Vanilla Village Wench Blouse - Adrienne Blouse

Pattern: Friday Pattern Co. Adrienne blouse (2018) 

Pattern Description: Slightly cropped knit top with statement sleeves gathered at shoulders and hems with elastic.

Pattern Sizing: XS-4X, I cut out an XL, easing to size XXL at the waist and hips

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? As you see below, it looks exactly like it!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes! This was such a quick and straightforward top.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I fell in love with the neckline, the gathered shoulders, and the drama of those full sleeves.

 

Fabric Used: 57" Birch solid Modal blend knit (49% Modal, 45% Polyester, 6% Spandex) from Joann Fabrics, leftover plush back bra strap elastic from the stash, Dritz 1/2" braided elastic for sleeve cuffs, Gutermann 100% polyester thread in Ivory, #800.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I traced the bodice pattern piece into a full pattern piece, which made it easier to cut out.

According to my measurements, I cut this in the XL size (bust = 40" to 43"). I made a 1/2" full bust adjustment (FBA) using the instructions in the pattern booklet. However, I could have done more; I underestimated how much of an adjustment I needed. I was unaware that I had gone up a few (!) cup sizes to a DD. That was quite a surprise!

I had cut the XL for my measurements, but after trying on the sleeveless bodice, I decided to decrease the side seam allowance to 3/8" to cut down on the cling factor.

The pattern describes this top as "cropped." That is baffling to me because I felt it was long. I suggest that before making alterations to the pattern that you hold the tissue up to your body or compare to a favorite top. At 5' 4," I cut more than an inch off and it is still long enough to tuck into pants or skirts.

Those cuffs!

Those shoulders!

I removed 1/2" from the pattern's measurements for the wrist and neck elastic lengths. This was an improvement in fit that I learned from wearing my muslin which felt too loose.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, most definitely! This is a great pattern; all the examples out there prove how attractive and romantic it can be.

Conclusion: I love this pattern and how it looks. I made the right size and alterations this time, and I will definitely make it again. I already plan to make some in print fabrics like so many of the examples I've seen on the internet. I would also love to make a dress version in a stretch velvet or velour.

Sewing Update!

I can't believe it's been months since I wrote anything here. I've been thinking sewing if not doing it during the quarantine.

I have been lucky in the fact that my job had us start working from home the second week of March. My sewing room-slash-guest room added another name and use as a work-from-home office.

I first attempted a reorganization of my supplies, which made some improvement but needs more. I created separate binders that hold all the printed-out copies (the majority) of my PDF patterns; all my fitting and alteration tutorials and research; and another for general home repair and craft projects.

Unfortunately, I still have enough fabric that I have more than the plastic bins can hold, and some fabrics are in garbage bags. I'm not too fond of the message that is sending.

So, the main goal this summer was working through my immediate summer/fall projects. Instead of having yardage in various drawers, bins, and bags, I wanted it instead worn on my body. 

However, summer got away from me. Unfortunately, I hurt my back more than a month ago. I believe the chair I was using to work-from-home was the culprit. I've been seeing a chiropractor for that last three weeks and am slowing starting to sew again. You see, since the injury, I couldn't sit upright for weeks, so there was no sitting down in front of my machine. I've just started to sew again.

First on the list are some simple tops from leftover pieces of fabric in the stash. One top is a modified square with armholes. Another is my makeunder of the Assembly Line Cuff Top, which I can't seem to forget. I saw a picture of the actual pattern piece on Instagram, and I am attempting my version. 

I did buy more fabric, but it was all for quick makes, and unfortunately, both my sewjo and my back died, and most are still waiting. 

I have some cotton blends I bought back in 2019 from Joann's, especially for spring and summer tops, which I will STILL make after the muslins. That's what cardigans are for, right? Then I have some of my tried n' true fabric for shorts and a lovely dusky purple linen that I bought before the Jo-Ann Fabrics boycott. 

 

The linen is for a Simplicity 9139 that would replicate this inspiration photo.

After that, I caught a sale from Fabricmart for horizontally striped jerseys, my fabric weakness. Hopefully, one of them will be my first The Friday Company Adrienne blouse, another indie pattern that I've fallen in love with this year. The other two will be simple t-shirts, and luckily these all can be worn for a couple more months.

So, there should be more sewing content soon. But, don't hold me to that.

Sewing For My Curves

Have you checked out the Sewing For My Curves series on the Curvy Sewing Collective yet? You should. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about other women telling it like it is and sharing the truth about how different every individual body is.

Well, I finally took the time to take new measurements and was surprised (once again) by what size I really am. Forgive me, members of the Collective, as I steal your format to map out my plans.

My Body*:

Upper Bust: 37"
Full Bust: 38.5"
Waist: 34"
Hip: 44
Height: 5'4"
Body type: Hourglass
RTW Size: I really have no idea, probably a 12.
Pattern Size: 16 on top and 20 on the bottom
Attributes: slightly uneven shoulders, high waist, narrow back, swayback/prominent buttocks, full thighs, proportionate hips

Pattern Adjustments I Make:

• Use high bust to choose pattern size
• Grade between bust to waist/and hips (which are the same pattern size)
• Compare paper pattern measurements to my own
• Shorten the back waist length
• Add width to biceps
• Attempt FBAs when needed

Where I Am Now

Since I turned 40, I have been putting on weight slowly, year by year. I wasn't bothered since everything was still staying in proportion and my clothes still fit. However, I have found that the gains are increasing so more quickly now. At some time I had gained 10 pounds without even noticing.

I have always had a proportionally small waist and unfortunately, that is where all my weight is going now. I hate the way it feels in my elastic waist skirts and looks in my slim fitting dresses. Therefore, clothing-wise, I am currently avoiding anything that obscures the waist because I feel the need to emphasize how slim I am there when compared with my fuller top and bottom.

A fit & flare silhouette is my go-to now and the way I will feel better in my clothes. For the time being no sheath or shift dresses and there has to be some waist definition, even if it's just the addition of a belt. The following patterns fit that silhouette.

Sewing Wishlist From My Stash:

Butterick 6316
McCall's 7415
New Look 6301
Simplicity 1560
McCall's 7432
Vogue 8665
Simplicity 1325

What's My Sewing Goal:

Create slopers that I will compare with all my store bought patterns. I will create two for the torso, one with McCall's 7279, a commercial fitting pattern (with Palmer & Pletsch instructions) and a second one drafted from the instructions in Pattern Cutting by Dennic Chunman Lo. For my bottom half, I will create a skirt sloper with steps from the Cal Patch book, Design It Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified and I will use McCall's 7415 (also Palmer & Pletsch) to create a no side-seam pant (similar to the Persephone pant by Anna Allen) before attempting a more traditional pant pattern.

* As of May 2018.

Dotty Duster Coat - New Look 6656

Pattern: New Look 6656 (2006)

Pattern Description: Collar-less, unlined, above-knee duster jacket.

Pattern Sizing: Size A (10-12-14-16-18-20-22) I made view A in a size 14 at the shoulders and bust increasing to a 16 at waist and 18 below.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Extremely, it had a very simple construction, with no tricky or difficult steps involved.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? What I appreciated the most was the inclusion of a center back seam for shaping. Also the waist shaping of the side seams match my body type (10" difference between waist and hips) although it might be too much of a difference for a slimmer-hipped woman.

Fabric Used: 2 yards of black, white, and gray polka dot print moleskin from Jo-Ann Fabrics (on sale for $7.49 per yard, orig $29.98), Pellon SK135 Sheer-Knit fusible interfacing, 2 packages Wrights 1/4" double fold bias tape in Black, vintage Wright's Trims non-shrink seam binding in Navy #55, and Gutermann 100% polyester thread in Black #10.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made?: I first made some changes to the paper pattern: I cut View A out in size 14 at the shoulders moving out to a size 18 at hips.

Comparing the pattern pieces, New Look 6656 had a strange drafted protrusion at the upper back that I cut off leaving the back straight above the curved "swayback" shaping. I found the back neckline uncomfortably high on my neck so ended up cutting both necklines and their facings in a size 12.

The sleeves for this design were meant to be cropped or extended with a contrast cuff. Instead, I combined the two pattern pieces and cut my sleeves out at full length.

Construction: 

First thing, first, I discovered when I checked and straightened the fabric grain by pulling a thread that the print was slightly off grain.

 

 Correct => Incorrect

Second, when finally confronted with cutting out this fabric I realized that I had misrepresented the fabric's orientation to myself all these years. I had imagined a coat with vertical lines when in fact the fabric has the dots running horizontally! Which now meant that I should really try to match the seams, right? That resulted in me spending a lot of time lining up, marking, and cutting out all the pieces in a single layer.

I then attempted to match the side seams, though the bust darts made it more complicated. The moleskin was a but stretchy which made matching a little difficult as I had to keep tugging the rows into place. Eventually, I was able to have white rows of dots line up across the seams; however, if you look close, you can see that the two adjacent rows of gray dots weren't matched correctly and different shades of gray were lined up! Luckily, the most important seam, the back seam, came out perfectly.

However, I shouldn't have had that problem though because the fabric was a bit translucent making the matching pretty easy.  I was able to lay a piece atop another piece and see the design on both. Oh, wait... I could see the design/shapes but not differentiate between the very close shades of gray. Okay, I feel better now.

Later on, I also added stay tape to the shoulder seams to combat the possibility of them stretching. It just happened that I received this vintage seam binding in navy (from a giveaway) that I could use for this "vintage" project.

Turning out the squared lapels was very important to this jacket looking great. Therefore, I trimmed the seam allowance to eliminate bulk. Of course, later I remembered I had tips and tutorials saved on the best ways to do this. Ugh!

In fact, right after this jacket was completed I saw this very promising technique on page 73 of the February/March 2017 issue of Threads magazine.

I finished the raw edges on the facing by turning under and stitching. At this point, the fabric had revealed that it frayed extensively and since this coat would not be lined I wanted to finish as nearly as possible the other raw edges that would be subject to regular friction.

Side A or B?

I had the choice of going with my typical finish of simply turning the seam allowance under or I could be daring and try something more decorative like a bound edge or a Hong Kong finish.

Because of the graphic look of the jacket and how precious this project had become over time I chose to use bias tape to bind the exposed seam allowances.

On the back, I bound the seams separately so they could lay open and flat; but I chose to bind the sides and sleeves together as one flat seam. I am so happy with how this turned out.

I'm extremely proud of my sleeve caps. The ease allowed in the pattern was perfect, I was able to achieve a smooth cap but it was not effortless. I first machine basted the sleeves in but my turquoise staystitching (absolutely necessary!) showed that they didn't go in exactly on the seam line. I then unpicked the seam and basted them in by hand and stitched directly over those stitches. Voila!

That success was followed by more bound seams for the underarm and shoulder seams before attempting the most difficult, the binding of the armscye. Luckily, that went well too and I am in love with all of my bound seams and how professional the whole thing looks!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, I would. The alterations I had to make were needed for my particular body and didn't seem too bad to me. The difference between my waist and hips was perfectly accommodated for in the pattern. Otherwise, the construction is perfect for a beginner. I also love the slight bell shape of the sleeves.

Images: Calvin Klein and @meccok on instagram

J. Jill duster

Conclusion: I have had a few inspiration pics for this type of coat over the years and I have finally made one for myself. The J. Jill pic above is from their 2010 catalog and is the original inspiration for this duster and shows how diligent I was in getting all the details right despite going with a woven versus their knit version.

I think this will be a great addition to my wardrobe, easily able to transform a simple top and bottom into a chic ensemble. I hope to use this pattern many times and definitely want to make an evening coat out of a patterned satin brocade.

Duster History Posts:

The original idea from 2010!!

The first try

The second try

Last of the Summer Shorts - New Look 6216

Pattern: New Look 6216 (2013)


Pattern Description: Misses' pull-on pants with drawstring waist and easy knit top with scoop neck and short all-in-one sleeves or higher neckline with 3/4 dolman sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: Size A (8-18) I chose size 18 based on the finished garment measurements.  

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? I changed them into shorts and eliminated the drawstring, but yes, I guess they do look like the picture.

Were the instructions easy to follow? These are extremely easy to make, there is one error in the pattern but it is very easy to correct.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I wanted easy pants, so the elastic waist was a plus and the pockets are just so extremely clever and easy.

Fabric Used: Sew Classics denim heather solid suiting* $6.99 per yard from Jo-Ann Fabrics; thread; and Dritz 1-inch wide braided elastic.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: This is the second time using this pattern for pants. My earlier pair no longer fit comfortably, so I had to increase the seam allowances. I originally cut a 14, so this time I added 1" to the sides to allow for the two-size jump to an 18, therefore, supplying 4" of wearing ease.

Another change needed in the original pair was that the front waistband rose too high and the back was too low. In order to fit my particular body, I slashed and spread, added 1" to the center back crotch length and eliminated the same amount on the center front. The trousers were designed to sit just below the natural waistline but on me that was too tall.

I used an existing pair of shorts to determine how long to make these. I ended up cutting them right below the notches at the hip resulting in a 4" inseam measurement.

There is an error in the pattern piece for the waistband. The waist of the shorts are smaller than the sewn waistband piece. I suppose when I first made these I believed the error was mine and I fixed it then by creating two pleats in the front. But here it is again. My remedy was to only match the side seams and the middle point of the waistband to the corresponding points on the shorts. I also basted the waist of the shorts so I could gather it to match the width of the waistband. Since this area would eventually be gathered further by elastic, I knew it wouldn't matter or look strange.

I attached the elastic waistband and as some twisting was already apparent, I top-stitched the waistband, sewing right up to the edge of the enclosed elastic. After distributing the gathers around the shorts, with the majority in the back, I "stitched in the ditch" at the side and back seams to further keep the elastic in place.

To hem the shorts I gathered along the seam line to ease them in a bit and hand stitched the hem in place. A light steam on the hem helped "shrink" up the majority of the resulting puckers.

Conclusion: The pattern made very cute shorts. There was some kind of problem; however, where the shorts rode up in the rear as I walked. Obviously, this was not evident in the long legged version, so must have something to do with my alteration of the crotch length, perhaps I needed to add some back to the inner leg seam. However, for end of summer shorts, they were fine and they did make it through an entire day of walking through Busch Gardens!

*I can't say more great things about this fabric, I now have four garments made from it. Yes, it's polyester but I love the feel and how hearty it is, no wrinkles (!), dries quickly, and takes a good press. Luckily, Jo-Anns has been selling it consistently for the last six years.