Electric Denim Mini Skirt - Grainline Moss #32001

Some background: I start writing my reviews even before I cut the fabric, recording the description, sizing, notion info, and such. This particular one was started over a year ago and I added to it as I worked on the skirt. Great stuff was collected. However, a few days ago, I accidentally deleted the entire post!!!!! I cannot tell you how frustrated this makes me. So loads of details are now gone forever *. So, below, is everything that I remembered. Also, forgive the horrible finished skirt photos (taken on my cell phone).

Pattern: Grainline Studio Moss skirt #32001 (2012)

Pattern Description: Semi-fitted skirt in two lengths sits slightly below the natural waist and features a fly front, button closure, and back yoke. View B offers an optional hem band for length.

Pattern Sizing: Sizes 0-18 and I cut a size 10.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, however when it came to the fly zipper I chose to follow alternative instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the modern styling and the contoured yoke and waistband.

Fabric Used: Sew Classic 10 oz. Bull Denim (100% cotton) in Moroccan Blue from Joann Fabrics at $12.99 a yd.; a remnant of this cotton floral; Coats & Clark 9" zipper in Dark Teal #279; Gutermann 100% Polyester thread in Deep Turquoise #630; 100% cotton thread in Dark Turquoise #7540; Pellon Easy-Knit (AK130) fusible knit interfacing; hook and eye closure; and a gifted 3/4" wood button from Tibet.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made?:  My waist and hip measurements are inches apart and I have an impressive booty, so my first muslin made it clear that some alterations would be needed for the skirt to fit me correctly. Luckily, I was able to contact Jen Beeman, the pattern’s designer and ask for her help. She was able to help me (using hand drawn illustrations!) draft a change to the yoke and back skirt that accommodated my figure without having to add darts to the pattern. See here for that solution.

To eliminate bulkiness in certain areas of the skirt, I cut the pocket and waistband facings from a coordinating cotton print.

I topstitched the skirt using regular stitching thread; however, with future skirts I will use either a complementary or contrasting color in a thicker thread meant for topstitching.

Having solved the fitting problem, I moved onto installing the zipper. I found the Grainline instructions clear but also realized that in my fabric the area could end up bulky.

Instead I used the instructions from my Vogue 9745 pants pattern. In this easy Vogue Elements method, the fly extensions are cut in one with the pant front pattern piece.

 

Therefore, I used the separate Grainline pattern piece to add the appropriate fabric to the fronts. Please note the wide size as I ended up cutting quite a bit of the width off later.

  

Because I do not own a serger I stitched my fly facing right sides together and turned it out. That 5/8 seam allowance resulted in a tiny, wee shield. Please note this if you construct yours without a serger to claim a much smaller seam allowance.

To finish the waistband, I again turned to Lisa G’s awesome Perfect Corners on Waistbands tutorial.

At the last minute, I decided that the skirt was too long, at my knee and decided to cut it. I ended up cutting off about three inches in 1/2”-1” inch increments which resulted in a   long skirt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, now that I have a great fitting pattern, I can see making many more of these, in corduroy and in wild cotton prints. This skirt is a gem for prints especially if you are willing to match the print at center front.

  

 

 

Conclusion: I now have a cool and versatile skirt that can transition throughout the season by just adding tights. It also adds some vibrant color to my wardrobe.

Great thanks to Jen Beeman for the great customer service and help! Without her help, I would not have this awesome fit.

Update: Months later, I have finally added my fabulous button from Nepal, isn't it perfect? (and I have five more!) Thanks, Angie!

Messing With My Moss Muslin Part 1
More On My Moss Muslin, Part 2
Making New Muslin For My Moss, Part 3
Quick Grainline Moss Update, Part 3.5

*However, strange as it is, I did hang on to the zipper package, still have the thread, and I keep all of my fabric purchase receipts from JoAnn and Hancocks. Why? I have no idea but it definitely worked out this time so no reason to stop anytime soon.

9. Flat Front Trousers - Vogue 9745 (OOP)

Pattern: Vogue 9745 (OOP) from the VogueElements line (1997)

Pattern Description: Straight-legged (below waist) trousers with low contour waistband and side pockets. View B.

Pattern Sizing: Size 12-16. To be safe, I started with size 16, which matched my waist and hip measurements. However, with 4.5 inches of ease (!) included, I ended up cutting down to size 14.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. The VogueElements patterns usually have only one page of instructions for their garments and use simple techniques. However, this kind of brevity might be difficult for less experienced sewists or anyone who has not made a pair of pants before.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the slim sleek look of view B without the cuffs and belt carriers. The only issues I had were with some confusing pattern markings. There is only one pattern piece used for the waistband and its facing. However, even though the right and left sides of the front waistband are to be treated differently because of the fly front all of the markings are on this one piece. The markings that show that one side seam should be 5/8" and the other more like 1" are hard to distinguish from the other markings for constructing the fly and for all of the other sizes. You can only get that information from closely looking at the illustrated instructions. For future use, I copied the piece eliminating any markings that I do not need for my size so I won't have to deal with the issue next time.

Fabric Used: 2 1/4 yards 58" stretch bengaline in Potting Soil (81% poly, 15% rayon, 4% spandex) from Jo-Ann for $11.24 (orig. $9.99 per yard at 50% off), Coats and Clark all purpose matching thread in #8950, Coats and Clark 7" zipper in Cloister Brown, #56B, and Pellon Easy-Knit fusible interfacing.

Recently I started checking the grain of all my fabric when I bring it home and before I wash it. Unfortunately, this bengaline was very off-grain. I clipped the fabric at 1/4" in from the edge, pulled a thread and ended up 2 1/2 inches in on the other side! That's a lot of fabric to lose; that could make or break a garment in terms of having the right amount of fabric for a chosen pattern. The fabric care instructions indicated this fabric should be handwashed and line dried. I normally pre-wash everything in the washing machine since I rarely dry clean, however, this time I followed instructions. I don't know yet if that was a good thing or not.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Besides cutting down one size I made no other changes or alterations to this pattern! However, I didn't think that would be the case, so the construction of these took forever and a lot of basting when I could have just sewn them straight through. From now on, watch out! My first TNT* pants pattern has arrived!

I liked the bengaline fabric; however, because the stretch is parallel to the selvedge, along the length, if I wasn't careful it would stretch oddly like when I machine basted the side seams the one side would end up longer. I had to switch over to my walking foot. This fabric needed to be handled carefully, no letting hang over the edge of tables or pressing at too high a heat. However, light steam and gentle pressing worked well on getting flat open seams and defined creases.

Because of the sleek look of the pants when they were basted, I chose not to have pockets, which in this fabric would only add bulk and the possibility of stretching out of shape over time.

The rest of the fit was right, the "c-curve" and all. So well that I will transfer the same curve to my other pants patterns even before I create muslins. The zipper installation on the faux fly went along easily after I translated the markings on the pattern piece.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I made this pattern hoping to end up with a TNT pattern for full-leg pants and that's what I got! As part of the VogueElements line, I have to say they are batting 4 out of 4 with their patterns! Yes, I would definitely recommend this pattern, if you can get your hands on it. If you can't find one online, the current Vogue 8751 looks very similar.

Conclusion:  I learned a huge lesson with these...stop being scared of pants/trousers. I made them without fear when I began sewing in high school and it seems that only in the last few blog-reading years that I became doubtful due to a fear of pants in the sewing blog world. The most important thing though is I now have a TNT pattern for this type of pants. There will definitely be another pair made this winter season, perhaps in denim or no-wale corduroy?

* TNT = tried and true

Images: my own photos

Bottoms Up! 4 in 2012 Update

Looking through my closet, I've noticed that I have short-sleeve or sleeveless tops a-plenty. What I really need is some long-sleeved knit and woven shirts for the cooler weather now. Towards that goal I spent some graduation money on two striped knits from Girl Charlee, one in black/white and the other mustard/ivory (they shipped yesterday!) for some basic long-sleeved t-shirts. Both shirts will go with several items in my wardrobe, including the pants and skirt below.

Of course, I have some lower body clothing to make:

I finally started on the Vogue 9745 full-legged pants in tobacco brown stretch bengaline that I had cut out months ago. Two weeks ago I basted them together to check on the size. I had cut out a 16, which according to the pattern matched my measurements perfectly. But with the included 4.5 inches of too-much ease I took them apart and cut down to the size 14. I had been warned of this by Mikhaela who also made these but I was scared to cut the smaller size, just in case. The rest of the fit seems about right, you know...the "c-curve" and all. Zipper installation went great.* I'm working on the waistband and overall fit now. I'm liking this bengaline fabric but if you're not careful it can stretch oddly like when I was machine basting the side seams. One side would always end up longer. I will remember to switch over to my walking foot for the final seams.

The project I had on my list for next garment was McCall's 8926, a jean-style skirt made out of a saturated turquoise denim. Though the pattern style did work for this fabric I wasn't really motivated to make it up. I had already made that pattern a decade ago and no longer have the skirt. Luckily, Jen from Grainline just released the Moss Mini Skirt 32001 pattern. It's similar enough in its styling but has a contoured waistband (yeah!), no belt loops (too fiddly to make), addition of a back yoke detail, and an optional fabric band at the bottom. Wouldn't it be cute with a contrast colored band and pockets? Maybe next time.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but watching the leaves change I really want to make Simplicity 5190 with my autumnal floral print right now! And of course, waiting in the background is the dotted duster coat, which is now going to be a mixture of Vogue 9745 and New Look 6656. Having these four and the two knit t-shirts completed would make me a very happy girl.

* I don't think traditional zippers are hard at all. I have never had a zipper I put in break or come loose on me unlike all the stories I hear about that happening with the invisible ones.

8. Summer End Tops - Vogue 9772 (OOP)

Pattern: Vogue 9772 (OOP) from the VogueElements line, c. 1997

Pattern Description: Two bias pullover tops: 1) fitted, v-neck with bodice seaming, side slits and 2) loose-fitting, scoop neck with back extension to upper front (to be worn over first top).

Pattern Sizing: Available in XS-XL (6-22). I made a M (sizes 12-14).

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It was very easy to put together, though I ended up making it more involved by underling the fabric and using French seams throughout. I liked that the visible seaming on the front of each top was topstitched.

Fabric Used: 1) Multi-colored (orange, gray, white, tan, ruby red on an off-white ground) Prairie Rose Swiss dot fabric from Joann, $4.85. I bought the very last bit, actually less than the 1-1/4 yards needed according to the pattern. 2) 1-1/8 yards of Daphne batiste in papyrus, $12.48 for the overblouse and enough left over to completely underline top 1.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

Top 1: Originally this top was going to be one layer, but luckily I had purchased enough of the coordinating batiste that I could underline all four pieces. This Vogue Elements top is a simpler variation of a Marc Jacob pattern, Vogue 2068, that was released the very same year. I made a version of that top years ago. The necklines are different and the Jacobs pattern used French seams throughout. I wanted that same quality so I incorporated the French seam construction for this top too.

It is hard to see but the pieces are basted using intersecting diagonal lines.

Since I was going to use French seams I thought I should also use the correct method of underlining according to the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. This method has you reposition the underlining because that layer should be slightly smaller that the outer layer to reduce bulk.The technique involves hand basting and the spine of a thick magazine, pretty cool!

Once that was done, the rest was easy, I just followed the seaming instructions from the earlier pattern. Once I made the first French seam at the shoulders I decided to baste the rest of the top together and see what I had. The V-neck was really too low; you can see that in the drawing but I thought that was an exaggeration.  I ended up taking that seam out and taking one inch off both the front and back pieces. This not only brought the neckline and armholes up but also put the waist curve of the pattern where it should be, at my actual waist. There was also an issue of a bit too much length in the front armscye, so instead of cutting out a replacement front I added an ease line and lightly eased/gathered some of the length out.

Top 2: There couldn't be an easier pattern or instructions. Again, I incorporated French seams to match the other top which will be worn under this one. Despite using the instructions from Vogue 2068 I decided to start with a 3/8" seam first and then 1/4", the reverse of what they indicated. This top assembled quickly with tiny 1/4" hems and seams all-around. The batiste ended up being a really nice fabric, in look, feel, and weight.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Perhaps. I did end up making alterations to the garment during construction until I was satisfied and unfortunately, I did not transfer those changes to the pattern pieces before completion. I would highly recommend this pattern if you can find it online.

Conclusion: I love how both of these tops came out with a flattering fit and clean interior finish. However, at least from the way that I made them, the second top does not really work as an overblouse to the first one. It is too bulky. However, it works as a perfect complement over the original Marc Jacobs top, which it matches in color. So, win-win.

Getting Stuff Done...And Blog Bad News

• One of the sheer Vogue 9722 tops is done, I completed the overblouse.

• My Alexander Henry print summer shift dress is now done and has been worn out of the house twice.

• I successfully made a pair of these from $4 Old Navy flip flops. This tutorial from Deliacreates works and they turn out pretty comfortable if you remember to add a inch or so more than you calculate for the part that comes up over your heel.*

• One pair of T-shirt underwear muslined using Indigorchid's tutorial.  I have a too small Guinness T-shirt from Ireland that would make cute undies, must get some more lingerie elastic.

Bad news?

My camera seems to have died. So, no pictures of the above. : (

*Sorry, there will be no pictures of my feet on the blog. Not that there's anything wrong with them.