Keep Coming Back [M 4385 Jacket]

There's no risk that this jacket is going to suffer from being rushed! Slow but steady progress is taking place - without neglecting everything else in life. I'd like to say that I'm just taking my time, enjoying the process and looking forward to the rewards for careful work. So.... that's what I'm sayin'!

In truth, I've never been very good at rush jobs. While I admire (envy?) sewists who can hunker down in their sewing rooms for a few hours and emerge with something wonderful and new to wear, I'm just not that kind of sewist.

I have found some inspiration to keep the process moving forward, however, on PatternReview.com. This is the "I WILL DEVOTE 2 HOURS 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR SEWING" message board. While I'm not sure I can/will sew with that kind of devotion, I love the thought. It's a departure from the "I WILL SEW 27 GARMENTS IN 2 MONTHS" or the "I WILL SEW UP AS MANY OF MY UNUSED PATTERNS AS POSSIBLE" trains of thought. Inspiration of many kinds is easily found on this site and I'm thinking this particular kind of inspiration is particularly well suited for moi!

Less goal oriented and more process oriented. Perhaps more importantly, and relevant for me, a return to the therapeutic benefits of my sewing room.

Anyway, progress is being made. I even have the skirt that will complete this outfit almost ready for hemming - Lilac Wine [S 4695]. Two things upon which to keep you posted!

Keep Coming Back [M 4385 Jacket]

I'm a Believer [BWOF 2001-02-112]

Muslins are one of those things that I've never made time for, until now.

I wanted to make a simple dress for my nephew's wedding and I wanted it to fit. Since the wedding was to be outside, on a afternoon in July in eastern Pennsylvania, it also had to breathe and not wilt in the heat and humidity.

I decided on BWOF 2001-02-112 - my first Burda World of Fashion pattern. It's a simple style - a wrap dress with a band finishing along the neck line. The wrap ties meet at the right side - one wraps around the back, the other is slipped through an opening on the right front. If you omit the pocket, as I did, the dress has 6 pieces, not counting the ties, 2 sleeves, 2 fronts, the back and the neck band. No darts, pleats or gathers. In other words, this should not be a difficult dress to put together really doesn't look like a terrific fitting challenge.

Still, I thought it prudent to make a muslin. My ASG neighborhood group was planning to help each other fit muslins and I thought this style might make a good candidate for discussion there.


So, I put together muslin #1:

• waist is too high - so I added 1" in length
  
• the neckline band was too long so I just cut it for the purpose of fitting the muslin.
• I can tell from the wrinkles that there's going to need to be a full-bust adjustment (FBA), but I'm not sure at this point how that's going to work.

So, I put together muslin #2.
Not bad for someone who doesn't do muslins:

• waist is better, maybe a bit too high, but passable
  
• the neckline band was too short - grrrr
• the wrinkles were still there, but I was still unsure about how to go about making the FBA. I slashed a bit to see how much room I was going to need.

I consulted Fit for Real People by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto about the FBA. Since my dress didn't have any darts, I followed the steps to deal with the Front of a One-Piece Dress, pg. 158 and made the adjustment. I wound up with a slightly lowered waistline and a wider overlap panel on the wrap - two bonuses that suited me well.

Running out of time, I could make no more muslins, so I laid my adjusted pattern out on my fabric and went for it.


I measured that neckband 3 times before I cut and it laid into the fold-back front self-facing perfectly! Although the pattern didn't call for it, I semi-lined the dress with a cotton lawn, attaching it only at the neckline. I didn't line the sleeves and let the lining "float" at the armholes, at the hem and at the sideseams. It felt wonderful, keeping me cool through even the hottest times of the day.

The wedding was beautiful, my wrap dress stayed wrapped and it felt so good because it fit me very well. I'm a believer - muslins is the way to go.

More on muslin making:
1. from a costume-making perspective: http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/PatternMod/Muslin.htm
2. from Threads, with a video link: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/tvt020.asp
3. from You Tube (same video as Threads?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JMRd5FdG_s
4. from Sew Mama Sew: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=485
5. from Susan Khalje via HGTV: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_sewing_fabrics/article/0,,HGTV_3327_1398424,00.html

This was a great style for me to tackle. Read more about the pattern itself on PatternReview.com. Hopefully, this success will get me back into more regular stitching....

Inspiration


Today, I'm inspired by the beauty all around us. I'm so lucky to be able to go to the grocery store, buy a basket of grace and peace, and put it in my cart to spread the beauty just a little bit further...

Max's Boogie [M 4686 B]

I visited with Max yesterday for a few minutes and he ever so gently reminded me that I've neglected to post a picture of him in his new jacket.

He looks so handsome and he tried very, very hard to stay still. The blur that is his tail has fully captured the constant wag of a very happy dog! Not one to have bad days very often at all, Max seemed particularly happy with this 'dog day'.

Click here to read more about the pattern at PatternReview.com.