BABES in Fabricland....

Yesterday I had the pleasure of gathering with yet another group of fabulous local (and semi-local) sewing friends - my delightful group of BABES (Bay Area Bash Expressly for Sewists).   Not that we ever need an excuse to get together, but we had a good one - long-term BABES member   Lori, who blogs at  Monkeyroom was back home for a short visit after 2 years in Germany, so we made sure to gather the troops while she was here.

Little did we know just how much we were going to benefit from this visit!  But more about that later...

A number of us attended the always-loaded-with-inspiration Artistry in Fashion this year and have been working on patterns we got from Sandra Ericson of Center for Pattern Design.  We showed our finished (and semi-finished) pieces, and, in true opinionated sewing form, both dissed and praised her unique style and pattern-making techniques (I'm definitely on the prone-to-praise end of the scale, but then the 3 patterns I bought from her were carefully curated by me, and involved as much trying on of finished pieces as I could manage!)  I shared my experiences with the CB Bolero and the Spiral Blouse (coming soon to a blog near you....).  The lovely Lisa was wearing her muslin of the Spiral Blouse, Vicki showed a highly wearable "muslin" of the Spiral Coat, Heather modeled several versions of the Pyramid Dress (which has the most amazingly unique pattern pieces I've ever seen....you really need to SEE it to understand it....no wait, even seeing it won't help you understand it.....).   There were a few wadders involved - I admit that FITTING Ericson's unusual designs is not the easiest sewing task to master; luckily the bias drape of many of her garments solves a myriad of potential fitting issues.

Here are shots of a couple of the CPD pieces:

Vicki's gorgeous closure on the Spiral Coat:

Lisa having fun with bright shiny objects -

I think her Spiral Blouse muslin is awesome!

Georgene, of the inactive but still amazing blog Sewing Divas, showed her progress on the 3-years-in-the-making-during-her-spare-time Chanel Jacket (and it's looking good!!)

Wendy, Rose, and Vicki had all attended the Education of the Textile Arts Sew Expo the week before (if I can learn to say & remember that mouthful, it sounds like an event worth attending next year!)  Wendy showed samples of some techniques she learned from Jan Bones at one of the many workshops given during the Expo.  Wendy, btw, is  very knowledgabe with her sewing techniques already, but she felt that she really got a lot out of the workshops she attended.   It sounds like a great venue!

Lori brought her beautiful dress - shown here on her blog - and the yummiest scarf that she wove herself - I have weaving envy!  There were a few other show and tells, and oh, did I mention a tableful of deliciously delectable goodies that we munched on?   Like....all day long?   I should remember to take pictures of the food tables at some of these events.   Sewists can Cook!

There were a few other show & tells...

and then....

the Fabric Feeding Frenzy Fun began....

In the interest of preserving the privacy of a certain Fabricaholic, I won't name any names.  But in order to clear out some of her (apparently rather large) stash before returning to Germany, one of us brought Four.  Large.  Tubs.  of fabulous fabric in the desparate hope that some of it would find new homes.

This is what happened:

Jennifer and Wendy begin with Polite Fabric Inspection: 

Fabric Tugging Ensues

Mine.  No, Mine.  No no....MINE!:

The pile grows larger while people politely pet and eye

certain cuts, waiting to see if someone else wants it more....

The Unnamed Fabricaholic gazes at the stash, 

wondering if she's really ready to let that piece go, 

while Irene reaches for a goodie that has caught her eye.

Rose of Needles, Pins, Thorns inspects all sides of a beautiful bit of brightness,

while Georgene and Lisa fondle other goodies:

Rose's smile indicates that this one is definitely coming home with her!

Hands reach for that last bit of 

unclaimed fabric.... 

with absolutely unprecedented results, the above tiny piles were ALL that was left of the stash-sharing-giveaway!   This speaks to the quality of Lori's stash (oops, did I just give her name away???  My bad....)  The bad news...sort of...is that we always send off our unclaimed fabric & notions to a school in the Philippines, and we usually have a LOT to give.    This time...yeah...not so much.

I was really happy to help out the cause of clearing Lori's stash.   And help I did.   A lot.   I thought I was doing so well with the large bag of fabric I brought to give away...but I went home with nearly twice as much:

Not only that, but check out those labeled cards with fabric content and amount!    I feel so righteous when I actually manage to do that when I bring new fabric home....maybe this will help inspire me to be a little more conscious?

Yeah....doubt it.

Thanks Lori, for your gracious generosity, and thanks to all my bodacious BABES buddies for a fantastic day!   :)

My Asian/Cowboy/Betzina Duster

I admit it.   When I first saw Sandra Betzina's duster pattern (Vogue 1356) I didn't get it.   At all.  It was immediately filed in my "No Way!" category, until shams performed her magic on it.  The minute I saw her Geisha Faces Duster I converted from "No Way" to "I Want!" faster than I've ever done before.   I snapped up the pattern at the earliest sale, and immediately shifted my plans for a trio of linens I had from Plan A to Plan Duster.

I started working on it pre-robbery, and had a number of construction notes and pics in the computer, but they were in the (rather large...sigh....) pile of photos that never got backed up (yes, I DO have an external hard drive now, and yes, I AM using it regularly!)

So we'll just have to jump straight to the finished product, while I dig through my brain & try to remember the adjustments I made.

I used some of my Marcy Tilton Asian-esque silk screens on the coat, but it holds this Western sort of essence to it in my mind - you know, the craggy-faced cowboy with the rough & ready duster flowing in the dust as he strides towards his horse....   Anyway, I keep finding that I want to wear my jeans & cowboy boots (shit-kickers, where I hail from....see how this thing is affecting me???) and to date that's all I've worn it with.   I know it has a lot more versatility than that, though!

I must have nearly a dozen Betzina patterns, but for some reason, I've simply never managed to move one to the top of the queue until now, so this is my first.   I must say, I'm impressed!   She includes a lot of construction details and helpful hints (even though I don't agree with some of them), and her fit is designed for a more mature, "real" woman's body - narrower shoulders and wider hips, for instance.  And she's managed to get Vogue to do it her way!   She writes her own instructions (apparently most Vogue patterns do NOT use the designer's construction methods, which is likely where a lot of confusion comes from by the time it reaches the home sewer).   Go Sandra!

Pattern Notes:

• The coat is described as "very loose fitting", usually a warning that screams "BAGGY" when it comes to Vogue, but with the cut and the darts (fish eye darts in the back, plus bust darts), it actually skims the body.
• The sleeves are two-piece and cut on the bias - a very nice shape!   But I found them to be VERY skinny, surprising coming from Ms. B., since she's usually very conscious of designing sleeves for *ahem* 'mature' arms.   The sleeves are also VERY long!   I shortened mine by several inches (maybe 3"?)
• The pockets are simple, but unique.  There are two pockets on each side of the front, one nested inside the other.   I didn't use her pockets - no particular reason other than the fact that I tested my silk screen on a bit of fabric and decided to use that as a pocket, so I stitched it down to another piece of contrast fabric and called it done.   :-)   (NOTE:   I usually silk screen my finished piece, but I test the screening on the fabric I'm using, then lay the test pieces on my finished piece before I start the actual painting on the garment.   Yes, it has caused issues, but I've always managed to turn them into a "Design Element" lol!)

POCKET:

• The facing pieces are very large - this I liked, especially since the coat is unlined.  The facing construction instructions, however, were odd to me.   They call for sewing the interfacing to the RIGHT side of the facing pieces, then turning them right side out before sewing it all in to the coat (thus ending up with finished edges where the facing & interfacing are sewn together.   It sounded awkward to me.   I think I ended up doing essentially the same thing shams did, and fused interfacing to the wrong side of the facings, sewed them in to the coat, then finished the edges (fray-prone linen!) with folded over bias strips. 

Finished Back with bias strip edged facings, and Hong Kong finishes on the sleeve seams.

(And paint bits showing  post silk-screening)

• Another oddity is that the placket used for the front closure is supposed to be cut on the bias.  This makes NO sense to me, unless you're using a fabric that has stripes, or some other design element that you want to showcase with a bias cut, but even then wouldn't you have to interface the stuffing out of the thing to get it to hold its shape?   I just cut mine on grain.

Alterations:

• I cut a Size B at the very top, and narrowed the shoulders by about 1"
• I expanded to a size C at the waist
• I changed the armscye shaping to suit me a bit better
• Did a full upper arm adjustment (easy to do with the two-piece sleeve)
• Shortened the sleeves by about 3", still leaving a very deep hem so that I have the option of turning the cuffs up
• Shortened the coat by 4"
• Lengthened the side slits by....something or other.

Oh, I also added a contrast yoke at the back.   This was one of those "Design Elements" required by having a shortage of fabric.  For some reason this ended up causing me a fair amount of angst, I think because the bottom of the yoke ended up right where the lower armscye meets the side seam - not good planning!   But, as I say, I was working with what I had, fabric-wise, so it goes into the category of "it is what it is".

I ended up using plastic "invisible" snaps for closure at the placket - I intended to use snaps and buttons, but I didn't plan out my silk screen placement all that well, so I eliminated the visible button or snap option and used the invisibles.   I'm not sure if I used too much thread, adding some depth to the snaps, but I find that they need a bit more pressure to snap shut than I thought they might - anyone else have experience with these?

Back View, Inside Out:

Front View, Inside Out:

The Wearing of the Duster:

The tough Cowgirl look (yeah, right....)

The Bottom Line:

Thumbs up on this pattern!   It's perfect for a three-season Bay Area evening in linen, and would work well in a cotton, a light wool, or any number of blends.   I can definitely see making this one again, although it may be awhile, since I think I'm on another coat & jacket binge, and have a slew of patterns I want to check out :)

Balenciaga + Ericson = CB Bolero = Win!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I recently bought 3 patterns from Sandra Ericson of Center for Pattern Design, all inspired by Balenciaga.  I've already made up 2 of them, and the 3rd is ready for a muslin- that should give you an idea of how impressed I am with the designs!   But it's more than being impressed.  There is intrigue, puzzlement, challenge, awe, and in the end, a highly wearable piece that is as much a simple work of art as it is practical clothing!

Imho, Balenciaga +  Ericson = wearable haute couture for the masses!  OK, so not exactly haute couture technique, but you get my drift, right?  I certainly give thanks to Ms. E. for bringing his patterns to the public!

I'll start with a shot of the finished CB Bolero:

I'm delighted with the results!   The fabric is an unusual double knit of unknown content - it has almost a neoprene-like feel to it, but not really....   It was such an odd fabric that I only bought a shade over 2 yards (and that presented a major challenge fitting this pattern on it!)  Now that I've worked with it, I wish I'd bought more!  It's stable and easy to work with, and the cut edges are so clean I left the hemlines raw (something you RARELY see on anything I make!)  To see just how versatile the fabric can be (is it fair of me to rave about a fabric that is probably impossible to find anymore?  sorry......[evilgrin]), check out shams' dress (which, btw, is an entry in the Fabric Mart Challenge - visit the link  & please vote for your favorite in the contest)!  (Do I need to say out loud that my personal favorite dress was made by shams?)  ;-)  The fabric, btw,  came from Fabrix in SF, my absolute favorite discount fabric destination! 

I really thought I would end up with a casual piece, but once it started coming together I was concerned that it was going to be too dressy for me to get much wear from!  (clearly I don't get out on the town in a fancy way much).   In the end though, this is a piece that can be dressed up or down, and I WILL get a lot of wear from it!

The sizing is 8-18.  This pattern appears to run on the small side - I made a 14, but I added length by cutting it at the size 18 at the bottom.   And then I left the hem as a raw edge, so this added a total of 2-4" in the length.   I did end up cutting in the shoulders by almost 2" at the widest cut (to accommodate my narrow, sloping shoulders), but I think I would need to do this even on a smaller size.  The bias drape of the piece allows for a lot of flexibility in fit, but if you want to make it from a piece of precious fabric, I would definitely recommend a muslin.

On to the construction.   I don't know how helpful my pics & explanations will be, because the way it's put together is far more puzzling than meets the eye when looking at the pattern pieces.  Genius is what it is, imho!   To look at the finished piece, one can easily think it's just a circle with sleeves cut in.   Hah.   I HIGHLY recommend a dress form helper, and if you're like me, you'll be draping the pieces on over & over again trying to figure out exactly how it all goes together & which edges to put together for the seams, and which sides are RS and which are WS....  Of course, there are NO hints or instructions on seam finishes, or any sort of finishing tips at all.   This is stated up front - these are "'educational patterns'; that is, they are unusual and most often have some feature that is a learning experience which is the whole point in publishing them."

Note:  I don't mean to discourage anyone - sewing it all together is really quite easy, once you understand how it works.   It just took my brain on a bit of a voyage before it all made sense to me.

Construction Steps (the dry & potentially boring stuff - but if you end up making this, hopefully the following will be helpful!):

After sewing in the darts, you sew the shoulder seams (instructions say to sew the side seams as well, but since I was figuring it all out step by step [I did not muslin it],  I used slightly different steps.)

Note the folded over section at the neckline -
when I was cutting this out I thought that the CF was at the lower edge of that fold.
Wrong.
CF is on a folded part somewhere in the center of that piece!
Not obvious until you start putting it together....

Enclosed seams are advised for all of the seams.  In the following pic, note that the shoulder seam is sewn by matching the armscyes of the front and back pieces.  The extra fabric on the front will be folder over to meet the "collar", or "cape".

  

Once you attach the 'collar' (i.e., the back portion of the cape), at the shoulder seams, there can be a lot of bulk at the shoulder seams if you use a fairly thick fabric (which this is).   With a fair amount of seam trimming, it worked well though.   A thicker fabric like this will really stand away from the body; a thinner fabric would give more drape, but one of the beauties of this pattern is that many fabrics will work well with it, even sheers!

I won't even pretend that I can explain what's happening in the following pic.   I just added it to show you how confused someone (i.e., ME, can get while trying to figure out how the puzzle pieces go together!   Really, it isn't all THAT confusing, it's just that, for me, draping it on another body was a necessity to have it all fall into place!

The following pic shows the collar/cape and the front piece sewn together, after the collar has been attached at the shoulder seams, and the front piece has been folded back to meet the edge of the collar piece.

Are ya with me?

A try-on at this stage showed that the shoulder slope was  too broad on me, in no small part due to the stable thickness of the fabric.   I adjusted the seamline, bringing the back (collar) piece forward a bit, and trimmed it by over 1-1/2" at the deepest cut.

Finished Jacket, with sleeves set in, inside out:

Reminder to Self (for the Umpteenth Time):

Certain actions are OK to perform post-midnight.

Serging Set-in Sleeves is not one of those actions.

 

After the bolero was completed, I realized that it was just a tad bit fiddly/slippery, and decided that buttons were called for.   I added a button on each side of CF, and in order to keep some flexibility, decided to just use various ties as closures, so that I could mix & match whatever I want to wear it with.  A little touch of brilliance, if I do say so myself! ;-)

A few shots of the finished piece in action.  

A slightly more casual look:

Note:  The green tie here is just a cut-at-the-last-minute strip of fabric 

matching the top (a Burda T-neck).  

 I promise I won't go out in public without a more finished tie!

And a dressier option:

(Worn with The Dress, and The Trippens)  

The tie closure here is a a scrunchie hair tie

(something that has never worked on my barely-there hair, even when it was long!)

The feedback I've had from everyone who's seen this cape/bolero/jacket/thingy in person has all been very positive.   Even from people who don't normally like capes!  I expect to see a lot more versions, since I personally know half a dozen or so people who ordered it after Sandra's presentation at Artistry in Fashion.

Besides a variety of fabrics, Sandra suggests options like cutting the back a lot longer for a more elegant look.   You could also easily eliminate the sleeves for a sleeveless version.   I can see a slew of very different-looking pieces from this pattern!  I have a lot of other projects on my plate, so I don't think I'll be making another one immediately, but I'll definitely keep this in stash for another fabric to jump up & down wanting to become another CB Bolero.

How about you?  Have I convinced you that it's worth a go?

Artistry In Fashion, 2013

A report on this year's Artistry in Fashion is a little belated, but I have to say a little something anyway, because the event is SO worth knowing about!

As usual, I took my camera with, but spent all of my time schmoozing with all of the fashionistas,  sewists and creators-of-fabulosity that I kept forgetting to take any pictures.   One sign of a successful event, I say!

At least I have some after-the-fact shots of the goodies I bought.  I spent in restraint, but if $ were no object, oh my gosh is this the place to spend it!  The curated artist booths were SO rife with drool-worthy goodies, from hand-painted silks to recycled clothing,  eco-dyed fabrics, exquisite shaped hats, unusual buttons and notions, innovative jewelry, and positively gorgeous people on both sides of the vendor booths!

The featured speaker and fashion show presenter was Sandra Ericson, director of the Center for Pattern Design, and creator of a truly unique and inspirational line of patterns.   Many of her patterns were inspired by Madeleine Vionnet and Cristobal Balenciaga.  She uses a lot of bias cuts, and a minimum of pattern pieces that require as few stitching seams as possible.   Her designs are "simple" (i.e., not "fussy"), but the way many of them are put together is quite unusual (and sometimes mind-boggling!)  Despite the relative simplicity, the patterns are also designed to be "educational" - Translation:  minimal instructions, meant for the intermediate or advanced sewer. Do check out her site for a much more detailed story of her journey and philosophy.

I bought these 3 patterns (all of which just happen to be Balenciaga inspired):

I've made up the CB Bolero (post coming soon!) and it's a comfy and wearable winner.

I've also made a test version of the spiral blouse - this one is destined to be made up several times!

The Paletot is a half-scale pattern.   I've enlarged it, and can barely wait to get going on it!  (I've lusted after this coat ever since seeing it at the Balenciaga exhibit at the DeYoung a couple of years ago)

My other purchases were earrings.   I was delighted to find that one of my very favorite jewelry designers was selected as a vendor at AIF this year: Kayoko Designs.   I buy a pair of earrings from her nearly every year at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show,  so I was thrilled to find another excuse to add to my collection of her pieces :)

Elegant Asian Simplicity - LOVE her work!

A very popular booth was A.J's EarDrops - I know at least half a dozen people who bought earrings here - too much fun!

Lightweight, unusual, affordable, and highly wearable - what's not to love???
And check out that cup holder - an innovative (and re-usable) way to display their earrings!

This year the weather was perfect, the food trucks were the best ever, the vendors (of course) were the BEST, and of course, the camaraderie of everyone there made it a memorable and fabulous event.

Mark your calendars now for next year's AIF - September 27, 2014.   Pati Palmer (yes, THE Pati Palmer of Palmer/Pletsch) will be the featured speaker!  I hope to see you there!  :)

Next up:  The results of the CB Bolero...

Still Alive, Schmoozing with Sewists, and Even Doing some Sewing!

How wonderful it is to be living in an area that is so rife with talented and social-minded sewists!  In spite of the fact that I've spent very little time in my sewing room the past couple of months, I've been SO lucky to have such an abundance of creative groups of like-minded sewists around, and attending gatherings with them has helped to keep me inspired, and even motivated me to get some projects finished!   (Blog posts on those projects are coming up soon, I promise!)

Yesterday was a wonderful little gathering of blogging sewists (even though a few don't ...yet... have blogs - if they READ blogs, it counts!) at Erin's lovely San Francisco flat 

(Click on the names for a link to their respective blogs)
Back Row:  Veronique,   shams,  me,  Erin,  Jean, and Amanda
Front Row:  Rebecca and  Beth

The abundance of talent in this group is amazing!  As is the diversity - several people echoed the comment "I would never have the patience for that!" when seeing what someone else was doing; yet every single person here, imho, exhibits an overflow of patience in their details and particular interests.

Veronique pattern-tested a plethora of stuffed animals for a book by Abby Glassenberg - she blogged about it here.  Is this the most adorable stuffed kangaroo EVER?   and check out the tardis on that bag she made!

Shams took a break from her insanely busy life of late - if you don't know about her success in the Fabric Mart Challenge, do check out her last few posts - she's on FIRE with her creativity these days!  (yes, even more than ususal!)  Fabric Mart Challenge
Here Shams is wearing an outfit that was for one of the earlier challenges, and she's holding her studly version of the Little Black Dress challenge - I think she's been rocking every entry!

Erin is another busy bee; trying to finish up her  PhD while taking steps toward starting her own pattern line!   Here she is wearing two of her creations (I want to be a pattern tester for that skirt!  It has fabulous details that can't be seen in the pic)

Rebecca is another  pattern maker - she's making some wonderful coats - she's wearing one of her creations here:

Beth, as always, was wearing pieces that showcase her perfect technique and fit - here she's wearing a lovely dress that is the essence of Beth, and you can see the inside of her perfectly tailored denim jacket, draped over the chair.

I didn't get pics of everyone's show 'n tells, but Jean is also doing some amazing pattern-making in a class she's taking.   Her opera neck dress (a work in progress) is GAWjuss!   Amanda didn't bring anything, but a look at her blog shows some seriously wonderful quilting work!

No shots of my outfits (the bane of being the photographer), but here's some sneak peeks at what I've finished, (yes, I have been doing SOME sewing) - I promise to be blogging details asap!

Oh, one more minor detail - IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, AND I'LL SEW (and blog) IF I WANT TO!  :D