Colette Pastille: Skirt muslin #2

So, when last we saw the Pastille muslin, I had finished bodice #3 and I was feeling pretty good about it having cut a smaller size in the waist and completed an FBA and a swayback adjustment.  The next step was to make a second muslin of the skirt.*  For this iteration, I had cut a smaller size and done a swayback adjustment.

Bathroom photos are the worst

What you can't really see is that it's still too baggy at the side seams in between the waist and hips.

Please ignore the potty chair in the background

 On the other hand, I have a textbook case of "prominent abdomen"**.

Here, I've taken in the sides of the skirt going from the waist to the hip and let it out a bit at my upper thighs.  That has helped with the prominent abdomen but it's still not quite right.

Next step is to try the pot-belly alteration for pencil skirts by Maria Denmark found on the By Hand London blog here.  Right after I took this picture, I drew a line just under my post-baby belly that curved up to the hipline, like on the tutorial.  Then, I cut along that line, let the fabric fall in front and pinned Swedish tracing paper to the skirt across the gap so that I could preserve the size of the gap when I took the skirt off.

Cutting line

Now, I need to transfer that slash and spread to the paper pattern, along with the seamline adjustments and cut a new muslin for the skirt.  Onward to skirt muslin #3!

*The first bodice muslin was so awful that I didn't bother making the skirt at the time, I just went straight to making a second bodice muslin.

**Or as I like to call it, post-baby belly.

Colette Pastille: Bodice Muslin #3

Crappy bathroom mirror photo at 12am
Not my best look

My 2nd Pastille bodice muslin was baggy at the waist and just a little too tight in the bust.  For this muslin, I went a size smaller for the waist and did a very small FBA.  This was very successful and I now feel the front of the bodice looks and feels like a sheath dress.  I probably could have added another 1/8" to the FBA to give me a tiny bit more ease in the bust.  Because it's so hard to find ready to wear fitted tops that actually do fit me right, I mostly wear knit fabrics.  So, I am not used to the feel of a fitted garment with no "give" to the fabric and as a result, the bust feels a little bit tight.  There is no pulling of the fabric across the bust, so the fit looks very good and I don't think I'm going to change it.

Another crappy bathroom photo.  I can see some wrinkling
here, but I think that might go away with the weight of the skirt.

After sewing the muslin and trying it on, I saw the back bodice dipped way down past my waist in the middle but not the sides.  So, I unpicked the zipper and did a swayback adjustment, removing about an inch from the middle tapering to nothing at the sides.  Yes, I do baste my zipper into my muslin.  Since I'm fitting the garment on myself, it is the only way to close the back properly so that I can check the fit.  I read a tip once that said to put the opening in the front of your garment for your muslin because that makes it easier to fit things on yourself without sewing in zippers.  I can see how that would help with the back, but what if you need to make adjustments to the front?  Won't having an opening there screw with how the front fits?  Anyway, I'm finding that basting an invisible zipper into the bodice takes almost no time at all, now that I've done it several times in a row.  Funny how that works.

I took some photos in the mirror so that I could try to see how it all looks, especially the back which is difficult to see otherwise.  I do see some wrinkling, but that goes away if I pull down on the bodice,  leading me to think that the weight of the skirt may take care of that once the skirt is attached. So, I'm moving on to skirt muslin #2 before trying to make any more changes to the bodice.  I'm also worried I may end up overfitting the bodice and since it feels pretty good when I have it on, I'm not sure I want to make any more changes!

Gingerly

This is the Colette Ginger which is an A-line skirt with a waistband and a back zip.  It's a pretty straightforward pattern, but I made a muslin anyway to check fit.  I'm glad I did because the waistband gaped at the top.  After pinching out the excess, I realized that what I needed was a contoured waistband.

Fig. 1:  My natural waist is ridiculously high

The Ginger waistband is similar to other waistbands that I've encountered in that it is pretty much rectangular when you sew the pieces together.  I think the idea is that since it's supposed to sit at your "natural waist" (that is, the narrowest point of your lower torso) the waistband doesn't need to be much wider on the bottom than on the top.  However, my natural waist is really high--maybe a couple of inches below my bust--so I never wear skirts and pants at my natural waist. 


So, I tend to wear my pants, skirts, etc. lower than my natural waist, but that area has a lot of curvature, so a mostly rectangular waistband is not going to fit me right.  However, if you take in the waistband at the seams quite a bit, but only at the top of the waistband, you end up with a really strange looking, trapezoidal pattern piece.  If you cut your waistband with those pieces and sew them together, you get what sort of look like mitered corners at the side seams (ask me how I know).  Enter the contour, or curved, waistband. 

Fig. 2  Rectangular vs.
Contour Waistband

Of course, the Ginger skirt doesn't come with a contour waistband, so I would need to draft the pattern pieces myself.  This was a little daunting considering I hadn't ever done it before, but since I was working with a muslin I figured I didn't have anything to lose.  I searched for a tutorial for drafting a, but only found written descriptions of what to do in a reply to a post on Pattern Review (and another method here).  I was surprised by the lack of information on this subject--I can't be the only woman with this sort of problem.  In any case, I was able to successfully draft pattern pieces for both the front and back waistband, and make a Ginger skirt in my fashion fabric (turquoise linen) which I love!  I've already worn it a couple of times, but haven't managed to get pictures yet.  Perhaps I should work on that tomorrow. 

Sewing Cate's Easter Dress

I've mentioned before that my mom sewed many of my clothes when I was little and she sewed every Christmas and Easter dress I wore until I was in high school.  I suspect my Grandma sewed Mom's Easter and Christmas dresses, too.  So, there's a little self-imposed pressure for me to do the same.  So far, I haven't been on the ball with the Christmas dresses, but I sewed last year's Easter dress and right now I'm working on this year's Easter dress.


I'm using Simplicity 2629 which is a vintage reproduction.  I'm using a quilting weight cotton fabric. I'm not sure how to categorize the print, but the pink, green, and orange spots remind of jelly beans, making it a good choice for an Easter dress.  To say that I like this pattern would be an understatement--three out of the four dresses I've made for Cate are from this pattern!  The first was her coming home dress, the second was last year's Easter dress and the third is this year's Easter dress.  The design is fairly simple, but I've managed to make each dress unique.  This time, I am making the shorter version of the dress with the following changes:

• No lace at the collar or sleeves
• Self-fabric ruffle at the bottom
• Extend the tucks to the waistline
• Sew a ribbon at the waistline
• Snaps on the back instead of buttons (have done this in the previous versions, too)

So far, I have the dress cut out, the ruffle pieces sewn together, gathering stitches sewn on the ruffle and sleeve caps, the casing for the elastic on the sleeves sewn, and I've started hemming the ruffle by hand.  I'm kinda skipping all over the place in the construction right now because I am avoiding sewing the tucks and I'm doing the hand sewing while watching TV.  Here's my sewing schedule for the week:

• Wed.:  Extend tuck markings to waistline, sew tucks, sew placket on back of dress, purchase and wash grosgrain ribbon for waistline
• Thurs.:  Insert elastic into sleeves, sew shoulder seams, insert sleeves, sew side seams, finish seams, make bias tape for neckline, try on Cate to make sure it all fits right!
• Fri.:  Attach ribbon to waistline, finish ruffle hem, finish neckline
• Sat.:  Attach ruffle, sew on snaps in back
• Sun.:  Wear to Easter Mass, take lots of pics!

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood...

Image Copyright Elisabeth Montegna, All Rights Reserved

Pattern:  Maisie Cape by My Childhood Treasures
Size:  1
Fabric:  Robert Kaufman 21 wale corduroy, Moda A Walk in the Woods Bluebell Mushrooms, white cotton flannel
Notions:  1 button
Changes to the pattern:  1) underlined with white cotton flannel, 2) used a button instead of velcro, 3) omitted the applique, and 4) changed how hood is attached (see below).

So I "finished" Cate's red, hooded cape with about 20 minutes to spare before trick or treating commenced.  "Finished" because I haven't top-stitched it yet, and because I may change the closure.  I didn't want to use a velcro closure like the pattern called for because Cate sees velcro as only a minor obstacle in the road of clothes/shoes removal, however, she hasn't figured out buttons yet.  I got a large button and made a vertical buttonhole on the tab.  It looks pretty good when it's sitting on a hanger, but the tab sort of slides around on the button (due to the size of the buttonhole) and it causes the cape to hang strangely.  I may make a smaller tab and either use a smaller button and a horizontal buttonhole or use a snap.  Also, I had to wing the buttonhole because the button was too large for the autobuttonhole foot on my machine.  And, I need to use some tear-away stabilizer on the next buttonhole (if I decide to use a button).

I underlined the cape with cotton flannel so that it would have a bit more weight to it and she can use it as her Bay Area-appropriate winter coat.  It's certainly easy to get on and off her with no sleeves to deal with!

The pattern was very simple and quite easy to work with, but I decided to change how the hood attached to the cape.  The directions called for attaching the main fabric hood to the main fabric cape and the lining hood to the lining cape, then placing the main fabric and lining right sides together and stitching around leaving a gap to turn it right-side-out, then top-stitching.  I didn't like that idea because I thought that the lining might get really bag and out of whack in the hood because it's only attached on the sides and not anywhere in the middle.  So, instead, I stitched the hood in the main fabric and lining, then I sewed them together around the face, flipped it right-side-out and top stitched around the face.  Then I hand-basted it to the neck of the main fabric and sandwiched it between the main and lining fabric when I sewed the cape pieces together (does that make sense? it might help if I had taken pix, but given the fact that I barely finished it for trick or treat you can see why I didn't stop to take pix!). 

Adding the hood this way created some minor issues, like the part of the hood surrounding the face and the opening of the cape are supposed to be flush and this would've been much easier to accomplish using the directions with the pattern.  Also, having the main fabric, underlining, and lining all attached to each other meant that I had to try to pull a very thick hood through the opening I left for turning the body of the cape right-side-out.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the way it turned out (except for the closure issue I mentioned above).  I had no trouble getting her to wear it, although she did fidget with it as you can see in the photos, experimenting with moving her arms around under the cape.  It made for a great first Halloween costume:  simple, easy to get on and off, and she can wear it the rest of the winter here so it was worth the time and effort spent sewing it up nicely.  The corduroy is really lovely and soft and the mushroom fabric looks so cute and the blue sets off Cate's eyes.  What more can you ask for in a project?

No waistband

I'm not sure what is going on, but every time I try to add a waistband to Meringue, it throws off the fit.  So, I'm doing away with the waistband.  I really would like to have this skirt done by tonight and I'm starting to realize that part of my problem with sewing right now is perfectionism.  I could fuss with this skirt for eternity and never achieve perfection.  And therefore, never have a skirt.  Well, basta!  Enough!  I'm going to sew this skirt sans waistband and I will love it and wear it to death!

A change of plans

Previously, on e-beth knits:

In trying on the Meringue muslin:  the skirt had no ease, the waistband gaped, and there was fabric pooling above my butt.

The next day, I decided to try the muslin on again--this time with a pair of Assets on board and without the waistband.  I also tried the advice of Palmer-Pletsch and let out the front darts over my "full tummy" (or as I like to call it, "that part of my body that has not been the same since pregnancy").  At that point, it seemed like I had a ridiculous amount of extra fabric at the side seams.  So, I pinned it in at the sides, and compared it to the pattern.  Now it appeared I should cut a 12 at the waist, expanding to a 14 by the hips (I originally cut an 18).  I modified my paper pattern accordingly, took out the side seams of my muslin, drew the new seamline, and tried it on again.

It looked awesome (well, as awesome as a muslin can look)!  I'm not sure how to explain how I went from needing to add extra room to a size 18 muslin to taking in that same muslin several sizes.  I mean, I know letting out the darts and wearing shapewear helped, I just don't see how it could have helped that much.

I still think I want a waistband and I drafted one last night but then didn't have time to cut it out and try it on the muslin.  I'll do that tonight and then (fingers crossed!) I'll cut the fashion fabric as well.  I'm not sure I'll have much time on Sat. to sew which means I'll need to get as much as possible done tonight.  I can see myself wearing jeans and hemming my skirt at the Bay Area Sewists Meetup that's before the launch party, then putting on the skirt right before the launch.  :)  I don't think there's any way I'll get the lining put in by tomorrow afternoon, either, but I can add that afterward.

Wish me luck!

Sorbetto modifications

It's starting to be all baby all the time here at e-beth knits, so I thought I'd throw in something that is only a little bit baby.

Ever since the Sorbetto pattern was released, I've been wanting to make one. It's a pretty simple, slightly fitted slip-on top (no closures) with a box pleat detail in the front and the armholes and neck are finished with bias tape. I've resisted making the top until now because, of course, I am currently not at my regular body size/shape. For instance, my stomach now sticks out further than my boobs. This is a little weird considering it's been about 25 years since anything on my body has stuck out further than my boobs.

But, I have an overwhelming urge to make myself a top, so, I decided to try and modify the Sorbetto to make it a maternity top. Considering that: 1) I've yet to make a top that fits me and 2) I'm completely new to pattern modification, I may well have bitten off more than I can chew. Nevertheless, I sat down at the table with my Sorbetto pattern, and my various pattern-adjusting accoutrement. These included: freezer paper for tracing, a tracing wheel, pens and pencils, a curved ruler, a calculator, a notebook, tape, push pins, and a cardboard cutting mat.

So, first up, I had to decide what pattern size to use. I decided to tackle the back first since I didn't need to adjust for boobs or belly. According to my upper bust measurement, I should use a 10. So, I started with that. I want to keep the back fitted and not baggy (to minimize the "tent effect" so prevalent in maternity tops), so I decided I would try cutting the back piece as though I wasn't pregnant and adding all of the extra inches to manage my belly to the front piece. Therefore, I measured my back across my natural waist approximately from side seam to side seam and decided I need a 14 there, so I basically drew a line that went from the size 10 line at the armhole to the size 14 line at the narrowest part of the pattern. Then, I drew a line from there to the size 18 line at the hem to account for my hip measurement. Then, I traced the pattern onto the freezer paper. Finally, I wanted to make the hemline curve (because I am making the front hemline curved so that I can add extra inches in the middle to cover the belly), so I extended the line for the center back (to be placed on the fold) 1 inch and used my curved ruler to draw a curve to the original hemline at the side seam. That was all pretty straightforward.

Next, I tackled the front which was not at all straightforward. I started with a 10 on top (shoulders and armholes) and then I did a Full Bust Adjustment. I used the technique in Pattern Fitting With Confidence by Nancy Zeiman which is unlike anything I've seen on the web, but I figured I'd give it a try. Essentially, she has you increase the bust dart according to cup size and increase the length of the front to account for the change in dart size. So, I traced a size 10 and cut it out, then followed the FBA instructions from the book, and cut that pattern piece out. That was all relatively easy. Then, I ran into something of a wall. Briefly, moving the side seam out by three inches at the waist gave me something that looked like the bust and the waist couldn't connect without creating some funky shape. I decreased the amount I added to the waist by half because I thought that if I didn't sew down the center box pleat past the bust, I would end up having extra room from that. Eventually, I was able to draw a line I thought might work for the side seam. Then, I wanted to add length to make sure it covered my belly. I added 3 inches to the center front and curved the hem to the original hemline at the side seam. Hopefully, this means that the front and back pieces will line up. Having made all of those adjustments, I cut this final pattern piece out (I numbered all of my drafts of the pattern, btw, and wrote on them what adjustments they incorporated so I could keep them straight)

Bottom line: the front pattern piece doesn't much resemble the original Sorbetto front pattern piece any longer. Actually, it looks amazingly tentish (is so a word!) which is something I've been trying to avoid with maternity wear (I feel like a blimp already, I don't need an immense, baggy shirt to emphasize that fact). So, I'm not at all convinced this modification will work at this point, and even if it does work and everything fits, I'm not sure I'm going to like how it looks on me. But that's why you make a muslin, right?