Vests and the next project

I don't think I posted a photo of the blue wool vest I made. I hadn't decided on the buttons, the last time I posted. I went with the same clear plastic button as I used on the jacket of the same fabric. I also made real welt pockets. I love wee, vest pockets! Here is the newest vest (waistcoat to my English readers), made from the beautiful but thick, orange Italian wool I got from Darrell's and from which I also made a jacket (but maybe didn't blog about - I can't find an appropriate entry anyway). In spite of loving vest pockets, I didn't make them on this one because the wool is too substantial and would only cause me more grief than they are worth. I used the fabulous printed lining from the pink raw silk jacket. I put in a piece of elastic at the back waist so the garment would have a bit of shape. Next, I have been wanting to make a fitted jacket with a peplum for some time, and I got this Vogue pattern because of the jacket. I believe I am too short/small to wear the full skirt, as much as I might like it. But the jacket appeals to me. I got a remnant of some plaid wool at Darrell's this summer but I may have been dreaming in technicolor to think that all the pieces of this jacket would fit onto the fabric, especially as the plaid is about 4 inches on a side! The extra fabric required for the peplum might sink using the plaid for this jacket pattern. I have to go back upstairs now to play around with it all.

Not another pink jacket!?

So there I was, having finished the reversible pink jacket, wondering what to do next. I got out my new Badgley Mischka pattern, thinking I would use it to make the raw silk fabric that I've had for ages, into a Chanel-like jacket.

I even got new fabric, so I could make it the first time without using expensive or coveted fabric and not worry about having it turn out poorly. But the idea of the stand-up collar didn't sit well with the loose, scratchy silk fabric.

Then I found myself thinking ahead to the weekend, when we are attending a wedding. It's not like I have nothing to wear! I got out the linen dress and jacket I made last year and wore at the Pink Tea. I wasn't happy about how high the slit in the back went. At the time, I sewed it down so it wasn't so long. But I felt nervous about what might happen if I bent over - would my underwear show?

So I jury-rigged a box pleat over the open slit.

I cut a piece of fabric about 16 inches wide, so it would form a deep pleat in the back. I figured out how to attach it to the existing opening.

And now my dress has a nice big pleat in the back!

Something prompted me to pull out my well-used vest pattern and I dug out the little bit of left-over pale blue wool from the suit I had just made. I knew when I cut the suit out, that I had just enough fabric for a vest. It might be a bit 80s but I don't care - I really like a vest as it gives me a bit of extra coverage and warmth without being a whole jacket.

And vest are such fun to make! Almost like baby clothes, because they are small and fast.

I even made real, working welt pockets, just for fun. When I made the suit, I speculated about brass buttons but ended up with clear plastic which I still like. I got out a treasure trove of metal buttons I have to see if they might work on the vest. I don't think the gold works but the silver might. I only have one of the silver button that I do like (third from the left at the top - I used them on another wool vest I wear a lot), so I'll have to go shopping. Making that vest reminded me that I had just enough orange wool to make another vest so I pulled out the wool, the raw silk, the lining I had bought for the silk, and some other pieces that might serve as vest lining. Another embarrassment of riches! I got out the first and only jacket I have made with New Look 6619. Tried it on and it fits nicely. So I made a command decision to cut out the silk and be done with it. I got the lining a couple of years ago at Darrell's, specifically with this silk in mind. It is substantial fabric in some man-made fabric (acetate or polyester, I can't remember), and funky fun with the print on it. As I was cutting, I realized it would work equally well with the orange wool for lining.

Here is the original plan, with the silk and the printed lining.

And here is the jacket body, on the judy. I have fused interfacing to the entire front and around the back neck edge. The fabric is a loose weave so it will benefit from this. I have already started to sew the lining pieces together. As Hannibal Smith used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Reversible jacket finished

My pink reversible jacket is done!

I am especially pleased with how comfortable it is. It is soft and cozy and unrestricting. I decided in the end to sew on large snaps as fasteners. I had thought of using the hammer-on snaps, knowing they would show on the outside of the garment but when it occurred to me that I could sew them on inside the fronts, I realized they would not show on the outside and so make the reversibility even less obvious. I had some 11 mm snaps but went out and got the biggest sew-on snaps they had - the 15 mm variety.

Going back to where I left off, I did a flat fell of the entire underarm seam (as usual). This jacket has to look as good on the blue side as the pink side. The fabric is a little bulky, being double-sided, but it isn't as stiff as 10 ounce denim so it wasn't that difficult.

It's always fun to sew down into the tube of the sleeve and come out at the far end of the sleeve. I put this photo in for a friend in my writers group who sewed his own shirt recently and wondered how flat felling this seam worked.

I made a sort of "couture" hem on the back (and then the sleeves). I used a single layer of the pink fabric that I got from the selvages and folded it over the raw edge of the hem. This photo is at the back where the side seams meet and the front bands end. On the right, everything is unfolded and on the left, I have started to pin everything down for top stitching.

Here are the cuffs, before and during hemming. Another friend said I should make turned-up cuffs in the contrasting colour, even though I made a point of really limiting the amount of contrast elsewhere on the jacket. I thought she was right.

Here's the jacket, almost finished (I haven't sewed the snaps on yet) with the cuffs turned up. Now that I have been nominated the next president of the board at BCA, it will be nice to have another bright pink jacket to wear for certain occasions. Breast cancer has surely appropriated the colour pink and it will serve to promote our charity.

An embarrassment of riches

Now that I've finished the red linen outfit, I am on to new things. I have been thinking about this double-sided (two layered) fabric I bought some years ago after I won a gift certificate to spend at Fabricland.

It's a thin layer of denim embroidered to a thin layer of bright pink cotton. In addition, there are frayed flower shapes on the denim, which actually make it less sturdy. My plan is to make a reversible jacket, even though I will probably wear the denim side out most of the time. But making it reversible will allow me to have a bright pink jacket for the times that I want one. Now that I'm doing a fair bit of breast cancer awareness work, I suppose the pink will come in handy, although I bought it years before I even got diagnosed. I'm planning to use the Butterick 4741 pattern I used for the bright yellow twill jacket I wore to France in 2008, but adapt it with plain sleeves (no cuffs or placket) and a one piece front so the jacket can be truly reversible.

While I was hauling the denim out of the stash, I re-discovered all these other fabrics too! Hence the title of this post.

Speaking of France 2008, here are four of the Provencal cottons I got on that trip. I think I will make either shirts or skirts out of them. They are not heavy weight fabric and will probably wear forever as shirts. Delicious looking!

Then there are these lengths of rayon of the soft, challis variety. I bought the two complementary blue ones on the left side and have made a dress out of the larger print already, with accents in the small, geometric print. So now I have to make something with the geometric print. This fabric is actually stiffer than the other rayons and seems to have more dye in it or something. It has a batik look to it. I am thinking I should make dresses out of this fabric, as it is lightweight and drapes well. My only "issue" is that I don't really have much need for dresses - I can get more wear out of shirts. On the other hand, if you build it, they will come. Maybe if I make dresses, I will find places I can wear them!

Anyway, all this to say that I am still sewing up my stash - no new fabric for me! And I write this to help myself resist going and getting this green polka-dot fabric I saw when I was getting the lining for the red outfit. It reminded me of this cute shirt dress I had when I first went to law school, that I wore with a pink jacket. That was 1981 folks. Good times.

Red linen dress and jacket

Into the home stretch! I have to wear it in two days, so I'd better be getting finished. On the Friday, some of us going to the charity event went to choose jewelry for our outfits. A jewelry designer (Karen McClintock) is showcasing her work at the charity event and some of us at BCA get to wear pieces as models. Our Executive Director found the perfect piece of clear gold Swarovski crystals necklace with matching earrings and bracelet for my outfit. I can wear the bracelet to good effect because the sleeves on the jacket are three-quarter length. I'll try to get photos on Thursday, of the whole ensemble.

Here's the dress, with the lining and the facing, ready to sew together. I wanted the lining to end up with the wrong side of it touching the wrong side of the dress and the black facings on the inside of the dress where they belong. I was successful!

Here, I've sewn them all together and I'm reaching under the facing to pull the individual dress back pieces out through the facings. Looks like a weird glove, but it's not. Also, I didn't realize how hairy my arms are! I should take a loofa to them.

Once I had turned the dress right-side-out, I put it on the dummy to ascertain how I should fasten the side seams together. It all worked out as I had imagined.

I pinned the dress (linen) side seams together and continued pinning down the sides of the lining, catching the black facings in with the lining. Then I sewed all down the sides of the dress and the lining in one go.

Rather than top stitching around the facings, I under-stitched them so they would lie flat and not creep out from under the dress. There's more under-stitching in a minute.

Once I got all the pieces of the dress sorted out, I put the zipper down the back, leaving the facings and lining free. Once the zipper was in, I sewed the bottom of the back centre seam on the lining and hand sewed the edges of the lining to the zipper tape, enclosing the raw inside of the dress in the lining. I've also hand sewed the hem but still have to tack the lining to the dress at the one side seam split I left for freer walking.

I decided I would go ahead and make unlined pockets for the jacket. I had a couple of small pieces left over - scraps really - and just enough for pockets.

Ironing those rounded corners can get very tricky without burning your fingers so I hold down the fabric with pins, do an initial press and then take the pins out and press the pockets and pound them with a clapper.

After the pockets were sewn onto the jacket, I sewed on the black facings. The jacket is considered to be unlined, but it does have a little bit of lining at the front and a bit around the back of the neck.

Here, I am under-stitching the jacket facing. I am using black thread top and bottom so it doesn't show any red on the black linen facing. I switched to red thread for the part around the back of the neck. The spot shown here is where those seams meet at the shoulder.

Now, I have basted the lining and facing bits to the jacket at the armholes, in preparation for inserting the sleeves. I have also flat felled all the seams that will show on the inside of the jacket, including the sleeves, even though I wouldn't roll the sleeves up or anything. I just like to know that when I take off the jacket, if someone sees the inside, it will be as nicely finished as the outside. The hard part left is finishing the armscye seams with the flat fell. I've done it before - that's why I know it's difficult.

Figuring out Chinese characters

Yesterday, I took a photo of the gold character on the fabric and ran over to my friend May's house and asked her to tell me what it was, or at least, which way was up.

The gold one seemed to me to be the most legible of the three large characters, so I thought I'd make sure it at least, was right side up. I had already pinned the dress pattern pieces on the fabric and had made the assumption that the three strokes with the vertical line were at the bottom of the character. May looked at it and said she wasn't sure what it was exactly, but she was pretty sure that the three lines would be at the top of the character, not the bottom.

Later, May came over with a book of Chinese characters and I spent some time poring over them. It is possible that the gold character is "biao" or "manifest" (show), although I don't know why that would be on fabric. I think that fabric is more likely to have zodiac characters, or words like "love" or "soup". [This is a reference to one of my favourite shows "Big Bang Theory" and the episode in which Sheldon asks Penny why she has a tattoo of "soup" on her hip. She says it is "courage", not "soup". It is discussed more here and someone has even posted a GIF of the two characters here.]

I couldn't manage to get the pattern pieces for the jacket with the pleat in the back to fit on the fabric, after I had pinned the dress on, even when I eliminated the pleat. So I went with a tried and true pattern, Simplicity 4698, which has lots of smaller pattern pieces that I can juggle around.

I managed to squeeze them all on there. At least, I got the main pieces on.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to get them all on, so I bought some black linen for all the facings. I am making the jacket with no collar but it has large front facings. Also, the dress has facings all around the top edges. I toyed with the idea of red linen facings but thought the black would make a nice contrast and then I wouldn't have to match the red. I also bought plain red lining as I have decided it will be best to line the entire dress. It kind of negates the point of linen being worn when it's hot but this is pretty substantial linen and I think the dress will hang much better lined.

Finally, instead of a back vent, I am going to make a side slit at the bottom of the dress. I made a back vent the first time I made this dress (last January, also in linen) and I wasn't happy with how it rode up when I bent over. I know I can just avoid bending over, but with the Chinese fabric and everything, I thought a side vent or slit would work.

The red Chinese linen

I have decided to whip up a dress and hopefully some kind of jacket combo in the red linen.

My big problem to start with, is that I don't know which way is "up"!

I remember the student who gave me this as a present, told me that one of the characters was "horse". I think it's that block at the bottom, which means that it is right side up. But I can't identify the other two big block characters - the other red one and the gold one. Does any reader here know? All the little gold characters go both ways, so it doesn't matter for them.

My other problem is getting a jacket out of the fabric. It is nice and wide and I am not worrying about matching characters and I am sure I can get a short sleeve (if not a 3/4 sleeve) out of it. But it's going to be tight. (Don't worry - I will make sure the pattern pieces are all the same way up, not like they are in the photo!)

I'm going to make this Vogue dress again. I made it last year in linen and wore it to a fundraiser as it was a hot day. I want to wear the red linen to the same fundraiser this year but I have no idea what the weather will be. It's at the end of April which shouldn't be that hot and it's freezing right now. I have another unlined jacket pattern that is much closer fitting (uses less fabric) so I'll see after I sort things out, which one it will be.

Finally, I made some pot holders for the wedding gifts and now I just have to decide how to wrap them. If I can't find the right sized box, I think I will go with the tried-and-true gift bag.

Wool suit

I am doing pretty well in the fabrication of the suit.

I decided on this skirt pattern, even though it is a-line and the fabric has stripes. It is a comfortable skirt, easily lined and wears well.

I got all the pieces cut out. The skirt has four gores and two pieces for the yoke and then there's the lining. The jacket has lots of pieces! Each sleeve has two, the back has four, there are facings and the collar, and then there is the lining.

I'm making the patch pockets as I did for the red wool of the same pattern (see previous entry). I may have just enough of this blue wool left over for a vest but that will wait until I get these main two pieces finished. I found my "old" (1995) inspiration book for vests recently (I was hunting for printer paper) and suddenly, I am motivated to make more vests. I have quite a few already but I do wear them, especially when I'm wearing a dress shirt with a skirt. A vest adds a layer of warmth without being as warm as a whole jacket.

I have the body of the jacket done and the sleeves are ready to attach. The gores of the skirt are sewn together and I discovered that I had a matching skirt zipper in my stash, so I don't even need to go out for that. The only thing I'll go buy for this will be the buttons - I don't think I have anything that will work, although I will check of course. I wonder if brass or gold buttons would work?