Category: patterns

Well I have been working on my Marfy muslin in bits and pieces this week.  Basically, as a recap, since I started this long ago,  in August, so I could decide what size patterns to order from the fall Marfy catalog then I got sidetracked.

I originally thought I needed a 44 or 46 and I traced off a 44 pattern.  That is where I stopped.    I was partially correct in that I am going to order a 44 for most patterns based on the upper bodice.  I am currently between a 44 and a 42 in that area and must taper out at the bust and below.  I must also taper out at the shoulders, but if I make a bigger size I have way too much fabric in the upper chest and the alterations are more difficult.

I have been through a few tracings here (I am working with a blouse
pattern from the fall issue, and so far the 44 seems to be a little
easier to work with.  It may be possible that, on a princess seamed
garment where the princess seams go down from the shoulder I might want
to work with a 42; that muslin example worked pretty well, but I think
for now and future work I can work from the 44 pretty easiliy. 

Technically I am smaller than a 42  in the right upper bust and a 44 on the left, with a corresponding difference in sizes in the back.  But the 44 seems easy enough to work from.  I suppose I am getting more and more accustomed to the fact that no pattern is going to fit all of me at any size I may be or dream of being so I just pick a size and hope for the best.  Most of the Marfy patterns are being ordered in a 44, but a pattern that has a more critical detail in the right shoulder area is being ordered in a size 42.  I have done this king of thing before, in bottoms as well.  In skirts and pants I have my average pattern size, which is actually the averaging of the 4 different sizes the four quadrants of my body happens to be.  Sometimes I order the average, sometimes I order the size to fit the most difficult part, and I have been known, on occasion to order two of certain patterns, just to make life easier.  Thank goodness for half-price sales for the US big 4 pattern companies, and multi-size patterns.  This particular problem hasn’t come up for Marfy yet.

So confidence boosted, I placed my Marfy pattern order.  There are only 4 patterns from the spring book, two are blouses.  I also ordered several patterns from the fall issue.

It was just another day and another stop at the post office.

But I got a slip to stop by the desk.  I had registered mail.  Who would be sending me registered mail?  I wasn’t expecting anything.  I have a Container Store order on its way, but that will come to the house via UPS.  I am expecting some fabric from the SG Benefit Auction, but that is not going to come registered mail.  My curiosity was piqued, but I figured it was just some boring office-related document.

But no.

This is what I got instead:

As soon as Laura brought it up to the counter and scanned in the label I started to smile.  An involuntary "Oh wow!" escaped my lips.

I almost danced to the car.

Unfortunately there were a few more errands before I returned home.  I managed not to rip the package open in the car. 

I managed not to rip it open the moment I walked in the house.

But eventually I did, and this is what I found:

My Christmas present from G was a subscription to Patrones, airmail from Spain, but he didn’t fill out the on line subscription form until after Christmas, even though he told me that was what he was getting me.  We thought it would start with the February issue.  Usually subscriptions take longer than that to get started in the good old USA, but then Spain is a little different apparently, and the January issue arrived, and it is still January, although just barely.

I’m glad I hadn’t bought it on ebay yet.  But then I hadn’t seen this issue on ebay yet.

There are lots of cute patterns and I fully intend to make good use of this lovely and thoughtful gift.

But now I have to go ogle cute patterns and dream of things that may soon come to pass.

To continue the previous chain of thought…..

There are still more patterns.  I am pattern crazy this month.  What can I say.  I think it is partly that there are some nice designer patterns and some lovely suits, as there are in general this year.  It has been a good year style wise with more suits and more tailored sportswear which looks a little more polished and feminine.  This is the part of the 80s style I miss, not the oversized shoulder pads, the giant shapeless sweaters and many other looks, but what I like about this season is the way feminine tailoring has worked its way back into clothes, and I love that masculine/feminine juxtaposition that good sportswear and suits can do so well.  There are nice dresses too, but for the most part it is not the dresses that are thrilling me with this batch of patterns (except for that DKNY dress I posted about the other day).

But on to more patterns:

This is another one of those patterns that I
almost passed by, and I should know better.  It doesn’t look that special at a glance, and they do
show the back view on the pattern envelope, but I don’t think it is all that flattering on the model.  But still, it definitely grew on
me.  I know that it is easy to say if it looks bad on the model how will it look on a normal person?  But that is misleading because I am convinced this pattern has potential.  I  think the back with its draped and
laced pieces could be very flattering on some people, especially those with
shapely rear view.  And if you have a bit of waist definition and a shapely or trim bum, it can also hide a bit of tummy action in the front.  The more I think about this I think it might be better looking on "normal" people than on the model, who might not ha
ve what it takes to show this pattern off.  I am suitably
intrigued.  But then, I am always intrigued by different ideas and new ways to play with seaming.  I am also intrigued because it looks like such a boring conservative suit until you turn around.  Now THAT can really turn heads.

This is another classic suit.  These Anne Klein patterns are usually such versatile classic shapes.  It is a pretty timeless jacket that comes in and out fo style, and is pretty much always around because it looks good on a lot of people.  It can also be easily varied by fabric and details.  But it is the skirt that caught my eye here.  Look a the
details on the skirt, the pleats in front and in back.  Notice how the pleats
go from the outside facing the center of the skirt, not from the center of the
skirt facing out.  Look at the back.  Notice that once again the
pleats are not lying quite the way one might assume.  I am not saying that
you can’t duplicate this look with any other pattern, in fact it would not be difficult, but it is definitely an
interesting idea and a really nice skirt with its combination of front and back
pleats.  I love patterns that do something a little differently and make me look at things in a different way.  It is always good to get shaken out of my old rut a little bit.

This is another pattern that I had  a strong reaction to the instant I saw the pattern even though it is not a pattern that I would automatically assume might look good on me.  In fact my first reaction would be that it would not, but I have been wrong before.  Besides there I am possessed of  a strong stubborn streak which often takes the opinion that anything can look good if I just get the proportions, and fabric right and tweak the design just a little to fit me, not the model.   I know that it doesn’t always work out that way, but certainly there is a lot of entertainment value in giving it a try.  The cost of pattern and muslin  are probably worth the entertainment I will get (and possibly frustration) from trying to make it work.  Sometimes the exercises prove to yield wonderful results, sometimes not, but I can’t say that I haven’t learned something, and I can’t say that it has been a waste of my time, probably less a waste of time that collapsing in front of the tele and watching whatever happens to come on.

Besides, I have a weakness for designer patterns just as design inspiration and this pattern certainly inspires me.

I don’t like the pattern envelope on this pattern.  They make it look like a jumpsuit. Heaven forbid. 

But I do like the pattern pieces, a short, waist-length bomber jacket and nice pleated pants with a waistband.  I like pants with a waistband.  Always have, probably always will, when you have a long torso, that waistband provides a welcome break across the long expanse of body.  I can see these pants in a soft wool, or a lovely silk.  Yes they could look too baggy and even sloppy but they could look so nice and even a little soigne if done correctly.  This look isn’t for everyone, but it is all over the fashion magazines and runways (in several variations) and both the pieces are good for me.  One of my favorite suits had a short jacket cut much like this one and soft pleated pants.  Too bad it is a size 4 and not likely to find its way back onto my person.

Now this is another great Oscar de la Renta Suit.  So flattering and nice and the pants have a high waist but are not so full as the ones above.   Too bad the picture on the pattern envelope doesn’t  seem to look quite like the original Oscar de la Renta in last season’s runway photos:

Here the jacket seems more closely fitted and the pants seem to ride a little lower on the hip.  No matter, it can be adjusted either way.  It could be a difference in models as well I guess. 

I like the pleat at the back of the jacket.  The way the jacket stands away in the back reminds me of a Perry Ellis suit back from the 80s.  Of course that jacket was gathered and the pleats in this are much easier to wear.  The shaping on this jacket is completely different. Great pattern, however you make it.

I

like this one too.  The jacket looks like some things I have seen in the stores recently, the skirt is flirty and nice, and the pieces all work well together and I can imagine several people I know who would love dresses and outfits made from this pattern and I can imagine places to wear it.  But I am undecided. It is nice.  It will look nice.  But it doesn’t make my heart go pitty pat.

I do however love this suit.  I don’t know who designs these "Divine Details" patterns but they do seem to have so vintage or retro touches without being retro patterns.  The shape of this pattern is both modern and retro.  Certainly the bodice shaping on the jacket is not new.  Yves Saint Laurent played with this theme. I had suits from Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana with very similar variation on this cut, although the fuller sleeves are more Yves Saint Laurent than Thierry Mugler. Mugler and Montana often had that strong woman/bondage, love/hate kind of thing going on in the clothes, and this doesn’t seem to have quite those conotations.  The peplum can be very flattering on a lot of people as long as you ar careful not to make it too "Designing Women" if you know what I mean.

I’m throwing this pattern into the mix because I like the more rounded opening and the addition of the organza ruffle inside the neckline.  This is a nice touch, and I just want to save the idea.  I think some variation on this idea can be created from any fitted jacket pattern that looks good on the individual sewist.  Again this is one of those vintage-inspired details that the "Devine Details" line seems to specialize in.  The little lace pleat at the back of the jacket is not for me, that is a little too much detail.  But I still like the idea of the neckline for my ispiration file.

My last pattern is another dress:
I just love this dress, even without the insert lace panel above the hem.  That is the kind of detail I would not particularly have thought of unless I had seen it somewhere, and truthfully it was not the first thing I noticed about the dress.  I like the pleating at the waist.  I like the neckline and the cap sleeves.  This is the kind of cool summer dress I can just see myself living in.  It is probably a little old-fashioned, and not at all cutting edge, but  in my mind’s eye I can already see myself swishing around in it on a nice summer’s day.

Well, the new patterns have been up on the Vogue Patterns website for several days now and I am still working through my thoughts.  Generally, I have been happy with this collection and I see a lot of good things here; that is precisely what makes it difficult to write about, because there is SO much I want to say.

You know, when you have been sewing for a long time it is very easy to get jaded about patterns.  I suppose it is easy to get jaded about clothes to, but this comes more quickly to sewists because I think we notice the shapes and seam lines and basic construction details of a garment more than the average shopper does.  What happens is that when you have been sewing a long time, and buying patterns, you come to a point where you have seen most everything before; you have probably worn it, and you might even have a previous version of the same basic silhouette in your pattern stash.

Styles get recycled.  This is not unique to sewing patterns of course.  Styles get recycled in the store as well and certain garments never really change that much.  Look at jackets.  There are only so many shapes for jackets that will fit a human body.  Even among the high-end fashion houses, there tend to be several shapes and cuts that are standard.  The details might change season to season, but Chanel, for example, always has a series of jackets in a certain style.  The changes are variations that could be made on any basic pattern.

Of course we might or might not want to make that pattern.

And of course, we also always want something new, so it is hard to ignore that little devil on our shoulders that says "I wore that in 1991" or "i have a pattern just like that from the 80s".  So of course, in the new crop of Vogue patterns, there are patterns that I may have seen before, and some that are variations on things I have seen before.  But even that is not all bad, because just because I sewed style X in the 90s doesn’t mean that everyone else who is sewing today was sewing in the 90s and remembers that style.  Let the younger sewists have their chance too.  I always remember when I was in college, and I was reading some book or another that was popular among my classmates, and my father said "I read that when I was in college" as if to imply that he was surprised that anyone would still be reading it.  Of course, my classmates and I were reading it at the same age that a previous generation read the same book.  I think the continuity in that is pretty neat.  Think of what we might have missed had the book gone out of print, or a pattern not be re-issued just because something similar had been in the catalog 10 or 20 years before.  That said Vogue Patterns does seem to have a history of issuing a pattern for a style a year or so after it was "new" then leaving it in the catalog for years, and jerking it just before it becomes "new" again.

But on to this crop of patterns.   Thee are quite a few nice patterns, some I have seen before, some that are interesting new variations on old classics.  I think there are 15 patterns that I find interesting.  I won’t buy them all, they wouldn’t all look good on me, and some of them are really close enough to previous iterations existing in my stash that I don’t need to purchase them again.  They are still interesting.

I really like this Donna Karen dress and jacket.  The dress is interesting and I think the jacket looks great with the dress.  I also like the cut of the jacket and looking at the line drawings I think this could be really attractive on.  This is one I might consider buying.  The empire line is something that I can sometimes wear and sometimes not.  The more I think about it I am sure it is a proportion issue and if I get the proportion right it looks really good.  For example I look good in a long empire line evening dress because it masks the fact that my torso is long and my legs are short.  I think the same effect can be worked out with a shorter dress, but in this case, getting the length just right would be critical.  In my case that would mean definitely below the knee and a dress to be worn with heels.  Wearing the dress with the jacket will also make a difference.  Notice how the jacket si short and echoes the empire line.   The jacket also reminds me, in spirit of some things I saw at Chanel this spring.  The cut of the Chanel jackets is somewhat different, but the impression is similar and I think this cut would be far more flattering.

This is another style that keeps coming back, with good reason, because it can be quite flattering.  I have an old Yves Saint Laurent pattern for a blouse in this shape designed for a woven that I mad many times in silk.  I have another knit pattern (this one is a knit) from a few years back as well.  I also have several tops that I got at Banana Republic this fall in a fine silky knit that I think are cut more like this pattern than the one I have.  This one has that squre neckline under the drape which constrains the drape a little bit.  My older pattern is fuller and lies different, not at all like my Banana Republic tops.    At this point, since I haven’t actually looked at the pattern pieces I don’t know if this is cut differently from the previous pattern, but it does look like the neckline is slightly different and this might be worth looking into further.

As I mentioned earlier, I still love this blouse.  It is a must buy for me, even though I think I am much more likely to wear it tucked in to my skirt or pants, and I might make the sleeves less full, so I can wear it under a cardigan or jacket, although I can also see it without the jacket with a fabulous pair of man-tailored style pants and stilettos.  The sleeveless versions are not for me, unless I am going for that under jacket look perhaps.

These pants are nice and the fit is good.  Style-wise they appear to be a variation on a pant pattern Sandra Betzina had out a few years ago.  That one is discontinued now but it was a great pant.  I know the pattern company discontinues patterns regularly, and there is a limit to how many Sandra Betzina patterns can be in the catalog at any given time, so things get discontinued.  I suppose then that variations on successful themes are inevitable.  I like the pant, I have seen it on, it is a winner if you like her patterns. It is enough different from the previous pant I might get it as well.  Sometimes it is just easier to buy a new pattern than fiddle with changing an old one, especially since the old one is no longer my current size anyway.

I love this pattern.  I loved it when I saw it on the back of the Vogue pattern magazine.  When I look at the line drawings I love it even more.  I have the perfect fabric in my collection, a fabric I bought for something else (probably some other company’s variation on this shape as it seems to be an eternally popular design idea) but which is now going to be used for this jacket.  Now, as I said this is a shape you see around a lot.

It is said that all these patterns are inspired by this Vogue pattern, which I have and have made several times in a couple of different types of fabrics.  The look is similar, yes, but if you look at the line drawings you will see that the pattern pieces are entirely different and that the new Sandra Betzina pattern is going to drape entirely differently than this original Geoffrey Beene jacket.  I would use fabrics for the Betzina that I might not have used for the Beene.  I am, in fact, looking forward to exploring this new variation on a theme.

This is a great little jacket and a great little suit.  I am not going to buy it because I already own multiple varations  on this theme.  I have made jackets like this and I have purchased suits with this cut.   I like the shape of the princess lines, the darts, and the two-piece sleeves.  If I didn’t alreay have several versions of this jacket  I would certainly consider it.  But then I have a weakness for this kind of feminine yet tailored dressmaker suit.

This is one of those patterns that I looked at originally, said "meh" and almost passed right by.  Then I looked at it more closely and realized it was worth a second look.  Yes, at first glance it looks like a rather boring suit.

But look at the drawings:

First look at the skirt:  I have similar skirts, they were popular a while back (80s or 90s).  It sits higher near the waist and it has fullness that can help if you have a bit of a tummy.  In fact this skirt can give you a waist and mask a bit of roundness through the middle.  I loved these even when I was young because even though I had a small waist, I always had a round tummy, no flat tummy girl I,  and this kind of skirt was always flattering.  Now it can accent my waist, making it look more defined that it is, and still hide some of that tummy bulge.  Might not work for everyone but it does work for me.  It is also a flattering shape if you have a bit of hip, it doesn’t hide the fact that they are there, but it accents the curve in a flattering way.

Now look at the jacket.   Boring right?  You’ve seen it before, right?  Well, yes, that is what I thought too, but look at the line drawings.  Look at the way the jacket has a square shoulder and a set in sleeve in front and a raglan shoulder in back.  I see all kinds of fitting possibilities here and think it would be a lot of fun to fit this jacket.  I might end up cursing myself later, but perhaps not.

Now, as I am going on and on, I will end this post and continue my pattern ramblings in another post, I’m sure this one is going to be slow enough to load as it is.

There has been a discussion on one of the sewing boards about a company that produces patterns to be downloaded and printed at home.  When someone commented that a digital pattern should fit better, my mind started whirling and I started pondering.

I have always thought that the idea of digitally
transmitted, downloaded and printed patterns is wonderful. But having worked with computers for many
years, and having written CAD programs and programs that do 3 dimensional
modeling and problem-solving, I am well aware that this is not as easy as one
might think.

First of all there is the issue of getting the measurements. Four, eight, or even twelve measurements are not enough to
adequately reproduce a human body. Then,
everyone takes measurements differently. I suspect that if you have 4 people measure you, the results will be different. When we fitted out our dress forms last winter I had three sets of measurements of myself, taken by my mom, my step-daughter, and my DH. They were all different and I do not believe this is unusual, even if you use people who sew regularly to take the measurements.

So if people aren’t accurate at measuring, who is? Well people can be trained, but different
body types are easier or harder to measure.

What about digital scanners or whole body measurement
systems? I used to think these would be
the wave of the future but they have been less than successful. First of all, for manufactured clothes, you
lose all of the advantages of mass-production if you have to cut garments
individually. Things automatically
become much more expensive. Secondly
even digital body scanners may or not be all that accurate. Each person’s measurements may appear
different depending on the way they are standing when they are scanned. Also, different undergarments or lack thereof
will affect they way the body is measured. And last but far from least, the amount of body fat will definitely
affect the fit of the garment. This is
probably why these systems have been most ineffective with larger clients. In order to measure accurately measurements
must be taken in reference to some structural point on the body (shoulder
point) etc and on a human body, these usually relate to the bones which make up
our sub-structure. But body fat can make
it very difficult to find the underlying structure, even when you are measuring
by hand and are able to palpate the body for its underlying structure. A
scanner, unless it is also an MRI (not likely) will not be able to determine
how the person is padded referable to the underlying structure. Human bone structure comes in a very small
set of variations compared to the variations in human bodies because human
bodies have a widely varying degree of padding. If you have a total measurement of body mass, but you don’t know how
that mass is distributed relative to the underlying bones and joints, you are
still going to have trouble making a pattern to produce a garment that fits
that person and is able to move with that person.

Once you have a set of numbers representing a person’s measurements, you get to the entire issue of producing patterns
from the measurements. This takes a
highly skilled programmer with experience in three-dimensional modeling and
converting complex mathematical systems into working programs. It also takes a highly technical
understanding of the human body and how the measurements you have taken
actually relate to the body and the way it moves. Thirdly you need outstanding pattern making
skills to understand how to make a pattern to fit that body using all the other
mathematical data you have incorporated.

Sounds impossible doesn’t it?  It is not, but hopefully you can appreciate
why we don’t have anything that does this yet. A program that would work, say even 75 % of the time, would take thousands of
thousands of man-hours of work by highly skilled and therefore highly expensive
people. It would simply cost too much,
and it would probably cost too much for most manufacturers to implement the
program and provide custom–fitted clothes because most customers would not want
to pay the price. And I am not convinced that you can really model all the
extremes of the human-body spectrum. But
with a population in the billions, even the relatively small percent of people
at the extremes can number in the hundreds of thousands or millions. You can’t get custom fitted jeans for
Wal-Mart prices. And I think even $100
for custom fitted jeans is too cheap once you figure in the overhead and time
spent cutting, sewing, shipping, selling, etc. It is just significantly cheaper to cut large quantities of the same thing. And most people want good salaries and cheap
clothes. In this case it is a lose-lose
situation. This would be even more true
for sewing patterns, which are a smaller market.

Years ago, when I was writing CAD programs my DH thought I
should write a program that would model my body measurements and create
patterns. I thought about it
briefly. But I realized that I don’t
have the pattern making skill to write a program that could translate any
desired shape of garment into a pattern that would fit me. Most importantly it would take me a LONG TIME
to write such a program because you would have to write all the possible
variations and allow for them to adapt to future design ideas and body
shift/weight change. OK CAD programs
are more advanced now and I wouldn’t have to do it all myself, but even so it
would require more programming that I want to do. I figured I can buy a pattern
for a shape I am not familiar with, alter it to fit me, even with muslins, and
make hundreds of garments before I would ever get that program perfected, and I
would probably be tinkering with it the rest of my life. Leave these things to the people who live to
program….me, I’d rather be sewing.

I have not been working on the jacket, although I have thought about working on the jacket and for now at least the problem is not lack of time, but lack of motivation and energy.  Blame my sinuses, all four sinus regions are fairly blocked up, although today I was informed that the blockage is dissipating, and I actually do feel a little better, as long as I don’t move quickly, listen to loud noises, or change the elevation of my head (bend over).  I am even contemplating riding the exercise bike at home because I think I can do that without causing my head to move too much (as long as I don’t ride so vigorously that I bounce up and down on the bike).  Of course I don’t yet know if I will be able to inhale enough oxygen to sustain any kind of effort on the bike. The prolonged sluggishness, not just the sinus pressure, is affecting my state of mind.

I used to just get an annual head-cold.  Now I get an annual sinusitis attack.  I think I would rather have the head-cold.

And so, since sewing requires thought (which seems to hurt my head) and moving from sewing table to ironing board and back, I have been less than inclined to sew.  Besides the decongestants make me drowsy, not the best time to be operating machinery with sharp pointed objects running at high speed.

I am not worried.  November already looks better than October, which has been blacked out in the calendar and stricken from memory .

In order to entertain myself I have been filing my Burda WOF magazines, which have been piling up in an unruly fashion since I subscribed a year and a half ago.  I contemplated various ways of saving them, but in the end went back to the technique I used with the old Burda International magazines, and in fact most of my sewing patterns.

The pattern paper and the instruction pages go in a manila file pocket, as do all my other patterns.  I don’t save the actual magazine, but I cut favorite photos out of the magazine and paste them on the outside of the folder for inspiration.  That way, if I am just flipping through the files for inspiration, I see my favorite garments in photos, and the line drawings are readily available right inside each folder. 

I also scan the line drawings into the computer and print them out on a half-sheet sized page that fits into my old filofax which  I now use as a pattern notebook.  You can see the notebook sheets on the left in the photo.  All patterns are filed in the pattern catalog drawers by company and number, in my notebook the patterns are filed by type (blouses, jackets, etc) or all the pattern magazines are grouped together with copies of the line drawings.  The new Burda WOF is much easier than the old Burda, which did not have an index page with the line drawings, and I had to trace each individual drawing onto onionskin paper to add to my notebook. 

Sometimes I do think this is a lot of work, but I enjoy just sitting down with the notebook and looking at my pattern catalog, and I like keeping the pattern envelope or directions with the pattern as well.  I have friends who put the pattern envelopes in three-ring binders and file the patterns separately but I like my small half-size notebooks better.  The space in my notebook is overflowing and I have to get a new one, but I haven’t found one I like lately.  The half-size notebooks used to be widely available in France with four rings, and I love those, but I haven’t been back lately and I haven’t found a source here in the States.  I suppose I can’t justifiy a trip to Europe just to buy binders.

I have often over the years thought it would be nice to convert all the pattern information to a database, which would include the drawings or photographs of the pattern and the line drawings as well as yardage information (all this information is in my notebook), as I don’t always carry the notebook around.  It is just too cumbersome.  A database could be downloaded to my Palm for quick browsing if I found myself at a fabric source.  But in the end, I usually know roughly how much I need for a jacket or pants or a dress and just buy that "average" value.  Certain patterns take odd amounts though,  I may do it someday, as much for the fun of doing it as anything else.  All these patterns have been scanned into the computer after all so it is just a question of putting it all together.

But in the end, I like looking through my pattern book far more than I like looking through a database on the computer, or on my palm, where it is even harder to see the details of a picture.  So perhaps this plan is best left in the realm of dreams a little longer.

I was tired and draggy and a little bit on the short-tempered side this weekend and you would think that would be a perfect time to hide out in the sewing room.  But I didn’t.  I worked pretty extensively in the garden eliminating masses of overgrowth which had overtaken everything in the last month, and I went to the farmer’s market, planned the menus, did the shopping and went to the gym.  I increased the intensity of my gym workouts last week, which probably accounts for the dragginess.

I realized this morning that I could have been playing with my new sewing machine feet, which I picked up on Friday:

This would have been the perfect thing to do when I was too tired and grumpy to actually cut something out or trace and alter a pattern.  Just playing with seams might have perked me up enough to actually make something.   But they are still here, waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for play time.

The plan had been to whip up a couple of tees this weekend.  I have the Jalie tee pattern I have long wanted to try, but I realized late last night that I really need to test a pattern or two in from the Marfy catalog so I can figure out which sizes to order.  The patterns I bought last year, based on my full bust measurement, and guessing the translation from Big 4 patterns, were too big through the upper bodice even then, more so now.

Based on the best calculations I can manage from the size ranges they give and a few judicious measurements on the pattern sheet, I think I need to cut either a 44 or a 46 in order to get the best fit through the upper chest and upper back.  Of course I will have to alter from there.  It is kind of strange to think that I really have no idea, or only a vague idea of where to begin.  Perhaps I should have started with a 46, but instead I started tracing the 44 off this morning early, before breakfast, and I will finish it this afternoon.  Then I will compare it to my basic bodice block, which is granted a little too large at this point, but I think I can figure out how to make the transition to my new size.

I am not going to make a wearable muslin at this point, just basic muslins, to figure out which size works best for me.  This whole thing may be silly as I have lost 15 pounds but will more than likely lose a good bit more.  Of course I will have to add to the 44 at bust, waist and hips, I am just trying to fit the upper chest, and for this pattern at least, 44 is the smallest size.

There I was, occupied by my normal Monday morning chores, when I hear a truck in the driveway.  I am not expecting anyone, and it sounds suspiciously like a UPS truck, so I look out the window.  It is! It is a UPS truck!  My heart goes pitty pat and I run to the front door, childishly thrilled at the prospect of new packages, and I open the door while Dave, my local UPS delivery person is still walking up the front walk.  He said he had an express package for me today so I get to see him earlier than usual.

And here it is:

The new fall Marfy!  I admit it, I was greedy and selfish and a total spendthrift:  I paid the extra for express shipping.  It was a little over $5 more, maybe almost $6, especially as the dollar was higher against the Euro last week than it is now.  It was no matter.  It was my birthday and I felt like indulging myself.

I looked through it briefly with a second cup of coffee — many nice patterns.  I need more time to peruse the catalog more carefully.  I tend to get over excited at first, loving everything, filled with glee and excitement, and then I need to calm down and sit back and look more analytically.  That will have to wait.

But it is true — there are 8 free patterns, and I actually like and might make some of them!  They also included a summary page at the front of the catalog showing the free patterns all together, so you don’t have to go searching through the book.

I finally found the pattern for Miriam’s pants, after some
searching because I had not put it in the pattern folder for the pattern I had
used. It was in a reasonable place but I
did not label it so there was still a bit of shuffling and comparing to other
patterns before I was certain I had the right thing. Once I marked the darts I labeled the pattern
and marked it clearly so I can use it in the future. 

 

Having found that pattern in a box filled with odd tracings
of various garments that I hope to recreate someday, and other similar half-drawings
of patterns I gathered them all up today, spread out each tracing or pattern,
and clearly marked the alterations or traced them squarely and neatly so that
they can be used as future patterns and templates.

There was a favorite top of Miriam’s I had traced off years
ago, but never really neatened up the lines or labeled the pieces. It took a little effort to figure out what
was what. Now I have neat lines, clear
marks, and pieces that are labeled and go together. I am still undecided as to whether I like the
thin fiberglass material “soil separator paper” better than paper. It doesn’t tear or wrinkle; it sticks to
fabric better, but it is harder to see the writing and notes on it. I suppose if I buy a different kind of
marking pen that might work better. If
anyone reading this has an opinion or preference on this let me know.

 

There were also a couple of patterns I had traced and/or
altered and I had made rough notes as to the corrections, cryptic things like
“move dart 1” left”, and “raise shoulder ½” on right, 1” on left”, but had
never gotten around to actually fixing the pattern and re-tracing it with the
corrections. I am sure I just got busy,
or I had to move my stuff off the kitchen island to make dinner and I didn’t
get back to it. 

 

The kitchen island is the most heavily used piece of
furniture in our house. I cook a
lot. It is right at the top of the
stairs from the garage so everything coming into the house gets deposited there
before it is transferred elsewhere. G
likes to stand in the kitchen and read the papers on the island. The cardboard is tied up for recycling there,
as it is a big surface. G also likes to
bring the press down from my sewing room and iron his shirts on the island,
hopefully while I am puttering about making dinner. 

 

One of the reason’s I want a cutting table in my sewing room
is that I don’t have to schedule “island time” for myself. Whether or not this will actually make me
more efficient and encourage me to finish the projects I have started, whether
or not I will actually label things and put them away, or if instead I will
continue to pile things up and move on to new projects before I have finished
the old all has yet to be seen. I do
know I will continue to sew either way. I cut on the floor and sewed on the card table or the coffee table or
the dining table, wherever I could find, for years. I use the island. I use my sewing room. I am very fortunate to have a room to
sew. I don’t feel guilty, even when I am
not using it. We have the house, the
kids are grown. The rooms don’t just
disappear when the children move out; the parents just kind of expand their
activities to fill all the available nooks and crannies.