Etsy shop is currently on vacation, so sign up for an email notification when she reopens.

DH still won't use the cash wallet or envelopes. I should have picked something more manly for the fabric. He'll probably still pullout the cash he needs and stuff it in his wallet or pocket.

Cost: The cost ended up being more than I anticipated. The pattern is a bit expensive to buy ($10), and then add in all the supplies and it ended up costing almost $50. Sure, I can customize the wallet with whatever fabric I choose, but I'm not sure it is worth making yourself.

My Fail: I used an iron-on transfer to label my envelopes. I didn't trim close enough around the transfer (fail) and so I ended up with awful looking labels. And the labels are on dark fabric. Doh! Let's not talk about the zipper pocket.

Would I make this again? No. The cost and time consuming construction just doesn't make it worth it to me. I am not sure that I am entirely satisfied with the results, nor am I sure that I want to buy this style again. There are other Etsy sellers selling cash wallet systems and I may explore those. I will use this wallet until it wears out before replacing it with something else.

Understanding basic block patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Shari asked me some questions about basic block patterns.

So pleased I stumbled on you blog - wonderful work by the way! I am keen to start designing kiddies clothing and I am trying to find block patterns and relevant information on using/adapting them, that is not too confusing.

I have got some info on-line and books out of the library but have not
found anything that I am happy with. I am wondering if you could give me any pointers on where to start looking and/or even purchasing basic block templates.

The first thing to do is to define the term block pattern. A block pattern is a finished pattern with all seam allowances, notches, notation, etc. The pattern has been tested and approved for fit. It has been used, perhaps, in a style that has proven to be acceptable with customers.

A basic block pattern is a pattern from which all other styles are based. Sometimes they are derived from the original drafts created from body measurements with instructions from a pattern making manual. Sometimes not. A basic block pattern can also be the patterns from an approved style as described above.

Just as an example, we can look at my recent blouse making venture. After a bit of testing, the pattern pieces for that blouse have become my basic block patterns for future blouse styles. I cut them out of oaktag so I can trace them off, either on fabric for cutting or on paper for drafting a new style. The pieces have seam allowances and notes to help for future construction.

Pattern makers in the industry do not draft from zero every season. We trace off existing pattern pieces (blocks) and modify them. Over time we create a library of pattern pieces that can be mixed and match for a variety of styles.

There is no easy way to acquire basic block patterns. These types of patterns are considered proprietary to the business that developed them so they are rarely for sell. That leaves new designers with a few options and none of them are easy. And perhaps, that is how it should be. I know that sounds harsh, but your patterns will be better if you struggle through the development process yourself. You will come to understand how things should fit and be sewn and know how your patterns work.

So what are the options?

1. Draft your own patterns from body measurements using a pattern making manual. This is the most time consuming option, but ultimately the only way to ensure the fit you want.

2. Hire a pattern maker to do it for you. Probably the most expensive option. You will need to be prepared with a basic style, body measurements, etc. Expect a bit of back and forth as you refine fit.

3. Adapting commercial sewing patterns*. You can buy a commercial sewing pattern for a similar style but it will require a bit of fixing - actually a lot. Commercial patterns are usually sloppy and are not production ready by any stretch. One exception are Burda patterns which do not have seam allowances, so they will be easier to fix and adapt. Burda has even released their patterns as "open source", which is actually a misnomer. In other words, Burda has released their patterns with the license to use the pattern as you wish. And lest you think that I am encouraging the violation of the copyrights of commercial patterns, please know that the copyright status of patterns are in a legal quandry. In other words, in the U.S. no one can stop you from using the patterns you purchase as you wish, even though many believe they can. The only way to avoid that mess and confusion is to draft your own patterns from scratch.

4. Buy block patterns from someone else. I've never seen any production ready patterns available for sale. That doesn't mean it will never happen. I've even considered selling mine, but I haven't done it yet.

BTW, my blouse patterns were adapted from some Burda patterns and it worked well for the most part. The collar pattern pieces required a lot of work and I still don't have them right, IMO.

*If you buy a commercial pattern to take to a professional pattern maker to fix, you will probably be turned down. Commercial patterns require a lot of work to fix and it is honestly easier to draft a pattern from scratch. Some may turn you down for ethical reasons. Others may turn you down because you may give the impression that you are not ready or prepared to be a professional. I probably would turn you down too. The only way I would use a commercial pattern from a client is as a reference to match fit and styling while using my own block patterns or drafting from scratch.

The story of the Eddie Bauer dress

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:54:00 +0000

Eddie Bauer had this dress in their catalog years ago. I loved it and wanted to buy it but the price was out of reach at the time. I even watched the online outlet store and never saw it there. The dress must have been very popular because Eddie Bauer carried the dress for at least a year.

Anyway, I found THE dress at the thrift store over the weekend in my size. I inspected the dress carefully and only saw a few condition problems.

Each sleeve had tears in the exact same spot. Honestly, the tears seam odd and I wonder if the previous owner actually cut the hem to accommodate a larger upper arm? Anyway, the sleeves were long enough that I could cut off the old hem and re-hem it.

The two bottom buttons of the skirt where tearing out.

I darned under each button by stitching back and forth on my sewing machine. The fix is hardly noticeable once the buttons were reattached.

Finally, the dress just needs a good wash and it is good to go. I'm actually very excited to wear it and it goes great with my recently acquired black cardigan.

T-shirt pattern quest pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:51:00 +0000

The blouse/shirtmarking project had to be put on hold until I can purchase more fabric. And if you've seen the price of fabric in the retail stores, you will know why. The cost of natural fibers - cotton, wool and silk - have increased exponentially over the last year due to increased demand in China. But good news is on the horizon as the price of cotton is coming down. This is because designers either dropped cotton or used it in blends, reducing their overall demand. And as economics explains, the price is determined by supply and demand. The price reduction has yet to filter down to the retail sector though, so it may take some time yet. In the mean time, I'm looking at joining a fabric co-op so that I can stock up on some staples and perusing jobber's listings for reduced/end of season materials.

So what is next until then? T-shirts. I want a basic t-shirt pattern that I can use to recycle/upcycle thrift store finds. I've got some knits sitting in my stash to play around with. And as usual, I tend to over analyze and study the subject.

I think I will rub off one of my favorite RTW t-shirts and modify it a bit. It is a layering t-shirt, so it is slim fitting. I think I will increase the ease just a bit to make it more comfortable to wear alone. Anyway, updates as I get to it.

A dress for Ella

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:42:00 +0000

I missed the baby shower for Baby Ella's mom and I felt really bad about it. Now that baby Ella is here, I decided to make a dress for her. This is a size 12 mo and I hope that it will fit her for Easter and into early summer. This is my favorite variation with this fabric to date. I liked the binding on the sleeves and the ivory flower pops.

I love being able to cut and sew a project in just a few hours. I have all my basic pattern blocks from my Prairie Roses line and my style book in the Design Loft vault (aka the closet). I just have to flip through my book, pull out the cutting sheet and go to work. If anyone is interested, I can show you how I've organized things even though Prairie Roses is currently shelved.

Which makes me think I should assign a style number to my blouse pattern and file it away in my style book. I do plan on many variations in the future....

My cash wallet

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:25:00 +0000

I purchased a pattern off Etsy for a cash wallet. We've been following the Dave Ramsey envelope system and use cash for most of our regular purchases. Paper envelopes have a very short life and are just plain annoying. I did pick up a coupon organizer at Walmart, but it's too big and bulky for my purse. So a search on Etsy turned up this pattern. The wallet cover is on the left and the still to be constructed envelopes are on the right.

The pattern is rather clever and looks like it will be fairly durable. I've had a little bit of trouble finding the suggested magnets for the envelopes. I thought I might be able to use a peel and stick magnet that I could cut to the right size. I might still be able to use them, but I've decided to keep looking. This particular magnet doesn't appear strong enough. So the project has been put on hold again.

There are few fiddly parts which could be greatly improved by additional templates and such but that's my inner technical designer coming through. The pattern designer seems particularly concerned about people selling wallets made from her wallet. She doesn't really have much to be concerned about as the process is a bit time consuming.

My February Lady Sweater pt. 6

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:16:00 +0000

My sweater now has sleeves. Short sleeves because I'm nearly out of yarn. I have one ball of yarn left. I think the garter stitch yoke and lace sucked up more yarn than I would have liked but it is turning out better than I expected. It's true that I wanted 3/4 length sleeves and a long length. But considering this yarn came from a size small sweater, I'm glad I now have something more comfortable to wear. I should be able to finish this up soon.

Blouse sewing followup pt. 5

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:20:00 +0000

As part of finishing up my pattern blocks, I needed to add the armhole notches. Double notches for the back and single for the front. The front and back notches are a different distant from the side seam rather than symmetrically. This helps ensure that the front sleeve matches the front armhole and vice-versa. The notches indicate nothing other than front and back.

This is my original sleeve from blouse 1.0 and 2.0. This sleeve can be used as the basis for any future variation. The original blouse has an elastic casing, so I noted the details related to that on the pattern piece.

I also finally got around to making the buttonhole guide. My awl from my book making helped make the holes in the oak tag.

Further pattern making work:
1. Redo collar band shaping - again. [sigh]
2. Make a straight, short sleeve pattern in oak tag.
3. Buttonhole guide for collar band.
4. Long sleeve pattern with shirt sleeve placket and cuff.
5. Study/test block fusing of collar

Blouse sewing followup pt. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:47:00 +0000

My next blouse was to test a new sleeve and finesse collar/collar band construction. This blouse provided more difficulties than I expected. The fabric I used is a white on white quilting cotton from my stash. I liked the print and thought I could get away with using for it a blouse.

First the good news. I originally estimated I would need a good 2 yards of 45" fabric for the blouse. I managed to cut the blouse out of less than 1.5 yards. I had enough fabric left over to recut the collar and still have a fair amount of left overs. I probably will still buy fabric in 2 yard increments for a short sleeve blouse, but I may be able to get away with less.

One thing that really bothers me is the collar band shaping. This shirt made it even more obvious that I need to work on it. You can see the shaping differences in the picture above. When the blue shirt is buttoned at the neck, the collar band gives a nice circular appearance. My collar doesn't do that because the end point creates a V. That end just needs to be lifted up a bit. I've gone back and forth on this several times. Now that I can see it more clearly in this blouse, I know it needs to be fixed.

Another thing that I've had to learn to compromise on is trimming. There are only two areas that need trimming. The RTW shirts are even trimmed in those two areas - though I still want to see a shirt put together in a factory. Anyway, the collar band is trimmed at the ends where it curves and the collars at the points.

Another that I struggled with was my white thread. For whatever reason, my white thread looked dirty against the fabric. The white on white print creates an optical illusion. I went so far as opening up a new spool of white thread and switching to an off white thread. The picture above illustrates the difficulty I had. The topstitching on the shirt placket looks fine but the buttonhole looks dirty. I suppose its possible that some area the thread travels is dirty, but I haven't figured it out.

Here is the completed blouse. It turned out well enough to be wearable. The sleeve is just a straight hem. This sleeve variation was not as comfortable as my previous sleeve, so I won't be going forward with it. The buttons are from my vintage button stash and emphasize the print on the shirt.

Fixing another blouse

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:22:00 +0000

I found this really great blouse at a thrift store. The sleeve elastic was pretty wimpy when I purchased it and then died after a couple more washes. So I ripped it out to replace it.

The elastic was not a very good quality. But it was interesting to see that the elastic ends were butted up together and stitched. This is in contrast with overlapping the ends and stitching the ends together, which would certainly be bulkier.

Here is the fixed sleeve. I had to substitute with 1/4 inch elastic because that is what is in my stash. It worked just fine.

I love this blouse so much that I will probably take it apart and trace it off to make a new one. The trickiest part will be replicating the elasticized gathered sections on the yoke. The neckline slit was not finished with bias. Instead it is a narrow, rectangular facing. I imagine it would be easier to do.

Blouse sewing followup pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:13:00 +0000

After sewing up Blouse 2.0, I felt confidant enough to transfer my pattern pieces to oak tag. Some pattern makers do all of their patternmaking on oak tag, which is a better practice. But, I usually do my initial patterns in tracing paper. I purchase mine from Clotilde, which carries a paper weight akin to medical examination paper. At some point I do transfer it oak tag for durability. These patterns aren't necessarily production ready. They are designed for the way I work at home. The darts are cut out so I can trace the dart shape on the fabric. In industry darts are marked with drill holes, just as an example.

I still need to create a buttonhole placement guide and place the armhole notches. I figured out about how much fabric I need to make a blouse and noted it on the main bodice piece. Fold lines and seam allowances that are different from the norm are indicated. I should have marked the interfacing piece in red ink - forgot to go retrieve the red pen from the office.

Anyway, my paper pieces are stored in an envelope for future reference.

Blouse sewing followup pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Esther) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

I decided that ripping out the sleeve and replacing it was a bit silly. The sleeve works just fine. I will be testing out a new sleeve in blouse 3.0 when I can finally get to it. The collar, as mentioned previously, worked up just fine and worked better with the 1/2 inch neck seam allowance. The wrinkles in the blouse are just from my dorky pose, as it fits just fine. The new bodice pattern is more fitted and flattering than more boxy version of the white blouse.

When DH first saw this print, he said it looked like a grandma print, but he changed his mind when he saw it all finished up. The fabric is a quilting cotton from my stash.

And this is how I wore it. The cardigan is the one I bought at the Goodwill and and fixed up about a month ago. It has quickly become a favorite.