A quiet day...

I got up this morning feeling sad - the events of yesterday in the Washington Navy Yard just keep going through my mind. And I know I have lots of company.  After catching up on the news, I took my coffee out on the porch, my favorite place.

Even at quarter till 9:00, it was almost dark outside. The street light was still on, and I could hear low rumbles of thunder. Of course - we were about to have a downpour. A quick look at my weather station - the humidity was 89%! It was almost raining in the air (is that possible?) All the plants on the porch were happy, though, they had drops of condensation on every leaf tip.

And it really rained! Mr. Toad came out to play in his favorite spot by the porch. 

He is such a comedian. I took this pic of him last year. Mr. Toad in the bird frog bath. The figurine is a frog, and the birds have never come near it! so I keep water in it for him.

Once the rain settled down to a drizzle, I headed off to the library, where I got 3 books for $3 from the little Friends of the Library shop: The Bonesetter's Daughter, by Amy Tan, The Deep End of the Ocean, by Jacquelyn Mitchard, and White Oleander, by Jane Fitch. For some reason, I'm afraid I got 3 books about challenged women. Oh my.

Just finished Our Kind of Traitor by John Le Carre (great spyville story, love his work) and The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (also a great read, fun twisty plot, very clever).

Believe it or not, I don't read as much fiction as non-fiction - I just read fiction faster. On my non-fiction side, books in progress include Columbine by Dave Cullen (a re-read), Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Marconi), Into the Silence by Wade David (George Mallory, the Great War, the conquest of Mt. Everest, all in one book), A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr (I had seen the movie but not read the book, which is fascinating), and Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey. Yes, I usually have several going at one time!

I also checked for BurdaStyle Magazine - ummm, no. Twenty or so books on sewing, mostly beginner level, which is good, I think, for a library. About 400 cooking books! And 200 diet books!!

Off to read, bye for now - Coco

McCalls 6559 - Maxi times two!

This didn't take long! After I sewed the short version of McCalls 6559, I made not one, but two, maxi versions right away. It is such an easy and comfortable pattern.

This first one is done in a polyester/lycra ITY knit from Fabric.com. What a wonderful fabric! Feels so sleek, kinda sexy...

The second version is a really interesting print from Fabric Mart in a rayon/lycra knit. This is the same kind of fabric that I used on my short version - it's very light, much lighter than ITY, and perfect for Florida.

I really did not know how this print would look when I ordered it. It's hard to tell from a couple little thumbnail pics online. I assumed that the pattern going down my left side was the repeating pattern for the full width. Surprise - the pattern going down my right side is actually a border print! It's not at all obvious, but slowed me down a little when I was laying out the pattern.

I was glad that I had plenty of yardage for both these dresses. I matched the large stripe pattern on the ITY front and back, it would have looked weird otherwise. But I made no attempt to match the circles and lines on the purple rayon! Just keeping the targets in check took extra fabric. Remember Vogue's goof last year?

No changes for these versions, aside from those I made on my muslin. These two fabrics are both jersey knits and both have lycra in them - but they handle very differently under the needle. To share a few approaches that I find helpful:

• Sewing the long seam -  The ITY is done on the serger with a fairly small stitch length. The rayon jersey is sewn on the sewing machine with an elastic stitch, and the edges are unfinished. The latter is to avoid putting weight in the seams.

• There's an easy way to keep the feed dogs from eating a knit fabric when you start a seam on the sewing machine: put your needle down about 1/4" inside the seam. Using a straight stitch, back stitch a couple stitches, and then stitch forward. If you're going to use an elastic stitch, raise the needle after a couple forward stitches and reset the stitch. 

• Starting ITY fabric on the serger can be tricky - the top layer tends to fold back as it goes under the pressure foot. Slippery stuff. To avoid this, I run a few basting stitches along the side and top of the start point. Works great.
  
  Speaking of slippery - placing pins parallel to the edge will hold ITY fabric in place much better than placing them at a right angle.

• I also finished the bound edges differently. On both, I sewed the binding RS together on the outside with a 3/8" seam allowance, then turned it over the seam allowance to the inside.
  
  On the ITY, I stitched on the binding close to the edge through all layers. It is so slippery that stitching in the ditch is like chasing mercury!
  
  On the rayon jersey, I stitched in the ditch on the outside next to the binding through all layers.

• Last  - my lycra knit dresses are folded and stored on a shelf in the closet - lycra doesn't wrinkle but it does strreeeeetch.....!

Now I need to go somewhere! Hope everyone has a nice week...

Ciao! Coco

McCalls 6559 Knit dress...testing the water

Well, it has only taken me a year or so to try out this pattern. Actually, I've always loved it! But I thought it only came with a racer back. And to my credit, one really has to look at the line drawing to see that it has an option (View D) with a full width back! as noted by a wonderful blogger in a post I read a few weeks ago.

The pattern is a little scary, since it is described as 'very close fitting'. Ummm. So I decided to do my muslin in the short version, facing my fear at the least cost possible. I sewed my usual size 14, and, wow, a good fit! Yes, I can see my curves, but nothing is too bodaciously clingy!

This kind of funky tie-dye fabric is a rayon-lycra knit from Fabric Mart, and, to my surprise, it didn't run or lose color when I pre-washed it. The tough part was laying out the pattern so that the stripes and blotches didn't hit the wrong spots.

Only a couple changes to the pattern itself: I raised the neckline by 1/2", and  narrowed the upper side seams by 1/2" at the armhole, curing down about 3". I also used a 1" hem and self-fabric bindings, rather than purchased bias tape.

I like it! Would you believe that this short version only takes 1 1/8 yd. of 60" fabric in my size? and 1 3/4 yd. for the maxi. That is really amazing and economical. My next one, a maxi, is on the sewing table, in a beautiful ITY knit from Fabric.com...

Back soon - Ciao! Coco

Find a way...Diana Nyad

Go, Diana! I love her mantra, "Find a way...". And I know that sometimes that willingness to find a way is simply not enough. But I am so happy for her. I'm celebrating her success in fulfilling a dream.

Ciao...Coco

Vogue 8807 - pansies and violets!

 

I am absolutely in love with this pattern and fabric...I feel like Marilyn meets the flower garden! Just what's needed at the end of summer and a hot, muggy month.

It's been sleeping in my stash for a year. I got the cotton calico at Holly Lobby last summer (they still carry it), and I ordered the pattern at the same time, specifically for the fabric. Now finally, what a fun dress.

The pattern is designed with a full lining - but I'm not about to line a summer calico with all this volume! 

Instead, I drafted facings for the yoke, front neckband, and armholes, and assembled them into a one-piece facing.

Then I treated the facing as though it were the lining. Worked out great.

Usually I sew a size 14, but I cut a size 10 in this pattern because it is so roomy. I made only two concessions to the smaller size:

• Added 1" at the yoke center back. 
• Lowered the armhole by 1/2".

Even the hemline (the short version) worked for me. I did add 3/8" to the length so that I could turn a 1" hem, rather than 5/8". Picky picky :-)

Check out this darling 'obi-ish' belt! I've made a couple more for other dresses, including one in a cotton knit.  

Tech note: I faced one side of the belt with mid-weight interfacing, and the other side with craft 808 interfacing, both fusible. It doesn't double up on itself at all.

Great pockets!

And here's how it looks without the belt. Just in case someone wants a super comfy tent dress, it's cute too.

Bye for now! Coco

Kwik Sew 2895 Jeans jacket - the curtain remake!

I had a great trip to see the grandson - he loved all his Spidey gear, and we played to exhaustion (moi, he does not know exhaustion...). After one recovery day, I've been working on a jeans jacket - I've decided it's something in the air, because I've read two jeans jacket reviews on PR this week!

This one is a Kwik Sew pattern and I love it. I sewed View B, the classic jeans jacket look, in a size Medium/10-12. (I'm 5/7" and generally sew a size 14/40).

Great pattern. It has faux flat-felled seams. What's that, you ask? Well, you sew a regular seam, neaten the edges together, press the seam allowance to one side, and double-topstitch it on the outside. And it looks just like a flat-felled seam. But is super fast and easy, particularly in a heavy fabric, such as denim.

An inside view: the vertical seams are faux flat-felled. I added bias binding to the edges of the cuff, front, and waistband facings. I just cut the binding from scrap cotton - I really don't like purchased binding, it's so stiff and not as nice as fabrics I have in the stash. Plus mine are all pre-washed.

The medium fits me really well - as long as I don't try to button it! The bottom meets in the front but at 38 1/2", it definitely will not close comfortably unless I blouse it up! Fortunately, I don't intend to button the jacket, I like it open.

I made only a couple changes, mostly just to suit me.

• Left off the pocket bag - the pocket is not going to be used, so why bother!
• Did away with the buttoned cuff approach and used a closed cuff. You can see some soft gathers in the upper sleeve in the pic above. I used the original cuff pattern, but shortened it's circumference by 3/4". 
• A tip - since the right facing is always turned back just below the collar, I sewed the top buttonhole on the 'wrong' side. This way, the 'pretty' side of that buttonhole is on top.
• Also cut the undercollar on the bias. It's amazing how much easier it is to work with, when there's no collar stand.

Loving the fabric, it's the leftover panel from my IKEA Merete (heavy twill/denim) bedroom curtains! This is the first time I've used a heavy denim on either of my machines (Singer Quantum Stylist 9960, Janome 8002D serger), no problems at all, whew! I was pleased.

Have you noticed it's the weekend? Hope it's lovely. Ciao! Coco