The Great Vintage Shirt Project - Simplicity 2194

October's Shirt is Finished!

Between yesterday and today I finished up October's shirt.  There wasn't anything out of the ordinary to do to finish up the shirt:  add the sleeves, finish the side seam/sleeve seam in one long seam, add the cuffs, make buttonholes and attach buttons.  It was very straight forward work and nothing that I hadn't done before (since this one is #10, I've done most of these steps at least a few times!).

I found some nice brown buttons to finish off the project, too:

I'm glad that this one is all done.  I also made a couple more Burda turtles for my daughter this week, one black and one ivory.  They're not exciting, but she needed them and I already had the ivory fabric.  Next week I am working on FGTDD, and a new jacket muslin.

Parting Shot:  In the Leaves.  Well, sort of.  This is as close as Wellie will get to playing in leaves.  He's been declawed in the front, so outside is not an option for him.  I had to take this fabric and make a tablecloth and he got in the middle of it before I could get the measuring and cutting done.

3 Creative Studios 2010 Quilt Challenge - Music

Final Embellishments and Reveal

Let's just skip the embellishments parts for right now, and skip to the reveal.  You're probably just going to scroll down for that anyway, then go back and read the rest of the stuff.  Here it is:

The embellishments that I needed to finish were the nest and some of the leaves.  For the nest, I fused snippets of fuzzy yarns and a few other things (bit of the faux leather used on my son's coat), mostly in browns to the background with Mistyfuse. 

To get a more 3D texture, I stitched a wide zigzag over the surface of the nest and wove in longer pieces of the yarns leaving the ends free.

The leaves are cut out from synthetic fabrics using a woodburning tool with a metal template that I made.  I've used this technique many times for my art garments and described it previously in Forget Me Knot and Garden Path.  I then quilted the leaves in place, leaving the edges free.

A binding to the back finishes the quilt:

Only one more challenge!  It should be interesting to see what the final word for 2010 will be.

Parting Shot:  Flute Quintet.  My daughter played today in a flute quintet for the fall music chapel at her school.  She's the second from the left.  They did a very good job, considering that for the most part, they've never played in a group before. 

From Groceries To Dinner Date - Part X

More Silk Screens

The sun was shining today, so I got more silk screens made!  I've got one more outside drying out and I'll have all the ones I need for this project. 

I'm really happy with the process and the EZScreenprint people have been really nice, too.  I went to place an order last week and during the checkout I was informed that they don't ship to my area.  That was really strange, since I received an order the week before.  I called their customer service, which apparently was during their lunchtime, but they did get back to me quickly.  The order process was completed late Friday and I had my supplies on Monday.

Now I can get to the construction, printing and quilting.  I've got a couple of piece ready for quilting, which don't have the screen printing, so *maybe* I'll be able to get those next week.

Parting Shot:  Raking.  Well, sort of.  It was windy and my son was holding down the tarp before the next load of leaves was hauled away.  We ended up using small logs to help hold it down while we loaded it up.

The Great Vintage Shirt Project - Simplicity 2194

Construction, Part One

So far, the construction has been pretty straight forward, as many of these vintage shirts have similar features:  multiple dart shaping, collars and facings, and sleeves with or without cuffs.  The variables have been size, placement and type of darts and the general collar shape.  This particular pattern has released tucks and bust darts, plus an additional pairs of darts to shape the back and front necks.  (BTW, if you sew a lot of vintage patterns, you'll get really good at sewing darts of all kinds!)  You can see the three front darts much better in the photo below as once again, my choice of print obscures some of these details:

The back neck has two very small darts to shape it.  On the pattern, there is only a line drawn. 

To make the dart, you are to fold the fabric on the line, then stitch 1/8" from the fold at the edge and tapering to nothing at the dot.  It will look like this when completed:

This blouse has a shawl collar with a split back neck.  I actually like jackets and blouses with shawl collars, even though the construction can be tricky when you're trying it out for the first time.  I'd never done one with a split at the center back.  The center back collar seam is sewn partially, and the facing is also sewn the same way.  When sewn together, each side is sewn separately, completing the collar:

So far, so good:

I still need sleeves and finishing, but this is a good start!   Maybe by the end of the week this one will be done.  If the sun shines tomorrow, I'll also be making more screens for FGTDD!

Parting Shot:  Very Silly.  My son has a small collection of silly bands.  For right now, these are the trend (do understand that in northern New England, we're always quite a bit *behind* the trends) amongst the elementary students. 

From Groceries to Dinner Date - Part IX

Embellishment Progress

I  have decided to do the screen printing on the jacket.  Now the big things that still need to be decided are scale and color.  Since I had to wait on more screen printing supplies (a story I'll relate in another post), I had time to work on those two things.  Let's start with the scale of the images.

To figure out what scale I needed, I traced off the front of the jacket pattern and marked all the seam allowances and then the space for the pieced section.  I then traced on various sizes of the motif I'm using to see how it would look.  I did one full size:

Then one with the motif reduced to 75%.  BTW, photocopiers are a great tool for shrinking or enlarging an image to fit a space;  this can also be done with various computer programs. 

I like the idea of the smaller motif - it does not compete with the pieced work, but compliments it.  I think that's the direction I'll be headed.  A need to draw a little more artwork and get it scanned into the computer, but I think that I can move on from this part of the project.

Meanwhile, I also needed to find a shade of red that would work on the denim background.  This isn't as easy as it sounds.  I have two reds and two whites, both opaques and Lumieres, so I knew I could mix them to find the right shade.  Straight out of the jar, the reds while beautiful were too dark.  They did not contrast well enough with the denim to be noticeable.  That's a problem - the motifs need to be noticeable and part of the whole rather than fading off.  I know this because I've done samples.  I've let the samples hang around the workroom for a few weeks.  I've looked at them under all sorts of lighting conditions and still thought that they were too dark.  

I did some initial mixing tests a week ago and was coming up with a frosted pink.  Not quite right, but at least the right idea. 

Last night, I mixed up the opaque red and a little bit of the white Lumiere and came up with a color that I think will work.  It is red like the VickiW fabric in the piecing, but not pink and shows up nicely.  Unfortunately, the photos do not show the colors accurately, but really the colors are much better in real life. 

I'll give it a few more days and see what I think, but I think I'm ready to make more screens and get to printing!

Parting Shot:  Somewhere New.  We had to open the storage under our stairwell, and you-know-was the first to investigate.  He's always right there, like an eager child to explore things.

The Great Vintage Shirt Project - October - Simplicity 2194

Introduction

This month's vintage shirt pattern is Simplicity 2194.  I'll be making View 3, the white shawl-collared blouse shown at the bottom of the envelope. 

Surprisingly, this pattern has very few pieces for View 3:  front, back, front facing, sleeve and cuff.  I think that's because the shawl collar is integrated with the front piece, so there is not a collar and collar stand.  There is no yoke, either, eliminating one more piece.

One other interesting feature of this blouse is the split collar at the center back neck, seen better here in the instructions:

I've chosen this cotton print for the blouse.  A nice paisley is hard to resist and this print will match with the chocolate brown, teal and red that I already have in my wardrobe. 

I've got it cut out, now I just need to get to work on it!  I think that maybe tomorrow I can get a little sewing done on it.  All of my alterations are done.  Which reminds me, a few of you asked about the wedding gown.  Since it is not my personal item and I do not have permission to photograph it, much less post pictures on the internet, it will not be shown on the blog. 

Parting Shot: Typical Fall.  This is a typical fall scene from my back deck.  Looks like we'll need to get that cleaned off and start raking soon.

Aqua Robe - Burda 9/10 #127

Finishing the Blue Beast

Last night my daughter had a youth activity, so it was the perfect opportunity to finish up the blue robe, since I had been working on (and finished ) the wedding gown during the day when she was at school.  I also did not want to work on the robe first, since I had vacuumed the sewing space in preparation for working on the gown and pulling the robe out again would be counterproductive. 

I did take the robe apart, trim 1" off the bodice and put it back together, then proceeded with the rest of the finishing. 

The robe needed was a facing, which I added and then stitched the entire free edge of both sides of the facing down.  I did not use interfacing for the facing or collar, but I sure thought about it.  In hindsight, I probably should, but all I had was fusible and I really couldn't see doing any fusing on that furry stuff.  Sewing it was bad enough, but fusing would have taken it to a whole other level of bad.  Besides, a robe is supposed to be soft and cuddly, and this one will see plenty of abuse, so no interfacing. 

I also finished up the hems, the button opening and added the button.  To finish the button opening, I just topstitched around it.  For nicer fabric, I'd slip stitch the two pieces (fashion fabric and facing) together, but this isn't nicer fabric, so topstitching was just fine.  I did find a perfect button;  it is about 1 3/8" wide and has a very similar pattern and color scheme as the matching pajamas I already made for my daughter's birthday. 

Whew, one Christmas present done.  I am glad to be moving on to some nicer fabric next week.  I've got the Great Vintage Shirt Project for the month of October waiting for next week.  Good thing, we're almost out of October!

Parting Shot:  Winter Somewhere.  It's winter on the higher peaks in the mountains already.   I hiked today and took this shot of the Franconia Ridge from the dock at the Lonesome Lake Hut.

3 Creative Studios 2010 Quilt Challenge - Music

The Quilting

The quilting plan for this piece is fairly simple:  enhance what is there, not create anything new.  With that in mind, I pulled out a lot of threads to try out.  For the most part, I did not use a lot of glittery threads, but used more of the shiny rayons. 

I did a bit of trapunto for the birds and the eggs.  Since they are the central figures, I wanted them to stand out a bit from their surroundings.  The birds will get the rest of their details quilted in later.

I very densely quilted the area around the eggs, not only for color, but also for a texture and to make the eggs seem more dimensional.

For the branches and tree, I filled in with a rough texture in two brown colors.  The leaves were all outlined and then filled in with veins.   You can see both in the photo below.

Lastly the background behind the birds was filled in:

Next week:  the embellishments and the reveal.  Now, I need to get the wedding gown and the blue beast finished!

Q/A:  sdBev asked, "I love your piece! Where do the "challenges" come from? Do you have a local ASG chapter or something of that sort which decides and issue the challenges?"  The challenges are from the 3 Creative Studios 2010 Quilt Challenge.  From the 3 Creative Studios website, there is a link to their forum or the Quilt Challenge blog, which gives the details of the challenge. 

Parting Shot: Blue Love.  Wellie loves the blue fabric, too.  He was hard to chase away from this fabric.  Usually he'll leave something alone once I send him on his way, but not this stuff.  He even got his share of fuzz.

Aqua Robe - Burda 9/10 #127

Taming the Blue Beast

While the fabric I've chosen for my daughter's robe for a Christmas present is soft and cuddly, is sure does shed!  The first step in working with the fabric was to realize that there wasn't much I could do about it and to get out the vacuum.  Using the serger for some of the construction and for finishing the rest of the raw edges was a big help.  In case you're planning to sew this sort of stuff, I used the differential feed on my serger and set it to the largest stitch length.  I also used safety pins to mark major points such as the top of shoulder - there really is no other way to mark this stuff except for tailor's tacks and this was quicker and easier.

I will have to say, once I figured out how to work with the fabric, the body went together rather quickly.  I did change the pattern a bit to make it work for a robe rather than a coat and to work with the fabric's properties.  I did two major things: eliminate all the darts and changed the buttonhole.  Regarding the darts, a robe is a garment that doesn't require shaping.  If this would have been flannel, I would have left them in.  In this fabric, less is better it is too thick to do darts well.

For the buttonhole, there was no way I was going to make a buttonhole in this fabric, so I opted for an inseam buttonhole since there is a waist seam.  This is very easy to make, and in wool or silk, looks very elegant.  Paco has used this technique in some jackets recently and it looks very clean.  It is even in his new pattern.  In this case, there's nothing elegant about this fabric, but the buttonhole is very functional.   All I did was to leave an opening large enough for the button in the waist seam. I'll have to do the same with the facing, but I won't have to make a buttonhole.

I worked on it quite a bit this morning and got the entire body constructed:

I'm not sure I'm liking it 100%.  I think what's bugging me is that the body is a bit long.  I may take off the skirt, trim the bodice length a bit and reattach it.  After that, all that's left is to attach the facing, hem it and attach the button.  I should be done with it tomorrow, but I've got to finish up the wedding gown before I bring out the shedding blue beast again.

Parting Shot:  Where's Wellie?  This time he was in the kitchen cabinets.  He got up there when my son was making sandwiches this morning.  This is a definite no-no for him.  He can go anywhere else, but not the dining room table, kitchen counters or cabinets!

Teal Hoodie and The Burda Turtle

I finished up the hoodie on Monday, just in time to wear to choir practice.  I wore it with a white t-shirt, the chocolate corduroy skirt, and the brown blazer worn in the Liberty print shirt photos and brown tights.  It also looks nice with brown corduroy trousers, too.  I didn't get any photos of me wearing it, but here it is:

My daughter wore her lavender version yesterday, too, so we could have arranged for a matching photo shoot, but decided that was a bit too much, so no photos of that, either.

After seeing all the nice versions of the Burda turtleneck, (9/10, #121) including Cidell's version and how fast she made one, I decided I had to try it.  I picked up some cotton interlock - probably the worst knit for this pattern, but figuring if this made a nice turtle, any nice knit would, too.   My daughter needs turtlenecks anyway, so this is a good experiment.  The size 36 fits both her and I (I tried it on, too), with the body and sleeve slim enough to be worn under other knits as a second layer.

I started tracing the pattern after dinner, and by an hour later, I had everything done but tacking down the neck to the inside and the hems.  I had to try it on my daughter anyway before those things got done.  Here it is, after the finishing:

I added a small ribbon tag to the inside of the back neck for easy identification of front and back, as the front and back looks similar and if my daughter is in a hurry to get dressed, it is likely that it will be put on backwards. 

Since this was so easy, I think we'll be see more of these in the future for both of us. 

Today I've got to dig around and see if I have enough spools of some sort of aqua to get that robe stitched up, since I was a little side tracked by the Burda turtle.  I'd like to finish that robe by the end of the week!

Parting Shot:  More Color.  The fall color is just past peak here, but still pretty.  We're getting more crisp air and I know there's snow in the mountains.  Winter is just a few months away!

From Groceries To Dinner Date - Part VIII

Lining and Finally Some Real Work!

I got my lining in the mail yesterday and it beautiful!  VickiW did a great job getting just the right color and pattern.  If you ever need something custom dyed or want some of her gorgeous fabrics, don't hesitate! 

Now I really need to get to work!  I think I've settled on what I'm going to do with the pieced sections and almost decided on the rest of the embellishments.  To that end, I needed to modify the pattern to get rid of the horizontal seam.  I've pinned most of the pieces together, redrafted a bit and now have pattern pieces I can use.  Don't get me wrong, I like the horizontal seam, but just not with everything else I have planned;  the fewer seams the better in this case. 

I want to keep all of the embellishments and seams as vertical as possible (the sleeves being the exception) to keep the eye travelling up and down, thus creating a longer and leaner illusion.  I was tempted to miter the pieced sections and go around the hem, but the more I think about it, I don't think that visually that's a good idea.  It would visually broaden my most broad part.  Not a good look.  I've been pinning things in place to get an idea of placement before actually doing any construction:

Now that I know what the final size of the pieces will be, I can finish planning the quilting and get started!

Parting Shot:  Almost.  I almost shut Wellie in the linen closet.  Again.  He got stuck in there last week.  He will go in there when I am cleaning the bathroom and get way back on the back stack of towels where I can't see him.  I shut the door and, not knowing he's in there, might leave him in there for a long time.  We found him last Wednesday morning by tracking down the meowing.  This week I was lucky to see just a part of his tail before shutting the door.