Reverse Scarf Sleeve May 13, 2008

On my latest wrap dress I wanted to do something different with the sleeve that was interesting but not too fussy. As I was trying to go to sleep one night, it hit me: taking the scarf sleeve and turning it around into a split sleeve! Still covered, still cool, just a little different. The pattern alterations are easy! You are basically splitting the sleeve straight down the shoulder line to the hem, removing the flare from the underarm and adding it to the new seam. I also thought it would be nice to eliminate the unnecessary underarm seam so I simply lapped the front and back at the seamline (since this sleeve will have a lot of movement I didn’t want a serged seam showing under the arm). Don’t forget to add a seam allowance to the new seam. The only drawback is that this sleeve cannot be set in flat, it must be set in the round.

ORIGINAL SLEEVE:

NEW SLEEVE:

COMPARED TO ORIGINAL BACK SLEEVE CAP:

COMPARED TO ORIGINAL FRONT SLEEVE CAP:

To sew this, simply stitch from the shoulder point down as far as desired - purely personal preference, I sewed down about 3.5″ to the point where the sleeve starts to flare out. If you wanted it more open you could start the flare higher. Once that is sewn finish and turn up the hems and you are ready to set the sleeve. To reinforce this area, I sewed through a small square of stay tape. You could also fuse a tiny bit of interfacing over the stitching line to give it a bit of strength.

If you look closely at my pattern you will see that I have a 1/4″ seam allowance in the cap and 5/8″ everywhere else. Knit sleeves are just so much easier to set with a 1/4″ seam allowance especially if they are set in flat. Remember that the armscye seam allowance will need to be reduced as well.

I am sometimes asked why I bother to leave the 5/8″ seam allowance at the side seams instead of trimming them down to 1/4″ to make serging easier. Well, I am not a big fan of serged side seams on knit dresses (or long skirts and pants) as they tend to draw up. Instead, I sew the standard seam with a tiny zigzag - stretching the seam a little as I sew - and press it open. This gives a nice flat seam. The unfinished edges are perfectly acceptable to me. It is more important to me to retain the fluidity of the knit than to have a serged finish.

THE FINISHED SLEEVE!

Notice that I stitched across at the top of the split - I HATE IT and don’t know what I was thinking! I’ll go ahead and wear the dress tomorrow night and then remove that stitching and stitch all the way up to the shoulder on each side. My topstitching also looks crooked but it isn’t, that’s just the way the sleeve is hanging. You know if it was I’d rip it all out and start over.

To see the completed dress along with the accessories I chose to wear with it and get the fabric information, please visit my personal blog, Behind The Seams.

Banded surplice neckline May 4, 2008

As promised, here is a quickie tutorial for adding a band to the neckline of a surplice top as I did on my Cosmopolitan Dress. I love this type of finish because it is so easy and neat.

STEP 1: Once you determine the finished width of your band you will need to cut down the front neckline. My band is 1″ wide so I altered the neckline as follows:

- 1/4″ seam allowance already on my pattern
- 1″ finished band width
+ 1/4″ seam for attaching band to neckline
——-
- 1″ total removed from neckline

STEP 2: Measure the length of the neckline *on the seamline*. Yes, the photo shows me measuring at the cut edge - I was trying to pose with the left hand while the right was operating the camera! The length of the actual band will depend on a) the stretchiness of your fabric and b) your bust size. I initially cut my band 2″ shorter than the neckline but that turned out to be too long so I cut another inch off.

STEP 3: Draft band pattern: cut pattern twice the finished width (two x 1″=2″) plus *two* seam allowances ( two x 1/4″=1/2″) by the length determined in STEP 2. The bands should be cut with the greatest amount of stretch along the long edges.

Sewing is easy: fold the band wrong sides together, lengthwise. Stretch to fit neckline, serge. If you are unsure about the length of your band you should check the fit by basting it in first. I’ve done this so much that I can judge it by feel alone. If you are worried about everything being perfect even you can quarter-mark the neckline and the band. I don’t feel it’s really necessary to do that because the distance is short. Once you’ve done your permanent stitching press the seam allowances towards the garment.

I elected not to run the band around the back neckline because a) it’s easier and b) I have long hair and no one will ever see it anyway.

I serged elastic into the back neckline. To finish everything neatly sew your shoulder seams (which I cut down to 1/4″) making sure the back neckline goes 1/4″ past the finished band. Turn the back neckline snugly over the band and serge. If you are having trouble visualizing this and own Jalie 2449 it is the same finishing method. Hopefully the photos are pretty clear.

HP Cosmopolitan Dress with scarf sleeves May 2, 2008

So, here is the completed HP Cosmopolitan dress! I am currently looking for a job and this dress will work nicely in a professional environment. South Florida is very casual - even my best friend who is a senior partner in a law firm only wears suits for court. I plan on wearing it with these very comfortable, conservative Via Spiga pumps but to rock it out a little I added a beautiful mabe pearl necklace on a black leather choker. All-out conservative is just not me!

This weekend I will be posting a quickie tutorial on how to finish the neckline with bands - so easy! so fast!

You can see how easily this dress could also go out to dinner after work with a simple change of shoes! For more information about the fabrics I used, please visit my Behind The Seams blog.

Mitered Hem - HP Cosmopolitan Dress April 30, 2008

I just adore the Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Cosmopolitan Dress and have made it several times. The scarf-style shorter sleeve is especially nice because it is covered up yet still cool enough for our steamy South Florida weather.

To achieve a really nice, neat finish on this type of sleeve it is necessary to miter the hem. This is extremely easy to do and, in my opinion, best worked out on the pattern before the garment is cut. Do this once and you’ll never have to think about it again!

The first step is to mark the hemline at the bottom of the sleeve and on the slit - in this case, 5/8″.

Next, fold up one hem allowance,

then the other. You can already see how much bulk you would need to deal with here if you were to not miter the hem.

Draw a line from the point where the hems intersect to the foldline (point). Carefully lift the top layer and mark a dot at the intersection on the underlayer.

Here I have drawn both lines from hem intersection to foldline in red. These are the seamlines.

You will need to add a seam allowance - I have added 1/4″ here.

Then trim off the excess beyond the seam allowance.

After finishing the hem edges as desired (I’ve just serged) simply line up these two edges and sew your 1/4″ seam.

Trim away the bulk at the point - this is especially important on a very peaked hem such as this.

Here is the finished miter, before pressing. Your point presser comes in really handy for pressing the seam open before turning. If you don’t have one you can use your bamboo point turner. It’s neat, bulk-free and very easy to do! I’ll post a photo of the completed dress as soon as I finish up.

Vintage Bonanza - Part 1 April 26, 2008

My mother came for a visit last week, and she brought two suitcases of patterns that belonged to my grandmother Della Vestcyk.  What a treasure trove!  Most of them will end up on Ebay, although I did keep a handful.  So for the next few days I’ll share with you the ones I kept, and when my mother begins to  list them on Ebay I’ll make an announcement here on Sewing Divas.  All of them are in bust sizes 34-36-38. 

The collection spans the 1930’s to the 70’s and in addition to the Big 4 there are several smaller pattern companies, some I’ve seen before like Marian Martin and Parade, and others I’ve never heard of, such as Modes Royale and The Book of Fashion. 

Modes Royale No. 438 - 1947

This style was my mother’s high school graduation gown. Modes Royale appears to have been a semi-custom pattern company, and notice the price on the envelope is $2.00 - a huge sum of money for a pattern when most of them were only $.25 apiece.  The envelope is really large, about the size of today’s Vogue Designer patterns.  I doubt I’ll ever sew this one, but I had to have it because it was made for my mother, by my grandmother.

Simplicity 2617 - Early 1950’s

I really love both of these; the details are so different.  The one on the left is just about my ideal summer dress, I think it would look great in seersucker or madras plaid, and the style on the right would look great in red or pumpkin wool crepe for the fall and winter.

The Book of Fashion No. 2817 - Early 1950’s

This jacket reminds me of Vogue 7908, a modern Claire Shaeffer pattern.  The side hip buttons are very cool and the jacket and blouse version would also look great and very modern with wide leg pants.

Vogue 6995 - 1950

This one has a copyright date, which is missing from most of the collection.  I love this so much I’m tempted to see if Vogue would be interested in adding it to the Vintage Vogue collection.  This is one of those styles that is timeless and universally flattering to just about everyone.  In addition to being a lovely summer dress, the bodice could also be made in white and the skirt in black for a faux skirt & blouse look.  Add the jacket in the same fabric as the skirt and you have a very Chanel-like look from her 1953 comeback collection.

The Elusive Birkin? Not So Much. April 17, 2008

Today’s Boston Globe has a very amusing story about the Birkin, a handbag whose legendary exclusiveness is firmly quashed in the story.

And if you like Posh’s Roland Mouret dress Burda WOF did a pretty good knock-off. 

Erica’s version is really hot!

Shopping - Not Child’s Play April 15, 2008

I was on a sewing forum this week and read a post from a woman very frustrated because she needed to buy clothes for a job interview, and couldn’t find anything appropriate for her age and in her size.

Why do we have so much choice yet it is so hard to find flattering clothes?

Shopping used to be a pastime for me, but as I’ve gotten older, had kids and became jaded and cynical, I’ve had to develop a system for shopping, and it’s this:

• Never shop under a deadline or under pressure (wedding, job interview); it’s as bad as trying to grocery shop when you’re hungry.
• Do way more looking and trying-on then buying.  If I don’t feel 100% good about something I won’t buy it regardless of the price.
• I tend to decide in advance what I want, and then go look for it.  I spent an entire year searching for the perfect pair of black knee high spike heel boots.
  
• Anything I buy needs to work with at least two things I already own.
  
• It has to fit; I’ll take up a hem, but if anything needs more alteration than that I’d rather just make it myself.  Besides, in modern RTW there is no extra fabric for alterations anyway.
  
• I shop alone – it’s not a social thing for me and I get more accomplished on my own.

 

Right now I’m looking for dark wash trouser jeans – stay tuned; the hunt is on!

Spring is Here! April 10, 2008

Today I was meeeting a friend for lunch and wore my Hot Patterns Geisha Girl Jacket.

Vogue 1048 - Chado Ralph Rucci Embellishment April 5, 2008

Man, sewing blogs and forums are on fire over the two Chado Ralph Rucci patterns added by Vogue last week!

I got mine yesterday, and the instruction sheet reveals this pattern to be even more interesting than I imagined. The embellishment is beautiful, and it’s typical Rucci; he has often used self-fabric braid and bullion stitches in his couture collections. 

 

In the example above bullions are used to connect the irregular pattern pieces.

On Vogue 1048 bullion stitches attach the braid to the hem of the dress; and I can say from experience that this is a stitch you should definitely practice in a hoop before you try it free hand.  It’s considered an advanced hand embroidery stitch, and like all hand embroidery sucess relies on thread tension and consistency.   Also, on a technical note, a bullion stitch is impossible to do neatly with anything other than a milliner needle. 

Milliner needles have very small eyes and are the same diameter all along the length; they don’t taper much at the point.  They are hard to thread, so I always use a threader.   Milliners come in different sizes, a thicker one will make a fatter bullion.

The small eye makes it much easier to pull the wrapped threads off of the needle and onto the inner supporting thread when forming the bullion, and you should  make the exact same number of wraps for each bullion.  Here’s a link to a bullion stitch tutorial that is much more thorough than the one in the pattern instructions.  You’ll see how to form the stitch correctly, and there are examples of bullion stitches done incorrectly.  However there is one glaring mistake to note:  the wrong type of needle is shown in the tutorial!  They show a tapestry needle (note the long and wide eye) - trust me, if you try to use a tapestry needle, or any needle other than a milliner for a bullion you won’t be able to pull the thread wraps off the needle.

I have one other major disagreement with the instruction sheet, which implies that buttonhole twist is a good thread for bullions.  It’s fine to use that for the topstiching, but the best looking bullions are made from a single strand, non-divisible thread such as floche.  Regular six strand floss can be substituted, but use three strands instead of six.  Nordic Needle is a good source for floche and milliner needles.

On the braid, 2mm cord or rattail might be a substitute for the fashion fabric bias tubes if the thought of cranking out yards and yards of hand made bias tubing is a little daunting to you (it is to me!)

I’m still thinking about how my version will look; I think this dress in a dark wash denim with jute topstitching, ball buttons and braid  would be great.  Rucci rarely uses prints, but I can see this in seersucker with white topstitching, ball buttons and braid (Ann has a great green and white seersucker on Gorgeous Fabrics). Rattail cord has a shiney surface so there I’d stick with a polished cotton or a linen for contrast and tone-on-tone color between the embellishment and the fashion fabric.

This design is really beautiful and I hope it’s a sign that Vogue has finally got their mojo back for the designer pattern collection.

 

Overstating the Obvious April 3, 2008

Oprah looks incredible in each of these photos.