Marfy 3248 Skirt- my first experience with Marfy and the Fifth Item of my Spring 6PAC

I bought the latest Marfy catalogue earlier this year as I was looking for an outfit for my son’s wedding. Although the catalogue is fairly expensive you get 6 free multisize patterns with it. I was attracted to the A line skirt with zipped pockets.

Although there are no instructions with Marfy patterns, the pattern pieces have letters at critical points to help assembly. I did have to think deeply about the zipped pocket assembly.

I decided that the right way to do it was to sew one pocket piece to the lower skirt panel and one to the upper skirt panel.The zips are sandwiched between the layers. Initially I wasn’t going to put in the zips but when I had sewn all the panels together( and topstitched them) the pockets drooped horribly. I had to unpick the pockets and hand sew in the zips, as I couldn’t face unpicking the topstitching. They haven’t turned out too badly.

I chose a wine linen fabric and lined it with the same colour lining.

I’m wearing it with the sewaholic alma blouse. I’m pleased with the fit and it is very comfortable. I cut a size 46 which in Marfy sizing is a 30″waist and 39.5″ hip. As it had curved panels as well as side seams I let each seam out by 1/4″ from high hip level and this gave enough seat room.  It will be a mainstay of my summer wardrobe this year. I think I’ll make a denim one for the winter as well, and see if I can achieve a perfect zip pocket as well as fine tuning the back waist.

I like the curved side panels, and am pleased with how the topstitching turned out. I added a inch in length and it’s my ideal, so the model in the drawing has incredibly long legs!

That’s the last item I will be sewing in my Spring wardrobe so it has turned into a 5PAC, but all the pieces are wearable.

 

Catch up

It’s been a long while since I posted anything!I submit the following reasons in mitigation.

1. Weather, the light levels have been appalling this year. 2. We are refurbishing the bathroom, which apparently means every room in the house is upside down. There was a bath in the dining room for a week.It is really difficult to find anywhere to take a photo. 3. I started to make a skirt for my 6PAC but it wasn’t working so it’s in a heap. 4. I decided I should start my Mother of the Groom outfit, which is a really ambitious one, and has been causing me endless difficulties.

Anyhow, I have completed a garment. Here is a pair of Jalie 2908 jeans. They are the lower rise view, and I made the legs much narrower. I haven’t changed anything to my pattern since I made a blue denim pair last year. They look a bit long, but I want to wash them a couple of times before finally hemming them. I left off the rivets and topstitched in cream thread.

The sweater is from Let’s Knit magazine in Wendy merino wool. I changed the neckline a bit by making the shoulders wider as a boat neck woolly is not to my taste. It’s very comfortable, and just a little springlike.

I’ve been thinking about signing up for Me Made May’13, and have finally decided to take the pledge at the eleventh hour. It does encourage me to find new combinations and see where the gaps in my wardrobe are.

 ’I, (Susan of starryfishathome), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear at least one item of handmade clothing each day for the duration of May 2013. I will also take photos every time I leave the house’

I’ll post about my Mother of the Groom outfit shortly!

 

Spring 2013 6PAC 4th Item- Sewaholic Alma Top

Moving swiftly on from the failed jacket, I made up a cotton voile Sewaholic Alma in two afternoons.

Much better, a pattern that obeys me. I made view B with elbow length sleeves and collar. I made a self fabric collar not a contrast, as I didn’t have any contrast fabric and anyway it looks fine the way it is. The fabric is an Anna Maria Horner cotton voile and feels wonderful. I have made the long sleeve version previously and found I can get it over my head without undoing the zip, so I didn’t  bother with putting one in. That made making it much simpler.

I decided to change the facings for a bias binding, and got an excellent result. I used the method that Burdastyle recommended for a blouse in last years issue. ( Comprehensible instructions that time). Cut a bias strip 4cm wide and as long as the neckline  (plus a little overlap). Press in half lengthways. Pin to the neckline on top of the collar piece and stitch. I pressed a fold over at the beginning of the strip and then when I got back to it I sewed the end inside. Press and then fold the strip over the raw edge. Sew it down and you have a very neat finish.

I’m going to enjoy wearing this just as soon as I can do so without courting hypothermia!  Also, I really would like better light for photos.

Burdastyle: You are straining my trust in you.

Since I discovered Burdastyle I have sewn some lovely things, and all in all have not had too much difficulty with the instructions. I have pored over the pictures trying to make out the design lines beneath the styling. I have struggled over the multisquiggles that they call the pattern sheets.

However this last fortnight I have had my heart broken strength of will tested. As part of my spring 6PAC I wanted to make the biker jacket in the March 2013 edition. It has nice lines and I liked the padded topstitched sections. I was using some heavy tweedy jersey which I thought should work.

There are a lot of pieces to the jacket, but all went well until I got to the collar. I just could not get it all to fit together. It is shown as a notched collar, but there are collar stand pieces which don’t seem to belong. The instructions are so wordy but unclear, that I could not work out how to do it. I took it apart and tried again without the collar stand, still no luck.

I have looked at several notched collar jackets and can’t find one with a collar stand, so I am really puzzled. Anyway, the jersey fabric was not really robust enough to stand up to being unpicked repeatedly, so I have binned it. I like the style of jacket but I don’t have the heart to try again.

I have had a success with a dress for my daughter from the September 2012 issue, however.

Burdastyle 09-2012-123

I made this from textured black jersey and some of the tweedy jersey from my jacket project. The design had cut on cap sleeves but my daughter is as chilly in winter as me, so she wanted longer sleeves. I redrafted the armhole by copying from a jersey top in the same issue, and used the sleeve from the top but made it bracelet length.

The pattern was really hard to trace because of the centre panel and the darts. It took ages! The original design was in technical poplin, whatever that is, but I chose thick jersey. The centre panel was supposed to be stitched onto the dress front, but I decided to make a separate panel sewn to side panels. I lined it with a stretch lining.

My daughter likes it. I shall persist with Burdastyle but I’m still puzzling over the collar stand!

I have to crack on with my 6PAC, as I have a wedding outfit to sew for June 8! I’ve finally chosen the fabric and pattern, and will be posting about this soon.

 

Spring 2013- 6PAC – progress so far

I haven’t posted much lately, partly because I have been sewing for other people and have almost no pictures to show, and partly because I’ve been huddled in my cave waiting for spring!  Anyway I decided to properly participate in the Stitchers Guild 6PAC this season.

This season the idea is to make a top, bottom and jacket or cardigan in a neutral, a top and bottom in a colour and a top in a linking print.
My plan was to make some slim leg ankle length trousers in black, with a black top, a skirt and top in dark red and a jacket in black tweedy jersey, with a linking blouse in red and black.

So far I have made the top and trousers in black and a top in maroon.

Burda 7447 trousers and Burdastyle 2-2013-127 top

I loved this Burdastyle top with ruched sleeves when I got my copy of the February magazine. My version differs in that I remembered to wear my undies and it’s in viscose not silk jersey. I shall be making further ones, maybe in contrast sleeves like some other sewists.

Burda 7447 trousers and Maria Denmark Day to Night top

I added elbow sleeves to the Maria Denmark Day to Night top as that was all I could squeeze out of the fabric I had left after making my daughter a top.( See projects 2013 page for a picture). It’s a nice easy top, simple to make and the cowl is not revealing.

I went back to the Burda 7447 trouser pattern again and morphed my Butterick 5760 leg and bottom fitting onto it. I slimmed the legs down as far as I dared so I could wear them ankle length. I think they turned out quite well although the back view is not quite as good as I could wish. I made them from a non stretch black chino cotton, so I can’t get them any slimmer fitting if I want to sit down.

I was pleased with the welt pockets, they came out well!

Of course, I have already changed my mind about some of the other items, so I’ll keep you posted. Now if the weather will relent soon I’ll be able to wear these in Spring!

Burda 7130 Coat

I wanted to make a proper winter coat this season, and found this Burda pattern was just what I was looking for. It has a high collar to keep out the wind and it’s nice and long.

I found some nice camel wool on Ebay and decided on faux Chinchilla for the collar and cuffs (also bought on Ebay).

I cut a size 38 grading to 42 at the hip, and made a muslin(of course). This showed me I needed to narrow the front shoulder and narrow the entire back. I also had a bit of swayback. Naturally none of this was a surprise, so I removed 1/2″ from the front, a 1/2″ strip from each back panel, and 1″ swayback from just above the waist. I added this back the hem at the bottom. This seems to be my standard alteration package from Burda and Burdastyle, so at least that shows consistent drafting. I had to shorten the coat by 5inches, those models are tall!

The instructions are fairly clear, but I wouldn’t want to make a coat without additional resources.When making a coat or jacket I turn to my favourite book on Tailoring-available on Amazon!

The order of construction on this coat is slightly different in that you do not assemble the bodice and then attach the skirt. Because there are seams to match up, the centre back bodice is attached to the centre panels of the skirt first. The bodice darts needed adjusting to line up with the front skirt seam. All the other seams matched up.

I decided to make bound buttonholes instead of snap fasteners as suggested for view B, as I can’t find any nice ones. I tried experimenting by covering with lining fabric but so far my results look dreadful. This pattern has the facing as part of the front so there is no separate piece. This made it easier to line up the buttonholes with their facing windows! The bound buttonholes and the facing windows were made before I sewed the bodice to the skirt.

I added extra tailoring by including a back stay and taping the back neck for stability.

I also made a chest piece from the same fusible interfacing used on the facing and hems.

My newest technique required the sacrifice of two of my husband’s silk ties. I cannibalised them for the interfacing (he hasn’t noticed yet.) I wanted to try this way of easing in the sleeves, and I was amazed. The technique is clearly explained in the book, you cut a 12″ x 2″ true bias strip and sew it to the inside of the sleeve head, pulling on the strip and pushing on the sleeve which pulls the sleeve seam in that crucial bit. You then sew in the sleeve as usual.

It was so easy to do, and for the first time in ages both sleeves went in first time. I’m really pleased with them, they are the best I’ve ever done.

I made my own shoulder pads as shown on Brian Sews . 

I used a piece of the coat material for the final layer as it is so stable.

I have never used faux fur before,but it turned out to be quite easy. Of course the fur covers up any irregularity in the seams. My machine coped ( just) with the thickness, although I had to help it along by pulling on the fur. I made the collar the original height, but when I tried it on, I looked ridiculous. I just don’t have the swan neck of the models on the envelope. I sewed another seam losing over an inch in height; that was much better.

I was pleased with the way the buttonholes turned out, the facings look quite good, but still room for improvement.

You can see the pockets here, they are quite big enough to put your hands in, but look discreet.

I’m very pleased with this coat; I got the accolade of “Very Nice” from Mr Starryfish!

Stand up straight, Woman! The hem is actually level.

I had some fur left over so I looked around for a pattern for a hat. Sew2Pro has a simple one. It took me only an hour and half to make this lovely one.

So here I am ready for more snow! It’s very cosy to wear, and not as heavy as I thought it would be.

 

 

 

 

 

New Trousers- A long journey

I have been wanting some properly fitting slim legged trousers for months; the Knipmode pair I made last spring do not come into that category. They were too baggy around the thighs even after I took in about 2 inches from their outer seams. I thought that Burda 7447 was a style that I could use.

I made a muslin, faffed about for a while letting out here, taking in there etc, etc. I enlisted the expert help of Steph of 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World and we spent the next couple of months working on another two muslins. This was rather hampered by bouts of colds, and only being able to do one email exchange a day because of the time zone differences. She encouraged me to scoop my back crotch seam more than I could have believed possible! I also removed a lot of ease from the back inseam.

Anyway by Christmas, I had achieved a smooth back thigh fit. The downside was that the trousers were absolutely skin tight and completely unflattering. (I have a folder full of pictures that I don’t believe the world is ready for). I spent some time thinking about the pattern and decided it was not going to work for me. Maybe I should try the Sewaholic Thurlow, after all it was designed for pears?

I already had another trouser pattern in my collection, Butterick 5760 which I bought for the cardigan.

They are not slim, but they are straight legged so I thought I would have a go with these and see if I could make them slimmer.

Here they are, not too bad at all! I used a black and white tweedy wool mix for some everyday winter trousers. I only have my jeans apart from these so they were badly needed.

I cut a 14 ( the largest size in the pattern I bought), and tried them in a muslin.

As I’m sure you can see the problems are:

1. Not enough hip room. 2. Baggy front. 3. Too much fabric at back thigh. 4. Not enough room for the bum. 5. Too much fabric at back waist.6. Wider than I want at the ankle.

Apart from that, I’m encouraged enough to work at it. So; 1. Added about 1/2″ to each hip outer seam. 2. Removed 1/2″ from the CF rise. 3. Took in the back inseam about 2″ at the top tapering to nothing at the knee. 4. Scooped the back crotch about 3/4″ . 5. Made the back darts bigger, and took in the CB seam about 2″. 6. Tapered both leg seams to about 1 1/2″ narrower at the ankle.

The pattern is an easy one to make and I have made enough trousers now to barely glance at the instructions. They had a good zip insertion method, which is the same one I use. Debbie Cook has a good detailed tutorial here. I did not bother with a fly shield, and did not topstitch. I also added a lining to the knee( essential in wool trousers if you have sensitive skin. The original waistband was a straight piece of fabric; I knew this would not work for me as I have to slope it in at the CB to get a proper fit. I substituted the burda one which is a 4 piece contoured band,ideal for me.

I cut the lining cross grain to leave the selvedge as a hem, and slip stitched around the zip, which left a fold at the bottom of the zip, not the neatest finish, but it wears well.

There is still some rippling on the back thigh, the lighting here is showing it up rather more than in reality. I’m treating these as a wearable muslin, but they are perfectly acceptable I think. In my next try I’ll remove a bit more from the back inseam, and try narrowing them more.

I don’t think extremely skinny trousers are for me, the colette clovers definitely aren’t. It’s asking too much of fabric to skim over my rear, cling to my legs and still be flattering. I plan to morph the features of Burda 7447 onto this block. I want to lower the waistband, use the slant pockets which are nicely drafted, and add the welt back pockets. I have some nice black  cotton drill in stash for these.

If you want to see what the Burda 7447 looks like on the right body see Sunni’s of A Fashionable Stitch . I wanted to weep when I saw her lovely red cropped pants! Oh well.

I must thank Steph for all the work she put in, I learnt a lot even though the original pattern didn’t work for me. She put me on the right path, showing me how to remove back inseam ease, realigning the CB curve, and straightening my side seams! She really knows her stuff. ( I must get round to making up my Tiramisu.)

Right, back to my winter coat, I want to wear it before the snow melts.

 

Kelly Skirt in corduroy

Kelly Skirt and Renfrew wool sweater

I started the New Year determined to make up the corduroy and wool jersey I bought in October; also I wanted to try out the Megan Neilsen pattern I bought. Here I am dressed for a snowy January day indoors! Is this really the eighth Renfrew? Anyway, it is warm and comfy and looks lovely. I adore turquoise, and there are bluey streaks in the corduroy so it goes very well with the skirt. It takes me about 3 hours to make a Renfrew cowl top from cutting out to finishing the cuffs and waistband. I made these cuffs a bit snugger by sewing a wider seam ( I have very narrow wrists).

I reluctantly removed the sweater to show off the Kelly skirt waistband. I like this skirt a lot, and will definitely make it again. It was a bit of a shock to my vanity the system to have to cut a Large to fit my hips but no one will know if I don’t tell them. The illustration appears to show a very mini skirt but maybe her model is about 6 ft tall? I added an extra 3 inches to the length to cover my knees but I could have got away with the original length in a summer skirt.

It’s a very simple shape, basically 3 rectangles of fabric and pockets. There are pleats at front and back which can’t really be seen on this photo.I needed the waistband in the medium size, so just made the pleats a little deeper to remove the excess width.

It’s a nice shape even on me.

I’m sorry about the light but this was the best I could do to show the details of the front button band. I added an extra button and reduced the spacing slightly. I also added a lining.

I made up the lining, then attached it at the waistband, and hand sewed it down the button band. You can’t see my deliberate mistake, but I cut out the fronts and then realised I should have made a new pattern piece to cover the pocket area. I cut out a shape in fabric and then sewed it to the front to cover up the gap!

This is my first Megan Neilsen pattern; the instructions were very clear and the pattern was on nice thick paper. I might try the Banksia blouse in the summer.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

Thanks to Crafting a Rainbow for her Top 5 of 2012 idea. It’s such a neat logo as well!

Here’s my top 5 Hits:

Sewaholic Renfrew Cowl top

1. Sewaholic Renfrew, I have made lots of this wonderful pattern, with a turquoise wool jersey cowl version on my sewing table at the moment. It is so comfortable; a true basic. In fact I’m wearing it now, the only different thing to the picture is my socks.

Vogue 8740

2. My apron has had constant use, I love it. It makes washing up a more cheerful event.

Colette Beignet

3. Beignet corduroy skirt. Comfortable, practical, and good looking; what I most enjoy in clothes! I also love the royal blue wool version.

4. Sewaholic Minoru Jacket- worn constantly through the spring and summer ( such as it was). I plan to make a waterproof one for my walking group.

5. Vogue 7975 fringed jacket. I have only worn this once so far, but I’m sure it will get lots of outings.

I don’t want to dwell too much on my misses, but I could mention the Lekala tops, mauve skirt, pink satin sorbetto all of which I made for the Pattern Review Fabric stash contest and never wore, the Knipmode cardigan from hell, and the Knipmode trousers with the terrible thigh wrinkles. None are complete wadders but will probably be culled when I next dive into the rear of the wardrobe.

Reflections

You can see all I made in 2012 on their own page so make your own judgements on them. Unlike many bloggers I read with pleasure, I made only two dresses this year and one of those I haven’t worn. In fact there have been so few days of good weather this year it just doesn’t seem worthwhile. On the other hand, I made four jackets and a raincoat and wore them all.

I only bought two T shirts and a jumper all year! I did buy underwear and socks though. My self made wardrobe covered all events and I don’t think people were laughing at me. I haven’t analysed what I spent, but I know I couldn’t have afforded as many RTW outfits by a long way. I don’t want to dress out of Primark, and would prefer to avoid third world exploitation stuff.

I used independent designers a lot, Burdastyle and Burda patterns as well. The only one of the big corporate companies I used was Vogue. I am wary of Simplicity, New Look etc because I have had trouble with their fit. Who needs that much ease? Sewaholic is a dream come true for the pearshaped.

I can’t express how much I have used, been inspired by, got pleasure from all the bloggers out there. I have so many bookmarked tutorials from talented people all over the globe. Sewalongs are a wonderful concept and I have enjoyed taking part in them.

My goals for 2013.

1. My son is getting married in June, so I need a Mother of the Groom outfit. I have bought the latest Marfy pattern catalogue ,and with my Daughter’s help over Christmas have picked out two or three candidates.

2. Perfect a narrow trouser TNT; I am working on this with someone you may know and hope to report progress in the next month or so.

3. Participate in Sewalongs; I find these very enjoyable and sometimes inspirational! In fact I’ve signed up for Prettynpnk’s January Jungle already. Who can resist the call of the wild?

4. Get back to the 6PAC concept, it really reduces wardrobe orphans. It also makes you think about what you really need.

5. I vowed at the beginning of 2012 to improve my finishing techniques and need to carry this through 2013. I’m getting better at not rushing, but still could do better.

See you all in 2013!

 

 

Porticus Sweater in Purple

I need sweaters! It’s winter, my DH doesn’t like the heating on in the day and it hasn’t stopped raining for weeks.

This is Porticus designed by Amy Christoffers. You can find it on Ravelry or here.      I used the DK wool I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show in October. I made a square to test gauge and used 4mm needles instead of 3.75mm. This was mainly because I don’t have any DPNs in 3.75, so I made the smallest size to compensate. It turned out fine, especially after I washed it and laid it flat to dry; calling what I did Blocking would be exaggerating.

It’s a top down knitted in the round jumper. Just the technique I like as there are no seams to sew up. I made the funnel neck a little shorter by leaving out one of the pattern repeats; I seem to have a shorter neck these days, maybe it’s the way I stand?

As usual with these types of patterns I took a couple of attempts to get started, especially at the yoke section where you increase every few stitches. I must get some more stitch markers ,but scraps of wool tied in loops works well.

It’s a pretty border pattern, she calls it staggered triangle, it’s used instead of a rib border. This means you must cast off carefully and not too tightly or the effect will be spoiled. I wouldn’t call this a easy knit, especially at the yoke, you have to count and watch the markers or the pattern will go wrong.

I’m wearing it at the moment and it is very comfortable. I may well make it in a cotton yarn and slightly bigger for a summer sweater. Now I need some more wool, I have the pattern I originally intended this wool for still to make.