Still thinking about the silk

I am getting inspired by a re-read of Couture Sewing Techniques. Chanel's techniques are discussed in there and it isn't so much that the jacket had a certain silhouette but how it was made, that marked it as Chanel. My raw silk fabric seems to fit the bill for the shell but I will need trim and a much better lining if I want to "go Chanel".

In the meantime, I did finish the purple skirt. Plain and serviceable. I haven't worn it yet, preferring the below-the-knee version in real wool for yesterday's foray into the snow and wind. And today, I think I'll wear the pants whose zipper I fixed. But that lets me also wear Christmas socks which will show a little when I change into shoes at school.

Here is the back vent of the skirt, as finished. The lining stays well out of the way and you won't be able to see it as I walk but it still hangs loose all the rest of the way around the hem.

While I was thinking about that raw silk (which IS mixed with some other mysterious fibers), I remembered a piece of mystery fabric I had in my stash and got it out to compare them. They are similar in colour tones which you can also tell from the warp and woof threads at the cut edge. I don't think I have enough of the silk to make a skirt too, now that it shrank so much after I washed it. But it is a loose weave and probably the other plain stuff will be better for a skirt. I always planned to make a skirt out of it anyway.

I have a couple of patterns for collarless jackets. This one I made several of before I got tired of it.

This pattern is collarless AND unlined but I think I had got the Couture Sewing book when I got the fabric and so I was inspired to line it after a fashion. I cut out each piece of the jacket in satin as well as the wool and then stitched the satin and the wool together around the edges. Then I assembled the jacket according to the pattern instructions. And THEN I finished the insides.

There are shoulder seams, side seams, sleeve seams and seams around the armhole (armscye). With each seam, I trimmed the wool and then folded over the satin and tucked it under so no raw edge showed and then hand slip-stitched all the way along the seam. It was a lot of hand-work but I have got a ton of wear out of this jacket that goes with everything.

Anyway, a Chanel jacket is not Chanel because it doesn't have a collar. So I am still going to think some more about what shape I want this jacket to take.

Another winter skirt, finished

Here is the back vent on the skirt and in the lining. I want to attach them to each other so that the lining still hangs freely everywhere else and so that the lining doesn't show at the vent on the outside.

I've pulled the lining into place and made sure that it won't be pulled too low and bunch up the back of the skirt. The vent folds to one side and I'm folding that side on the lining under.

I've folded the other side of the lining vent under too, but it won't be sewn and attached under the vent - just folded. I'm pointing the scissors at where I will be sewing the vent at the top of the vent.

Here is the line of basting where I will sew through both layers of the vent and the lining folded under the vent. I have actually done this now and the skirt is finished, ready to wear in the sub-zero weather we are expected to have tomorrow!

In the meantime, a zipper replacement

While I was thinking about my next project and not working on hemming the purple skirt, I decided to tackle replacing the broken zipper in the lined pants.

Here's what it looked like first. The teeth had parted company below the slide and I couldn't get them to line up for love nor money.

I took a photo of the "before" - what it looked like before I ripped it out - so I'd know how to put the new one in, in case I forgot.

I started ripping out just the stitches around the zipper itself. I didn't want to reconstruct the pants themselves and they are fully lined, which complicates things a little.

And I kept on ripping the stitches out.

I got one side ripped out and started on the other. I just eased out the tops of the zipper from the waistband, thinking I could slip the top of the new zipper into the gap.

The lining had been caught in the stitching on the inside of one side of the zipper, so it came apart when I got the zipper out.

Once I got the whole broken zipper out, I started by pinning one side of the new zipper in place, tucking the bottom into the hole where I had extracted the old zipper. I cut the excess off the tops of the zipper tape and tucked those ends in under the waistband.

I abandoned pins early and basted everything so I could manouever it without sticking myself. Also, it helped me place the new zipper in as accurately as possible. Before I sewed it on the machine, I turned to the inside and basted the lining to where it would be caught by the machine stitching.

I sewed the side with the zipper teeth right next to the fold first and then tucked the ends in and basted the other side, which went under the overlap. Instead of disassembling the entire front, I cheated and just sewed the tape down under the tab overlap, right down the middle. The stitching shows on the right side but since I normally wear a shirt tail out or a sweater over the waist, it won't show much.

In any event, it doesn't show even when you look it it fairly closely. Anyway, I can always go back in and hand stitch that side of the zipper and take out the machine stitches if I don't like it. I just feel that a machine stitched line is firmer and more sturdy than hand stitched. And now back to the skirt.

Another winter skirt, continued

This is a very simple skirt. I got the side seams on the skirt and on the lining sewn up and so the two pieces were now tubes that I could put together, wrong sides together, and stitch around the top. I am going to finish the back vent at the very end, after I have hemmed the whole thing.

In the meantime, I decided not to do darts. The fabric is loose and it wouldn't look as good with hard darts sewn in. Instead I convert darts to ease, after having learned I could do this from a useful book I bought some time ago.

It is from the Taunton Press which is the company that also publishes Threads magazine. And it is calledCouture Sewing Techniques.

My understanding, having done this several times now, is that you just take the excess fabric where the dart would normally go and spread it out into tiny little wrinkles called "ease". The top photo of my skirt shows how I have pinned the excess fabric to the facing.

This photo shows what it looks like after sewing the lining and skirt (attached to each other by a line of machine basting which you can also see in this photo) to the facing.

This is what it looks like on the right side, before pressing. My hand is holding the facing.

This is what it looks like after I pressed it all flat (I haven't pressed the facing to the inside yet). And I also have not done the understitching.

Here it is, all finished along the top. The ease is right under where the clothespins are. With this fabric, you really don't notice it at all. Now I have to hem the fabric and the lining and then stick the vents together.

Another winter skirt

As you can see, I went with the easy and hopefully fast option. I have cut out the fabric I don't care for in the easiest skirt pattern I have. I also had lining which I cut out with pinking shears so I don't have to finish the raw edges. I need to zigzag the raw edges on the ravelly "wool" fabric which I will do along the long edges on each of the three pieces. I also see that ravelly isn't a real word but that ravel can mean both to tangle and to untangle. Good grief. To work!

Regrouping

Here it is, nine days since I last blogged. I thought I would quick-like-a-bunny make that white striped shirt up and go on to a new project - something that wasn't "just a shirt". I did get the shirt done and I wore it to work today so I am pleased about that. But I wasn't very quick about it.

Here is the shirt halfway done...

and here it is, finished with buttons and everything (hmm, kinda looks the same). Obviously, I really like this pattern and it works for me.

Now I have to decide "what next?" I have that raw silk I got at a total bargoon but I haven't decided what jacket pattern to use. I am leaning toward something simple and boxy because of the weave. On the other hand, I made a coat from a looser weave with princess seams and everything and it turned out okay, except I didn't really like the finished product. Something about the fabric reminded me of the 70s and Phentex. Remember Phentex? (Now that I see they still exist, I am talking about the "yarn" that I remember from the 70s. Maybe they just invented it then and it was very synthetic. In retrospect, horribly so. I guess at the time, it was cool, to be different from real wool.) Well if you do, you'll know what I mean. And yet, in spite of that reminiscence and not caring much for the coat, I have a yard and a bit left of that purple loose weave and am contemplating making a plain, straight skirt. Because I think I can do it quickly. What, am I nuts? Don't bother to answer.

In the meantime, the zipper on those pants I got at such a bargain from Winners broke - it was defective - and since I only paid $35 for them (lined and wool) I have to replace the zipper. This is something I have never done before. I have put plenty of zippers in garments I made from scratch but never have I replaced one in a manufactured garment. I am dreading it a little. But I really like the pants and I already hemmed them and they are the only dress pants I own. sigh.

And the navy blazer hanging behind the white shirt above needs repair. It is a beautiful classic silk blazer made by Peter Nygaard that I bought when I had lots of money. I wore it so much that I have frayed the hem on the left sleeve where it comes in contact with my watch and didn't notice it until the other day when I wore the jacket for the first time in ages. I might be able to just turn it under a tiny bit - I'll have to think on it.

You can never have too many white shirts

I finished the peach outfit days ago and have already started on something else.

Here is the skirt, about to be finished. I hemmed the skirt with a narrow machine hem and then hung it up to see how far the lining hung down past the skirt hem. I trimmed off the lining that appeared below the hem (it was only about 3/8 of an inch) and then folded the lining hem up twice and sewed it by machine also. I wanted to get a picture of me wearing at least the blouse but I didn't I was going to wear it to our condo AGM Monday night but then I didn't so I haven't even worn it yet and it was finished Sunday night.

Since I had the shirt pattern out, I decided to whip up one more shirt with some fabric I had recently got, as usual, on sale. This is white cotton with what I thought was a grey stripe running through it. Turns out it is more silver than grey. There is some Lycra in the fabric, like the peach cotton, so it stretched slightly which is nice.

I wanted to illustrate how it was hard to line the stripes up when I folded the fabric in two lengthwise but all I got with this picture. My thumb gives it scale, however. So I am cutting all the pieces out in single layers, just to make sure the stripes are the same on both halves. More work in one way but less fiddling too, so I think it balances out.

Peach skirt, zipper and lining (example of UnderStitching)

Why is it taking so long to finish these things!? I've finally put the sleeves on the shirt but I haven't even finished that seam. Anyway, this entry - the skirt. I decided to line the skirt because, although the fabric is a nice, substantial cotton, it will look better and hang better with lining. The pattern doesn't call for lining but the yoke is also the facing and by hanging lining off the facing, I get a lined skirt.

Here is the skirt (inside out) and the lining. You can see I had a hard time "matching" the zipper! My only other choice was a pale pink and it just seemed better to go with the orange. The zipper setting is also overlapped slightly so maybe it won't show very much. Plus I never tuck tops in these days so that tends to cover a multitude of sins - mine and my sewing.

Now I have attached the lining/facing to the skirt around the top edge of the skirt. I have ironed the seam allowances toward the facing, as I am about to understitch.

Here, I have understitched the facing. Now I just have to attach the lining to the zipper tape and all the raw edges will be encased.

As usual, the ends of the zipper don't match up. All I need to do now is fold the higher side down to the inside some more and maybe (if I can) fold the other side up some more.

I have juggled with the top edge of the zipper and now they line up with each other. Next, I will sew the lining to the zipper tape (by machine to make sure it is secure). In this photo, you can see how one side of the zipper is sewed with a half inch seam allowance and the other side has a 5/8 allowance that overlaps the zipper teeth.

Peach shirt and skirt

This fabric is nice and easy to sew with but I just haven't been putting in the hours.

This is what happens when the flash doesn't go off (I think). Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. I think when the flash doesn't go off, you get an orangey-yellow glow from the incandescent lamp I have over the ironing board. When the flash does go, the brighter light of the flash gives truer colours. Added to this is the peach colour of the fabric so sorry about having to wear sunglasses for this shot.
The front band (for buttons and buttonholes) is sewn to the wrong side of the shirt and then folded around and topstitched to the right side.

As usual, I press the heck out of the fabric. Even though the trimmed seam allowances get folded toward the band, I first press them open and then press them toward the band.

Then I turn it over and press the band from the inside of the shirt too, just to make sure it is flat. I even use the clapper on the wrong side.

When I go to topstitch the band to the right side, I can just slide the folded long edge over the original stitching line and because all the layers have been flattened so much, the actual topstitching goes very smoothly.

This skirt pattern has a yoke and the inside of the yoke becomes the facing for the top of the skirt because there is no waistband. I wanted to line the skirt and when I have done this before, I have had to rig up a lining because the pattern doesn't call for one. As I was making this skirt now for the third time, I suddenly realized that I could attach the lining to the yoke facing and when the yoke gets all attached to the skirt itself, the lining will hang down and hide all the inside seams, including the bottom of the yoke facing which the pattern instructions don't say to finish in any way. I know I am a little obsessed about finishing the inside of garments but it seems to give me peace of mind so I'll continue doing it.

Peach (in more ways than one) cotton shirt and skirt

I decided that I will make a shirt next, because I can use another plain shirt (as opposed to yet another one made from a print). I have several from the olden days but they are the kind that you tuck in and that isn't the style these day. Plus my skirts are without waistbands and that look doesn't lend itself to having shirts tucked in either. And when I got the raw silk, I also picked up for next to nothing this peach coloured cotton with 3% Lycra in it and it has not been put away and so is begging to be made into something.

The right side has a subtle tone-on-tone stripe and when I was smoothing out the fabric on the table, getting ready to pin the pattern pieces on it, I felt a slight nap to it too.

When I washed it with the silk, even though I also put the cotton in the dryer, it came out covered in lint. I had to use the lint brush over every inch of the fabric, on both sides. So I ironed it also, on the one side, after I had taken off the lint.

It is quite a substantial cotton and I had just enough of it that I could get a skirt out of it too, although I have decided to line the skirt as the cotton isn't that substantial. I am using tried and true Simplicity patterns, 9877 for the shirt and 9825 for the skirt.

I had purchased some pale pinky-beige lining for the silk but when I decided to make a skirt too, I looked through my stash and rediscovered some pale orangey lining that seemed to match wonderfully. So everything is cut out now and it's time to iron on the interfacing and start pinning pieces together.

Green wool suit finished

I really had very little left to do, in order to finish the jacket in the green wool. Here is the lining, being stitched in by hand.

Here's the interior of the jacket before I sewed on the buttons.

Here's a close-up of the running dog buttons I choose.

And here's the jacket, all finished! I like it. But I haven't worn it yet. Maybe tomorrow. I didn't wear it today although it was cool enough, because I wanted to take a yoga class and that meant scrunching up my work clothes into my backpack after class and walking home in my exercise gear.

Finally, I had bought a pair of pants at Winners and they were too long, so I needed to do some alterations. I still don't have a pants pattern I like and these were such a bargain at $35 - lined wool! - that I bought them. Now I've just discovered that there's a flaw in the zipper but if I need to, I can put in a new zip and still I couldn't have made them for less.