Tag: Silhouette Patterns

May Garment Sewing Group Final

A few photos from the Saturday meeting at Quilter’s Haven-

Silhouette Patterns #575 hacked into a biking shirt
Summer dress-McCalls 5668
Simplicity 8061

And Debbie and Kristin’s garments-

Debbie’s Garments:

Shirt Dress

Simplicity 8014, View D, chambray

1. The only fitting adjustment needed was narrow shoulder. Unfortunately I cut the dress length too short – need to wear it with leggings.

2. I added a lining to the back yoke and used the burrito method to construct.

3. This was a fun make. The pattern offers several choices for length, sleeves and bodice. The Chambray fabric was easy to work with.

Itch to Stitch Medellin Top, cotton interlock and Love Notions Duet Trousers, stretch denim

1. IS patterns work well for me generally. I did not do any petite adjustments. Since I eliminated the bottom band I increased the body length pattern pieces by one inch.

2. The directions call for clear elastic for the shirring on side. I found that the gather stitches alone worked well so I did not use the elastic.

3. The pattern instructions are clear and concise and the fabric was great to work with.

Love Notions Duet Trousers, Stretch Denim

1. This is my second try at this pattern. The fabric choice makes a difference in sizing. The stretch denim I used was poor quality and shrunk 4 inches when I washed it. Live and Learn!

2. I eliminated the front pockets due to lack of fabric. I used the curvy waistband pattern piece instead of the straight piece.

3. The pattern can be used for stretch woven and stable knits.

4. I am not thrilled with this make. I will try a stable knit next time and then move on.

Itch to Stitch Galicia Top, cotton poplin
Button back

1. I petited the pattern between shoulder and bust and shortened the length by 2 inches.

2. The pattern has great construction techniques. There is an option for vertical darts which I chose to do. I also shortened the width of the cuff.

3. The pattern is a little out of my comfort zone but I am glad I gave it a try. I think it would be a fun special occasion top.

Kristin’s Garments

Burda 6114 Jacket, fleece and scuba knit and Ravinia Skirt, Love Notions in cotton interlock (version 1)

Jacket, Burda 6114

1. Made size 16/18 at hip. Sizing seemed great.

2. Folded 3/4” out of collar lengthwise. Collar is taller in front, probably would change that in future jackets as it just stands up and doesn’t seem to want to lay in a “collarly” fashion. Didn’t interface.

3. Pockets according to pattern were just a passing thought-instead cut 6×9” rectangles and 3 layers so that anywhere the pocket showed would be my knit print. Pockets went from seam to seam and were topstitched through outer fabric across the top. Very happy with them.

4. Changed up zipper installation-folded collar and hem over zip, stitched and turned right side out. Very important (I think): handbasted from pocket top up and down to ensure all meeting points were happy.

5. Left sleeve hems very deep (sleeves were 2”+ too long) so white wrong side of scuba doesn’t show.

Midi Length Knit SkirtRavinia Skirt/Love NotionsCotton knit

1. Oh, my, how could I have been so blind!! I had traveled down the Instagram/email rabbit hole and saw this pattern which matched a picture I had cut out of a catalog numerous times!! How could I have missed the photos of the test garments?

2. But the skirt was already cut out so sew it I must. It isn’t so bad-I knew it was an a-line skirt and that the waist band had negative ease (5-7”) but I didn’t understand that the waist edge of the skirt also had the same negative ease. I was hoping for a few tucks and pleats as the waistband was stretched to meet the skirt. Nope-I had to stretch the skirt to fit the waistband that I cut out two sizes larger to accommodate the fact that my waist was larger than the pattern measurements (not a problem if the skirt is gathered into the negative ease waistband!)

3. The gathered pocket went in well and to be fair there are some funny puckers in my inspiration picture where gathers go all the way to waist.

4. I added 4” to the calf length of the skirt. A narrow elastic is applied to the top waistband seam for extra security.

5. If I make this again, I will get rid of the A-line and add fabric at waist so it has gathers all around 🙂

6. So I went home Wednesday night and made another skirt, this time using the full 60” width of the fabric as my skirt and applying the pockets and gathering the 60” to the negative ease waistband. Now that’s what I had in mind!!

Ravinia Skirt, Version 1-hem width 100” plus Version 2 (being worn)-gathers at waist and 60” hem width
Pleat Detail Dress and Top/Maker’s Atelier, cotton lawn

1. Made size medium to pattern except for a few construction changes.

2. Seam allowances are 3/8” which makes it a little trickier to serge seam allowances and sew seams but I wanted a nice flat press.

3. Pattern instructions assume you will do things and doesn’t tell you to-understitching facing, finishing facing edges, pleats should have been basted to make pressing easier, etc.

4. There’s a tiny slit in sleeve opening (cuff edge) that may be to allow for more ease but it’s pretty small and not shown on pattern.

Vogue 8616 (OOP) in activewear fleece
Burda 6367 in activewear fleece

1. Both are patterns I’ve made before. The Vogue pattern was quite recent-this time I cut off the folded facing and banded the whole opening. Much better and less fussy than the folded facing.

2. The Burda pattern always feels like home to me-shoulders are a bit dropped but not too much. The whole thing feels like a cozy sweatshirt that wears a bit more like a long sleeve tee.

Wool Sweater

Karine Jalie #4242 in wool knit

1. Had to try this pattern again in something a bit more basic than the other patch work one. Still like it. No changes. Goes together well.

June Garment Sewing Group

Thursday, June 8, 10:30, First Sewing, Bloomington

Saturday, June 10, 10:30, Sewing Lounge, St. Paul

Wednesday, June 14, 10:30, Lakes Makerie, Minneapolis

Last of January Photos

I hope you are in the sunshine somewhere-it’s beautiful!! Speaking of beautiful-here are the remaining sew and tell pics. Another great month of sewing!

Lisette 6296
Simplicity 9291 Gertie pattern
Shucks, I didn’t write down the wrap sweater pattern! Can anyone help me out?
Sapporo Coat/now Nova Coat from Papercut Patterns
Vogue 1784
OOP coat pattern
Historically correct doll bodice
Daughter/mother duo in The Blouse by Avid Seamstress (daughter) and Estelle Ponte Jacket by Stylearc (mother)
Madden Skirt by Tessuti Patterns
Tremont Jacket/Vest by The Sewing Workshop X 2
Nancy’s Blouse by Silhouette Patterns in rayon batik
McCalls 7874 from two old sweatshirts!
Vogue 8854
Wool Coat-Logan Shacket by Stylearc
Copied ready-to-wear/still making modifications

Happy sewing for February!!

Saturday’s Sew and Tell

It’s been fun seeing new faces along with our regulars! And the new folks are jumping right in with garments they’ve sewn. Here are the highlights-

Several variations on Silhouette Patterns #719 DVF’s Blouse in a Liberty of London fabric-the courage it took to cut into the fabric! Yeah!!
V9057 for Mother’s Day gift
“Corona Virus Stash Buster Jacket” McCall’s 7100
Plain old pj pant (Simplicity 1520) looks awesome in a fun print with an added paper bag waist!
Talvikki Sweater by Named Patterns
Knit top from Love Notions may also be made in a woven
Janet Pray’s Create Your Own Sloper Tee
Lots of work goes into a pair of jeans-these are the Cashmerette Ames version
Beginnings of a summer wardrobe capsule in denim seersucker
Top is McCalls 7784 View C with great use of the fabric’s selvage
Shorts are Burda 6927 View A
Mimi G. Simplicity 8927 top and skirt in same fabric as above
Notice the skirt button opening is intentionally off center-Katie isn’t sure if that’s a positive or negative 🙂
Seamwork York Shirt in a woven

Inspirational Sewing from May Meetings

So many great garments to see in May (thanks to April snow?!?) You keep amazing us with new and different ideas-rock on and thanks for sharing!

Enjoy the heat and the long weekend-just in case your idea of a perfect 95 degree day is sewing in your cool lower level studio :)….

Post Peggy Sagers Fit Workshop

From our California Material Girl, Carrie, after the whirling in her head slowed down 🙂
(To see the first two entries, see The Art of Fitting-Before and The Art of Fitting-In the Thick of It.

So, how does one feel after being enmeshed in fitting muslins for almost 4 days? Tired!
My head feels full of information that I didn’t even have time to get into notes. And I’m excited by all that I learned about how to fit patterns.
I still need to find time to take the adjustments from my muslins and adapt my tissue patterns according to the changes.
I brought 10 muslins with me to the training and all 10 came home fitted to me – first by another student, then reviewed, adjusted, and modified by Peggy.
I’m very happy with what I learned and am also happy to have 10 patterns fitted to me that I can use as a baseline going forward.

The training schedule is 80% hands on fitting. The other 20% is direct explanation and training from Peggy. There is no magic formula for fitting. Each wrinkle is unique to each individual, but Peggy has tried to create a common sense approach that breaks down the most common sources or reasons for wrinkles. I like that Peggy is all about taking a simple approach to fitting – what’s the fastest, easiest way to eliminate the wrinkles? Let’s not create a new arm hole shape that would require a new sleeve. Let’s not make several modifications to one garment – maybe we have the wrong size to start with etc.

After Day Two I think most people in the class felt frustrated with the learning process. Most of what we were doing to fit the muslins was still “wrong.” We were able to identify the wrinkles, but not always what was causing the wrinkle, so therefore, not fixing the wrinkle in the correct way. Day Three Peggy came in with a new class format and, in general, I could tell that by the end of the class we were starting to “get it.” Day Four, the last day, Peggy offered to start early and most people showed up early, already jumping in with a partner before Peggy even arrived. Each fitting was reviewed and corrected as needed by Peggy. She would often ask what the fitter saw before making an adjustment, then review what should be changed and why.

Overall, learning the fundamentals of fitting and the hands on experience is totally worth the cost of the class. Leaving the class with at least 9 fitted muslins- more if you have time to make more – is totally worth the cost of the class. If you want to become a fitting trainer and offer sewing classes – you won’t walk away with a packaged program or curriculum to do that. In my class about half of the ladies were interested in teaching fit classes. Peggy does share experiences and what works or doesn’t work from her personal experience and the experience of previous students.

So, am I a fitting expert now? No, but I have a really good set of tools in my tool box. From what I’ve heard and now experienced, it takes practice, practice, practice and I’m ready to jump in!

Thanks, Carrie. To find out more about Peggy’s class fitting class, click this link.

Peggy Sager’s Blouse Webcast

Monday night was webcast of Peggy’s blouse construction webcast. We didn’t watch it at the Fashion Sewing Club that night because it was mostly on technique and not fit. The techniques in the webcast are also on her “Factory Tips and Techniques-2″ video (pant construction is also on the DVD).

So anyway, I thought I’d give it a try and bought her #600 pattern which she used on the webcast. I had the pattern all cut out and turned on the DVD. Slow sewing was all over the letters to the editor in recent sewing mags but Peggy is out there to git ‘er done! And she delivers. The webcast was 50 minutes long and she finished the blouse-well, except for fitting darts, hems and buttons. I also got that far on my blouse. I took time out for a long phone call and paused the webcast when she got ahead of me. All in all it probably took me an hour and a half. Not bad when I had to look at the pattern once in a while to see what she was talking about. Having said that, it was fun to just sew and have her telling me what to do the whole time. That in itself was a timesaver. I had also watched her DVD once so that may have helped me a bit.

Just a few comments-She talks about sewing on the sleeve and turning off the differential feed. In my experience, all differential feeds are neutral in the middle and turned in one direction to gather and the opposite to stretch. Not sure what serger she’s using… The sleeve did go in very well-not much extra fabric. I really didn’t need much from my differential feed at all. Sewing on the collar with her method is pretty slick and I must say it looks good too. The front plackets add a nice stability to the garment and certainly is quick.

Trying the blouse on this morning I probably should have used a size 3 instead of 2. I went for 3 inches of bust ease-measuring my favorite blouses as she suggests. I forget that she has that 3/8” seam allowance so there’s no grace. The blouse fits-even at the bottom. Bust is great. There is just a bit less ease of movement in the shoulders than I’d like.

Sometime today I will watch her fit webcast for this blouse and I’ll let you know how that goes. Anybody else try this pattern and methods?

September Fashion Sewing Club Photos

It was so good to see all of you again. I think we all missed getting together in August! We started out at The Sampler and had a fun group with a few newbies. The group that came to Hancock/Southtown seemed happy to be around fabric and notions and the Treadle morning group had no chairs to spare! There was so much creative energy we had to turn on the air conditioning.

Show and Tell was wonderful. Maybe the extra month gave everyone more time but I’m hoping we keep seeing all of your good work. There are a few pictures below and you can always send us a photo of your creation and we’ll post it.

A good source for outdoor fabric is Rockywoods-supplex, ripstop, etc. We also have a good place to donate fabric. Bring it to any classes and we’ll get it delivered.

Debbie wanted to show the versatility of the Yoga Pant by Peggy Sagers. They’re perfect for dressing up or down. We’ve changed the class to 2 hours and $20.

Laurel and I were reminded how important a muslin (or toile) can be. I was fooled into thinking I knew how a Marcy Tilton would fit me and Laurel figured Cynthia Guffey’s pattern would be error proof. We’ll both be stocking up on muslin 😛

So here they are with a bit more info than usual. The Club sheets are now included here on the website. Click on Club sheets in the top bar and September 2010 should show-click on that and you’ll find this month’s printout or find it in the far right column under Pages. We still think personally attending Club is the most inspiring and fun but it doesn’t always work into the schedule. This also makes it easy to find information you need when you can’t find your sheets. Is this helpful? Do you like the inclusion of pattern numbers?

The fall colors are coming out and the weather is cooling (but the sun is so beautiful today). Hope you are inspired to make yourself or someone else a warm garment.

Detail of Debbie's variation on KwikSew 2993 and tee from Sew Stylish Fall 2010

Debbie's Dress Up Blouse Kwik Sew 3620-not shown Silhouette #3400 Yoga Pant

Debbie's double collar variation on Butterick 6085

Wedding Dress #3-KwikSew 3735

Kristin's Sewing Workshop MixIt Tank Detail

Half finished using PaintStiks to highlight fabric weave

Variation on Vogue 8454

Laurel's Indygo Junction One Button Swing Topper

Laurel's shirt after alterations-Burda 8368

Close up of Kathy's Sewing Workshop Urban Tee-trim all seam allowances as much as you can

Cheri's variation on Sewing Workshop MixIt Tee

Sewing Events and More

Lots of things going on here, trying to winnow the things we do and try to do only what we do best. There was some talk of going to the sewing expo in Novi, Michigan. It’s supposed to be the best for fashion sewing. After looking at the vendors and classes, I’ve decided that it looks alot like the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo that will be here in November so I’m going to pass. I’m taking it off of our calendar.

The event I’m really looking forward to is the Creative Connection. It’s September 16-18 at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. Amy Butler and Mary Jane Butters (do you know who she is? I’d call her the Martha Stewart of the back to the farm movement-she’s got a great mag but, come ‘on, who could possibly do all she does and look that good-my main complaint about Martha-like we all need another perfect woman to emulate!) Where was I? Oh, yes, wonderful creative women will be speaking; there’s a handmade market that I’m guessing will look like something out of a Somerset Studio/Stampington & Co. magazine. The part I am personally excited about is “social media and your business” speakers and panels. There are also classes that look like fun but are mostly handwork as far as I could tell. If you live in the Shakopee area, the Eagle Creek Quilt Shop is taking a bus downtown on Friday and Saturday. Too bad the Sewing and Quilting Expo people can’t see what’s going on and change their focus a bit.

Peggy Sagers (Silhouette Patterns) has a new set of 4 patterns for fall. I’ve ordered them and especially want to try the cape pattern. There are so many in the fashion magazines for fall but they’re not that great for a pear figure. Check out her version. The set of four sale ends today (Wed.).

After a frustrating jacket fitting, I’ve decided to take the plunge and get a dress form. Any advice out there? Uniquely You was recommended as I was searching for answers to my jacket fit problem. Bernina has one. What do you have?

On the subject of fit-check out The Fashion Code. It’s a $30 option for getting your perfect neckline, hemline, sleeve length. You take your measurements and upload them on the website and get your perfect measurements, based on the Golden Proportion, and a pdf file of a 30 page book to explain your best look further. The measurements are taken from the floor and are a bit tricky to do alone. If you’d like we’ll do them before or after Fashion Sewing Club for you.

Hope to see a bunch of you at Hancock tomorrow!