BurdaStyle 7184 waterfall cardi...

Well, there's nothing like just jumping in and sewing a muslin with corded velvet knit!

But it was only $1.80/yard - which makes this a $2.50 project :-)

I got the fabric from Fabric Mart two years ago, thinking of a midi-length sweater coat, something kind of boho. But I just couldn't settle on a patten. It has just been decorating my stash ever since. Rather nicely, I must say, since it doesn't wrinkle. It's been rolled, tossed, pulled out and thrown back in, and not a wrinkle in sight.

Finally, I took it out and gave it a real appraisal. I was going sew it or donate it - it was kind of bugging me that I would buy fabric and not use it.

Then I realized that it would make a great waterfall cardi - it's drapey, the color is really pretty, and it's light enough that I'll actually wear it in our winter months.



On to patterns. I made a cascade cardi from the Grainline Lark tee earlier this year, and it has a nice little funky vibe. But I wanted something with raglan sleeves, a higher start to the cascade, and very little else. Picky.

A search on the web turned up a gazillion variations on this style. It's a good thing I like to research patterns...

Finally - BurdaStyle 7184. It has clean lines:

Nice sleeves and cascade:

A clean-finish neckline and front edge:

And bonus pockets for those who can't live without them. It's also designed for knits!

I got the PDF version from SewingPatterns.com, which meant printing it from the sometimes finicky PrintSew site. But I today I found it on BurdaStyle as pattern 08/2011 #117D. Printing from the BurdaStyle site is so easy - wish I'd seen it there first!

Some sewing notes:

• I sewed size 12, View B, but only after some prodigious flat-measuring on the pattern. I could not find finished garment measurements anywhere, and I was torn between size 10 and size 12. Since I did all that work, I'll share. For reference, I'm 5'7", 36"-31"-42", and have an 11" upper arm.
  
  Finished garment measurements, in inches:                        10                       12

Width at bustline, waist, and hip from CF to CF                35 1/4                 37 1/4
Cascade width at bustline and waist, each side                 9 1/2                   9 1/2
Upper arm width                                                                13 7/8                 14 3/8
Sleeve width at hem                                                           8 1/2                    8 7/8
Back length from top of neckline with 5/8" hem                 32 3/4                  33

• I used a piece of cotton calico, cut on the bias, for the back neck facing. It adds a lot more stability than a piece of the knit fabric would have done. Also, I lowered it by 3/8" at center back, to remove a slight roll below the neckline.

• No pockets, because my fabric is just too stretchy for them. Maybe in another version...

• I used 5/8" seam allowances everywhere. This is one advantage of the PDF I used - it included seam allowances. The version available on BurdaStyle does not.

• I also used a 5/8" hem, which matches the front edges. The cardi would be a lot shorter with the suggested 1 3/8" hem allowance.

• One caution: the sleeves might be short on some people. My arms a not long, and I used a scant 1" hem. However - and this is amazing, not often seen - the sleeve has lengthen/shorten lines for both the upper/armscye area and the area below the armscye. 

My flash went off on the next pic - it's not really this shiny or this purply color! But it's the only back view I have. I love the way this lies in the back and across my shoulders, and I think a lot of credit goes to the two-piece sleeve. 

Great cardi, and worn with a new pair of Love Notions Sabrina Slims.

Ciao! Coco

Burnout jersey and sticky business...

Have you ever noticed how jersey knits want to cling to pants and skirts? right there where it's least wanted - on the bum.

I've overcome this issue in large part by wearing my jersey tunics with ITY knit bottoms. Nice slippery ITY - nothing clings to it, plus it's just so comfy to wear. Bonus - just throw it in a suitcase. It doesn't wrinkle.

But I digress. I've been meaning to make a 'slip' for my tunics for a long time. Such a simple solution.

I used a poly mesh knit from Fabric Mart, acquired 2 years ago - 8 yards of it! because I planned to line a mother-of-the-bride dress with it. It's really more of a knit lining than a mesh, and I've used quite a bit of it for interfacing knit garments.

At the same time I bought 8 yards of poly/cotton burnout jersey in a beautiful abstract (think Art Nouveau) print. In the end, I used something else entirely for my MOB dress.


But I really wanted to use the burnout jersey and finally got my act together for the needed slip. I used Butterick 5954, View A, as the starting point for the slip, largely because it has the basic silhouette of my tunics.

I simply sewed it together on the serger, put it on Emile, and trimmed away at the armscye and neckline until I had nice muscle shirt lines! The fabric is so stretchy that it was easy to fold in the edges to hem them - no binding needed.

Then on to a B5954 tunic in the burnout jersey...

A few notes on sewing the burnout jersey, which has intimidated me - this is the only piece I've purchased:

• It's definitely sheer, and it's not straight-forward to sew because of the thick-and-thin texture.

• After trying several sizes,I used a size 70 universal needle.

• I used normal pressure on the presser foot, and I worked with my upper thread tension to achieve a stitch that didn't look loose on the burnout areas.

• Finishing the hems - I serged the sleeve and skirt edges to stabilize the fabric, then folded the edge twice and finished it with topstitching. No steam-a-seam tape needed.

• I think it would be a lovely fabric for a scarf - but I don't think it would work well with a rolled hem on the serger, because of the varying texture. Has anyone tried it?

I wore white pants for these pics so that the lines of the tunic would show up - in real life I'll probably wear black or gray.

No cling!

The slip works like a charm.

A side note: I worked on this in Ft. Myers last week, and I managed to get there without any gray thread. So I bopped over to Holly Lobby and picked up a spool of their Sew-ology thread. It worked great, I absolutely could not distinguish between it and the Gutermann I generally use.

Whew! What a project. But I enjoy sewing challenges, and I feel good about conquering the burnout fabric. Meanwhile - it's almost the weekend. I hope yours is nice and full of sewing :-)

Bye for now - Coco

StyleArc Stevie Jean Jacket - a keeper!

What a fun project! I've been looking for an oversized jean jacket pattern for ages. One that looks like it was purchased in the men's department. Know what I mean?

In my wildest dreams, I never thought StyleArc would come up with one. But recently, clothingengineer posted a super cute version on Pattern Review, actually the first review of the pattern. I've no idea when StyleArc released it, but I took a look at it right away.

And lucky me, I just happened to have a bunch of wildly green 8.5 oz bull denim just waiting for its turn.

My relationship with StyleArc patterns has been so iffy, more disappointment than success. After my recent Designer Daisy wadders projects, I had no plans to even think about StyleArc patterns. But I have to hand to them on this one. It's a great pattern that delivers the promised boyfriend jacket look.

I really wanted my jacket to mimic the classic jean jacket style, so I did a bunch of looking around on the web - Levi, Wrangler, and Lee. And I checked with one of my favorite fabric/sewing databases, just to be sure I handled the denim in a classic way as well. I don't remember how I originally found the 'Historical Materials from the University of Nebraska' site, but it's a absolute gem.

Some sewing notes:

• I sewed the size 10, and it's a great fit.

• No welt pockets, just because I don't like pocket bags inside short jackets. I thought about adding a faux welt, and I still might, on a rainy boredom-filled day...

• My upper/flap pockets are faux - I didn't use the pocket bag at all. I'm not going to use it these pockets, and I didn't want all the extra fabric in the yoke seam.

• My only whinge on this pattern is the seam allowance. It's 3/8" everywhere, but the neckline/collar, which is mere 1/4"! But I used the PDF pattern and simply drafted the entire thing with a 1/2" seam allowance. I cannot imagine working all these small pattern pieces, most of which are meant to have a felled finish of some kind, with less than 1/2" in play.

• I wanted to keep the jacket loose and supple, so I serged all my seam edges and used a faux-fell finish.

• I love all the topstitching! and used regular sewing thread for mine. I'm just not a fan of the thicker topstitching thread that's available.

• In a deviation from the sewing instructions, I sewed my pocket on top of the bodice, rather than behind it. The difference? The Wrangler jean jacket has it on top, while the Levi trucker jean jacket has it behind, as below. Choices!

And mine, with my first set of buttons. I later changed these to some nice nickel buttons from Holly Lobby.

I love it, and I'm working on a second one in marigold - got to keep those tropical colors coming.

Parting shot: 

Tomorrow I'm off to Ft. Myers to kitty-sit while Ashley and Darrin go to Salem, MA, for their annual Halloween fest. And I'll get to meet two newbies that they recently brought home from the shelter. Willow and Thor! A total of 4 now - I'm dosing myself with Claritin :-)

Ciao! Coco

You are the best...

My heartfelt thanks to all for the support and good wishes during the hurricane event this week. I cannot possibly express how much it means to me, how sustaining your messages have been, how much I treasure each and every friendship with you.

Con carino - Coco

And here comes Hurricane Matthew...

Waiting is the difficult part for now. This is the 4th hurricane in my territory since I move to Florida in 1978. The first one, Hurricane David in 1979, missed the coast by about 15 miles. It was stormy - but my house, 10 miles inland, came through just fine.

The second one was awful - Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Few people in South Florida came through that storm without damage. I lost a friend. I had friends that lost everything short of their lives. I had to find somewhere to live. That was a tough, tragic storm on many levels, and even now it's hard to talk or think about it.

The third storm, Hurricane Wilma in 2005, was the first one that I experienced by myself. It came through Weston as a strong Category 3, and destroyed or damaged almost all the trees and landscaping in the area, including mine. Only a few roofs were left intact, from south of me, all the way up the coast past West Palm Beach. With roads only partially open, and the entrance to my neighborhood blocked by fallen trees and debris, I rode my bicycle to get out and about. I was without power for a couple weeks, but the storm hit in late November, and the temperatures were bearable. I had water!

But go figure. There I was with all the damage to my house and community, no electricity, A/C, or cell phone service, and the only thing that really bugged me was the sound of generators running all over the place.

So, Hurricane Matthew. I'm tired of watching the Weather Channel and wondering what might happen. And I'm so sorry for the people who've been dealing with this in the Caribbean for the past few days. I know I'm safer than many of them.

I've been ready for days - gas, groceries, batteries, duct tape. Yard checked for loose branches. Battened down. So this morning, I checked on a couple neighbors, and then I went to Holly Lobby. I just had to get out of the house for a while. Sort of sniff the air and be around some people.

This afternoon I prepped some hand sewing that I'll welcome if the power goes out.  I'm starting a Kantha quilt-inspired project with two pareus I've kept folded away in my wardrobe. I'm so sentimental - I haven't wanted to use them as apparel, because they are precious memories from travel with my kids.

Tonight I'll go to bed (or fall asleep on the sofa) with my little radio and lantern nearby.

Hoping for the best outcome - Coco

Edited Thur. 10/6 afternoon: Hi! I'm so bad - this thing was fine last night, it's late today/tonight that we'll feel the most impact. Thank you all so much for the caring thoughts and encouragement. So far so good! I think my son - he's in Orlando, and has a second home at Wilbur Beach, just south of Daytona - will be more challenged. All digits are crossed. My current worry is the dozen coconuts in my very tall palm. They're like missiles in a high wind. I have forefingers pressed to my temples, eyes closed, and I'm chanting "just fall straight down, right now" :-)