New Butterick Fall 2010 Patterns! Mostly Possibilities!

Well here they are! My gut reactions!

Sleeve insanity or sleeve iconic? Insanity.








Raglan sleeves make me look like a football player with plastic shoulder pads! I'm liking the peplum though.








Front: dress. Back: coat.








Cheepy, cheepy, in cheepy white poly! Will look great in deep plum point knit. I like the 3/4 sleeve length.








Skirt! Yes! Jacket? Maybe.








Must have it! Will get it! I can do a kimono sleeve!








Star trekie chic. I don't know.








Are you crying, or crying tears of joy? Well, readers I think I think some of these may get on the list after I finish the rest if my Vogues and vintages, but it's time for a pattern drafting class. I've made a couple things self drafted on my own, but I think it's time to get down! Pattern thoughts or direction on pattern making are welcomed!

I'll still post the dress today. Just later.









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The psychology of marketing. A different Vogue pattern sale.

Readers, is this good marketing? When I first saw this image, I thought, oh, that's so me a Girly Girl! But I'm not getting this pattern and I'm wondering how many of you did? As I've said before, I will not do ruffles on sleeves! Even if I'm in costume...which almost never happens, that includes that creepy little holiday that I loathe! Back on topic, I think they want me to buy this pattern. I'm guessing that of their designer products, this one ranked low in sales to their surprise! Ha! But isn't it kinda pretty. The hair. The makeup. The skirt is great and maybe if I just removed the sleeve ruffle it would look very pretty on you...unique. Why don't you buy it and give it a try. Yea! It won't hurt at all. It will be fun!

No readers, I will not get this pattern at this price, or at all, because it's $5.99! They got my money, I got the patterns, did they forget that the patterns were just $3.99. My inner girly girl is slightly disappointed! (in a high squeaky voice) I do want to show my feminine side with ruffles and frills! Ok tell me! Who got this pattern. Just curious. I know someone will totally rock it!

Almost done, these Vogue pattern sale post things won't last forever. I'm just learning their pattern, recording it, because they have one.

Lastly, readers you should be proud! That last post, I did on a real laptop! Oh dear, that was a time eater! I'm proud if me for that post, but that took a lot of time, so don't get used to it readers, laptops are now a 'sometimes food' for me. It's back to tap, tap, tap iPad blogging, which is also why the formatting is not as fabulous, but I'm dealing.

See ya tomorrow with my dress!











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Fresh out of the microwave! ... Tracy Reese Vogue 1190 dress!

Or toaster oven...




This dress is awesome! There's so much so say but in short, this is a great pattern! Great design & construction! But there's good news and not so good news. The good: my microwave was working overtime today and this dress I'd nearly done! Just the final touches remain and shes ready for lights! I'm very happy about at least one Vogue getting sewed up, because I will not have much time this week for sewing. The not so good part: No pics of me in the dress till Friday, sorry favorite readers. When you see the pics you'll totally understand why I waited and left the boring Martha Stewart Dove wall alone this time. Sew, it was a good day!

That's all!



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Vogue pattern sale alert!!!!! And one more dress!

I'm surprised! I'm shocked really. This week I traversed the sweltering heat to Joann's to see if the new Vogue patterns were in stock, but they were not! And I wonder if it was just my locale, because it was a mad house and the inventory bumble bees were everywhere! It was crowded! Alas no new vogue patterns!

Ha! Ha! But that ok! I'm a trying to be good blogger and Im listening to my followers and readers and the word is.....BMV girl (me)!



So, I'm going to BMV right now! I'm going to try not to go crazy here, but I might. My rationale is that it's conducive to my productivity and fabric stash reduction! BTW, if you haven't made up your mind yet you have 4 days until the sale is over! Thanks for stopping by! So what are you getting?

Also, I'm glad she stood up!






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A little bit Minnie, skinny penny pant, sample 2

Vogue 1039. You've seen sample 1, here's more details and my second version!






The pocket process deciphered :















































Up close details!





Ok, so I had 10 more pictures to show you readers but they were so fuzzy I was getting dizzy! Sorry you can't see the front of this outfit.





The tone and texture of these pants is very neutral, so they basically will coordinate with everything, but I like them with a pop of color!





I'm glad I changed a few things! I love the belt loops and the garment quality pockets (idea from the Making Trousers book by David Coffin) I also lowered the waistband by 1/2 inch as compared to sample 1. Serged the inseams & side seams together after it was machine stitched, like jeans. Slightly cropped (2 inches shorter than sample 1) but will work with heels or flats. The fit is...whoa! But the fabric is cotton stretch twill so they are very comfortable!

So I'm off to finish my final pair! Scream! The fit will be somewhere between sample 1 & 2 with a couple different features! It's all good though, my final pair should be a breeze, right?! The fabric from the first 2 pair was just in my stash, so it was great to use fabric that vie had for years. BTW, DH really likes these!







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The Mad Men effect

It's true, sometimes I watch TV just for the fashion!

Mad Men costume designer, Janie Bryant has done a great job creating great styles that are classic and what we want to wear for fall. The timing is perfect! And now is a great time to hunt for those vintage patterns circa 1964! Here's my pattern pics:

Just drop the sleeves!








Sans collar!








Add a petticoat! Bottom of V8020 &top of V857.








Choose either one!








Do you plan pull your style from the networks for fall? Maybe just one thing?!








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Skinny Penny Pocket pant, V1039 sample 1

Well almost skinny...







Tissue fitting first ...

What I learned:
Wow, leg length is great! For 5"2', it's spot on!
Oh no, the waistband hits my sternum. Will adjust for that.

The pattern info:

MISSES’ TUNIC AND PANTS: Loose-fitting tunic with extended shoulders, front and back pleats, side gathered bands and shaped hem band, topstitched trim. Pants have side front slant pockets, upper inside pocket (that there is no picture of, but I'll show you later), contour yoke with back tab, invisible zipper closing and topstitched trim, above ankle length.

Side note: This is almost exactly what I want in a pant pattern! Initially I planned for this pair to be my muslin. I used fashion fabric that I purchased many years ago, but the weight and stretch is similar to the fashion fabric that I planned to use on my final sample.

NOTIONS: Pants: 7"/9" Invisible Zipper, Hooks and Eyes.

FABRICS: Tunic: Charmeuse and Crepe de Chine. Pants: Stretch Linen and Stretch Crepe. The stretch is very important in the comfort & fit!

Combinations: BB(8-10-12-14), FF(16-18-20-22)












Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes! But I was really worried about it, especially after I finished the penny pocket!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes they were! And believe me, I read them 2x before cutting, and then again during the process. While making the pockets, I was challenged to visualize how it would fit together, but if you follow the instructions, step-by-step they will turn out nicely!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?. I loved the skinniness and the side zip! Front fly trousers send me into a sewing sabbatical faster than.... But I'm working on that.

Fabric Used: Brown black poly stretch with a slate blue pinstripe, with a hint of midnight. It's really nice, probably from Fabric Warehouse before they moved.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: The only alteration was to shorten the rise by 1.75 inches! I know! That's a lot, it was risky, but I wanted a modern/trendy waistline. Glad I did! Fortunately, that matched up well. I didn't do much topstitching, wanted to keep the look clean.












Oh yea, after thinking about the unique midnight pinstripe I decided to add a design element to complement the color. I switched the back facing piece to a dark blue linen.












The back tab thingie is a disaster if you already have issues with the back waistband sticking out. On my next muslin I will delete that!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I'm working on a purely test muslin to correct some fitting issues and then I'll do it again on my fashion fabric. On my next muslin sample I'll show more step-by-step details.












Conclusion: Almost love. Will wear with Spanx! LOL!!!!

Changes on the next pair: delete the back tab, slim the legs down a bit, crop the leg a bit, add cool pocket lining, adjust for the FFT (full front thigh, how embarrassing!).

Oh, the top? I made it a couple years ago! It's an RTW copy/modification.

Thanks for reading, really!

Making trousers or at least good looking pants.

I've been flipping through this book for pants help!

One great feature: it comes with a DVD-ROM, but it can only be viewed on a computer, it's in a PDF format...interesting. On some of the clips where he's not talking, it's just really bad background music, with limited typeset directions at the bottom of the screen! I had to turn that music down! The disc also has tons of pattern template. My favorite clip so far is the single welt pocket! Have I mentioned my welt pocket phobia yet? Also, I can't give a complete book review yet, but it's very comprehensive and detailed, definitely not for the beginner, but great to have around when designing pants! My primary purpose in reading this book is to gain a few designer secrets and tips that I can integrate into my pants pattern. This book/DVD has just what I've been looking for!







The Threads fitting DVD series on waist and hips was very helpful too. I don't make pants that often so a quick refresher in fitting is necessary!





Fitting issues:

Quadriceps femoris, illiopsoas, gracillis & sartorius: highly developed from years of gymnastics & training makes those ugly creases in the front, wiskers! Gotta fix that!

The section that was very helpful to me is fitting a full or flat derriere & fitting a full front thigh. The front thigh portion is the shortest clip and they don't actually show the pattern alteration but the same technique is used in the previous chapter, so you have to refer back.





So this is where it started. I did a muslin for the 1 inch extension but that was too much. The 1/2 inch worked out well.

BTW, I finished a test sample 1st via tissue fitting, then I did the above alteration. Now I'm off to do another test sample with this alteration!

Do you have a favorite resource when making pants or trousers that I need to have in my library?





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McCalls vintage 7003 circa 1963

1st muslin!






Pattern pictures: I'm loving the indigo ink!

Front Bodice





Up close of the front bodice





Front bodice darts





Back bodice





Skirt back with double darts





Pattern Description:
Cowl neck, drop-shoulder dress with slim or lightly flared three-gore skirt. Bodice front is bias, has chain weight underneath cowl drape. Flared skirt is cathered at the side back and side front. Slim skirt has side front pleats, slow back pleat. Either version has center back zipper and may be lined.

Pattern Sizing: 14, 34 bust. This is a one size pattern. I probably could do well with a size 12 because I graded everything down 1/2 inch.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Almost. The drape is not as dramatic as I had hoped, but If you look closely at the pattern photo you'll see that the sleeve wings out slightly. That's not a look I'm a fan of on me.






Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were truly vintage, with back facing and armholes facing. I didn't go that route. My dress is fully lined, but I had to redrafted the back bodice lining to correct for the back facing (that I choose to use) and lower the lining on the front pattern piece because it's self faced. The pattern does not correct for this. The instructions follow techniques that are not as relevant with the technologies available on most machines today. They do require much more hand stitching, while on my garment only the hem is hand stitched.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The picture on the front sold me, with that Jackie O flair! DH thinks I need a hat, but I'm not sold on that yet.






Fabric Used: A bouncy cotton poly blend. I did a couple burn tests to attempt confirmation, very slow burning, woody aroma, but the ashes didn't fall. So there's probably some poly or acetate in the percentage. Bemberg lining. Invisible zipper. I think that the rest of this fabric will be put in the circular filing bin (the trash).





Sorry, my form is leaning!





Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I had to size down 1/2 inch on the vertical seams, 6 inches off the hem. The waist fit and back darts are spot on. BTW, the waist seam is about 1 inch above my natural waist. Slightly high! Also the lining changes noted above.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I plan to sew this again, I'll probably do one more muslin... playing around with sleeve/shoulder seam darts, increasing the seam allowance so there's less sleeve or re-cutting them all together. Other considerations: reducing the armscye circumference (it's not fine not but it could be better, elongating at the shoulder seam and widening the cowl portion of the pattern for better drape. Eventually, I want to make this out of lightweight wool jersey which will be much easier to sew, IMO.

Conclusion: The sleeves are not that flattering on my arms. And the high neckline alters the proportions, balance & rule of thirds. But over all I do like it! Especially, with the asymmetrical neckline + brooch. I couldn't ask for a better fit on a first try vintage pattern.





It's twisted & shorter! Tip of the day from Threads Insider Techniques DVD (I haven't watched every part but I found this little sparkling gem in the collar unit on the main menu. I also re-learned this little gem after completing this project). BTW, I highly recommend watching this if you haven't seen it yet. And If you don't want own it, make sure your local library does!)

B on B, bigger on the bottom, bias on the bottom! When sewing with bias, put it next to the feed dogs because they 'eat'. The pressed foot pushes the fabric. This will assure that both pieces of fabric will end up the same length.

I believe that this was an issue on this dress because the front bodice is cut on the bias. So at the side seams and shoulder seams there is that potential for wonkyness!! Some seams are good, others...no do much.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Is this dress it wearable? How do you sew bias? Do you follow the B on B principle? Or does it just work out for you? Suggestions?





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