Vogue 8813

My August sewing retreat with the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Sewing Guild (ASG) was more productive than usual for me.  I was happy to sew up the overlay top and tank that I wrote about in my last post.  Next up was a new to me pattern, Vogue 8813, a dress that was also inspired by some snoop shopping in the previous spring.  

Vogue 8813 is a Marcy Tilton pattern and I'm not always a fan of her style on me.  I'm more of a sportswear or dressy casual girl and feel a little outside of my comfort zone in her artsy and generally asymmetrical clothing.  Hems seem to flare out at unflattering locations, IMNHO, and all that fabric overpowers the wearer too often.  I admire how cool and hip other bloggers and friends look in her designs, however, so I am trying to not get in a clothing rut.  

Vogue 8813

This dress was the closest I could come in her dress pattern selections to finding the happy medium that I could live with and I am thrilled with the result.  
I cut out a Medium in view B with 3/4 sleeves and decided to make without any fabric combining.  My first one use a brown and black ITY that has been marinating in my stash for years.  The colors are perfect for a travel wardrobe and this dress is exactly what I want for an upcoming trip.  It packs like a dream (translation: balls up in a suitcase and shakes out without wrinkles.)  But it is a fabric hog with Medium using almost three yards of 60" fabric.  Thanks goodness a) for Fabric Mart sales and b) for a great result.
I didn't make the pleat on the extremely large pocket but just pulled it up in the center and added a heavy glass button to hold it in place.  That button was so heavy that I used a flat lightweight wooden button as a backer button to support it on this lightweight knit.

The pattern uses the old fashioned way of creating those front bodice gathers...zig zag over a length of pearl cotton.  It does let you adjust the width of the panel and I found that I wanted it narrowed to five inches.  Now that I know the finished measurement I suppose I could use a narrow elastic application in the future...and there will be future versions.

Pleat that I didn't use on the first version

When I tried the dress on at the retreat, it was much too big across my upper body.  Since it is a cut on sleeve I merely took that underarm seam down by almost an inch....which I think easily puts me into the Small or maybe even Extra-small version. 

I was so happy with the result at the retreat that in the following week I cut out another one and easily finished it in a day of sewing from another Fabric Mart knit with a slightly heavier hand.  Don't you love those fun, easy, palate cleansing sewing projects?

Vogue 8813

When I looked for the two buttons for this set of pockets, of course I had too many choices.  If you hoard save collect buttons then you'll understand...

The winner

But all my sewing projects are certainly not as successful.  I was inspired earlier this year to consider a jewelry refashioning project. My jewelry Pinterest board Turns out those wonderful Pinterest ideas are much harder to execute than I assumed.  Without buying many more supplies in my already extensive jewelry making materials, I was only able to put together one small project successfully, this old faux pearl necklace with a vintage pin added.  Conclusion: support those artisans who produce these delightful items;-)

My one jewelry refashioning project

Mr. Lucky and I are heading out for another walking excursion next month and this dress will be both useful and a way to share my passion for sewing with new travel friends.  It's our 31st anniversary and we are celebrating 35 years together by going to...

Next post I will share the new jacket that will also be making the trip and of course I welcome any fabric shopping suggestions.  Here's hoping that your sewing adventures are leading you to new patterns and new experiences.

Vogue 1100 review and pics

   Pattern Description:  Vogue 1100

Loose-fitting, lined jacket A has two-piece collar, two-piece, three-quarter length raglan sleeves with cuffs, front princess seams, mock welts, inverted back pleat, slightly flared back hemline and single buttonhole and button closure

 Pattern Sizing:6-20

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Fairly easy to follow.   As always, I find the front facing and hem lining the most difficult to accomplish.  I made my lining a hang loose version to allow for the swing of the jacket back.  I think that’s what the Vogue directions were ending up with as well but they never spelled it out directly.  Sometimes you have to hit me with a big beam to get my attention.   Otherwise I think anyone with some sewing experience could handle this one.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I’ve had this pattern for a while.  I particularly enjoyed seeing Annette’s ,  jewelea and merrypatter’s versions since they each gave me some ideas for my own.  I immediately liked the collar on this jacket.  It’s similar to few others I’ve made:  Kwik Sew  3095 and Simplicity  2858.  Like the Simplicity jacket it has princess seams which I think are a girl’s best friend, especially on a jacket that tends to be boxy….but I tend to be boxy in my midsection also.

Fabric Used:  A linen blend that has been in my collection for years.  I bought it in Baltimore at a fabric store that used to be on Erdman Avenue (Maybe called Fabric Warehouse)  I probably bought it in the early 90’s since it has that bright color saturation from back in those days (now being revived in the 80s look of today)  It must have some rayon since it presses nicely but also has a repugnant smell when damp. 

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I did make a quick muslin and made the collar slightly wider at the back since I too found that it was pulling away from my neck.  I probably should have done a round back alteration but was too lazy to bother in this swing jacket back.  I did a FBA on the princess seams up front and added 1” to the total length.  I did a modified S curve on that princess seam to give the jacket slightly more shaping on the front (can’t find that great Threads article about S shaping under the bust area to bring the princess seam bottom slightly closer to the body) Initially I also added 1 ½ inches to the length of the sleeves.  My boo boo since I was judging the muslin sleeve length without the added cuffs.  I took out 1" of that length when I got around to adding the cuffs in the fashion garment.

I like the saddle stitching that merrypatter did on her jacket so I did something similar. 
I wanted a tone on tone subtle look since I planned on wearing jewelry with this jacket.  I used three threads of embroidery floss and did two rows of stitching around the cuffs, pocket flaps, upper shoulder front, back above the swing pleat and up and down the front and collar.  I actually like handsewing and like the rough texture this gives to the jacket without screaming handmade (I hope.)   I didn’t want it too precise or else I would have used a guide like Tigertape or a basting stitch.

For the hanging lining I did anchor the side seams of the lining to the jacket with thread loops

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/14669/thread-bars

The pocket flaps are simply that, non-functioning flaps and a bit large at that.  I would reduce their width aby about 1" and maybe make a real pocket...although I don't need too much extra in that location.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Simplicity 2858

Hmmmm, not sure I will sew this one again.  I actually ended up liking my Simplicity jacket more.  One reason is the under collar piece of the Simplicity jacket has what I call a modified collar stand.
The collar is therefore supported to stand up and mold around my back neck which I think makes for a more flattering collar.  I hate sewing the Simplicity jacket because it has those annoying square corners for the shawl collar and lining but I think the results are better.  This Vogue collar is much, much, much easier to sew, however, so I'll keep it around for a while.

Conclusion: Flattering collar, nice color, keep it for the files of maybe.

Jacket Beats Pajamas

 Today's sewing time started shrinking rapidly and I have to accept that reality and move on.  Pajamas were put on hold while I worked on the Vogue 1100 jacket.  I thought I might finish in time for tomorrow's ASG chapter meeting.  Not going to happen, too many interruptions today.  Some jacket progress, however, so not a total waste.

I was distracted by those interruptions and ended up sewing the cuff on the right sleeve three times and still didn't get it right.  You can't tell in this fuzzy photo but I've done the same hand stitching on the cuffs as for the pockets.  When I made the muslin I did not put the cuffs on and decided to lengthen the sleeves 1 1/2 inches.  I stitched the cuffs on, tried the jacket on and realized I hated the longer length.  Ok, cut it off, sew the sleeve seams and little wider and re sew the cuff.  Whoops, one side looks better than the other with that hand stitching.  Unsew again and try one more time.

These are lightweight molded shoulder pads that I found a year ago at the PA Fabric Outlet outside of Lancaster, PA.  This is the type of store that has lots of "stuff" but seldom the same stuff twice.  These are perfect when you want a very light shaping but not heavy padding.  I use one for my left, "standard" shoulder shoulder and two for my right "leaning" shoulder.   Ok, time to do some hand sewing on the front collar and edges.   I won't finish it in time for this month's meeting.  That's ok, I think I want to rein in those huge faux pocket flaps anyway.  What do you think, about 1 inch less width?  Right now they looks like rudders.

Off to do more handwork, this time down the front edges and around the collar.

Buttons and Books

Vintage button gift

Aren't buttons amazing?  Every color in the rainbow, every material know to man....but you still have to search high and low to find just the right button for a project.  That is why I stopped stashing buttons a few years ago.  I was notorious for collecting buttons, in NYC, in PA at Sauder's, on vacation.  And guess what?  When I needed buttons for a project, I seldom had the right number, size or color.  So, no more stashing buttons.  I've been quite good about that resolution....but here are buttons which a dear friend just gave to me last week.  We met some years ago in a women's group at my church and I had always admired her style and then admired her character and charm.  I'm saddened for myself that she's moving into a retirement center back up north since she had joined our little sewing group last year.  But joining us did get her back into sewing.  When she was here in FL packing and cleaning out the house she gave me a large bag of fabrics, hem tapes, zippers and some bags of buttons.  Most of it will go to my ASG meeting since I hardly need one more item.... but I could not resist keeping these wonderful buttons.   Aren't these beautiful?

Making slow progress on the turquoise jacket.  Fine by me, I enjoy the process just as much as the result.  As I've started the actual construction I also have to commit to the embellishment I'm going to use.  That's where Patternreview and snoop shopping give me so many ideas.  I loved the padstitching on this version of the jacket, from merrypatter   merrypatter's blog of Vogue 1100    I'm doing a similar version with three threads of embroidery floss stitched twice around the edge.  I like the hand rustic look but did it in tone on tone so it wouldn't look so "country."  I hope that's true....you can tell me otherwise, you won't hurt my feelings.

Vogue 1100 pocket embroidery

I haven't mentioned any books in this blog yet but that changes today.  Last week I needed a light little read at night to take my mind off of a bunch of decisions I'm trying to make.  Found exactly the right book to do that.....and there was sewing in it, too.  It's been out for years so perhaps some of you have already enjoyed it....Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik.  I almost always enjoy girlfriend books which span the years (think Ya Ya Sisters and you know what I mean.)  This one opens in the late 60s this capturing today's Mad Men and vintage trends.  But I especially enjoyed the format. The suburban women of the book meet in their 20s and 30s and start a book group.  The ensuing two plus decades follow their lives and the books they read over those years.  Loved that idea and the author carried it off delightfully.   Of course it has to merely touch on many topics and social issues over those years so it's not a finely hewn character study but an entertaining read.  And yes, the character who sews knows what she's talking about...."Kari was a snob when it came to her material--she loved fine worsted wool and soft silks and Egyptian cottons."  


This week's evening read goes an entirely different but just as enjoyable direction.  Work Song by Ivan Doig is introducing me to copper mining in Butte, Montana, the Wobblies, and mine safety for miners....obviously still a relevant subject around the world although this story takes place in 1919.  I've enjoyed several of Doig's other books and this one is a page turner of a historical novel.  Lightweight but pleasantly enjoyable.