How to stay busy while the fabric is at the drycleaners

My linen has been renamed a "tablecloth"  by the cleaners, and it will be ready in about a week.  In the meantime I'm moving forward by "preparing the canvas."

 Canvas is the name given to the understructure of the jacket.  It's composed of layers of different interfacings intended to give the jacket shape and also reduce wrinkling and stretching.  The process is described step by step by Mr. Cabrera.  A base of wool canvas is cut 1/2" larger than the jacket front piece.  A piece of hair canvas is cut to a specific shape and placed over the upper chest.  This is known as the "plastron" or shield.  Over this is layered a bias strip of French canvas.  My French canvas from Steinlauf & Stoller is a fusible, so I substituted another layer of wool canvas.  The whole mess is then covered with cotton flannel and basted into place. 

 

Of course, it's possible to buy a ready made jacket front for about $10, but to have something custom made is completely intoxicating.  I loved every bit of this process (even though I totally screwed up my first attempt!)  The next step is pad stitching the plastron into place, and that deserves a post of its own.  

Wedding jacket, Muslin #2

Here are some shots of Muslin #2.  I've made several small changes, and I think things are looking good so far. 

 I lowered the buttons by 1.5 inches which allowed me to adjust / lengthen the lapel roll line.  The Cabrera book makes these kinds of adjustments very clear.  It helps me to have some "rules" to follow.  In this case the rule is that the roll line begins 5/8" above the top button.  Nice and clear (complete with illustration).  In addition to rules, however, he also encourages the tailor to make changes to the pattern.  "None of this is gospel.  Use your eye and trust your judgment. If necessary, lengthen or shorten the jacket according to your pattern instructions, and then make what ever style adjustments you think best."

  Encouraged thusly, I widened the lapels by 1/4", added an extra inch around the chest from the waist to the underarm and shortened the neck opening by 1/2".  The sleeves, I think, are still a touch too long.  I'm also concerned about the bunching on the back from below the armscye.  I haven't trimmed the bottom of that seam, which may or may not be contributing to the problem.

 I'm actually deviating from Cabrera here because he doesn't include sleeves in the muslin fitting.  The body of the muslin jacket is adjusted, if necessary, and the shoulder width is checked.  Then he moves directly to the fashion fabric.  The jacket, complete with its interfacings, pockets, shoulder pads etc., is basted together for its first fitting and additional adjustments.  Once everything looks right, the sleeves are  drafted to fit the jacket.  All of this seems a bit overwhelming right now.  It may be WAY beyond my ability.  For now, I'm just planning on extra wide seam allowances and hoping that the linen's weight will hang better than the cheap muslin.  

When good books go bad

I'll confess up front that I don't own very many books on sewing.

The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction has been a valuable friend, although I tremble that the ghost of Edna Bishop may suddenly  appear and rap my knuckles with a french curve if I sew a seam in the wrong direction.  

Participating in Peter's shirt sew-along, and the impending wedding have moved me out of my "outerwear mode".  To prepare for my new projects I picked up both Shirtmaking by David Coffin and Classic Tailoring Techniques by Roberto Cabrera.  Both books have the reputation as being the authority on their subjects.  

I'll start with shirtmaking and hope that David Page Coffin NEVER reads this blog.  Readers, do you have any slightly OCD habits that you'd like to keep hidden from the world.  Do you have trouble sleeping knowing that there are dirty dishes in the dishwasher?  Can't leave the house if the bed isn't made?  Maybe you have to set two alarms in case one fails?  Trust me, you will feel completely normal after you delve into DPC's world of obsessive shirtmaking.  To be fair, there is some great information here.  There are templates for shirt plackets, cuffs, collars and stands.  Gotta love that.  There's also a great design ideas chapter to help create your own unique shirts.  Much of the book, however, involves overly complicated construction techniques that will have you wanting to mix a pitcher of martinis before noon.  He will convince you that a decent shirt can't possibly be sewn without a felling foot and a hem roller.  I think the MPB sew-along proved this false about 100 times.  You will also end up pulling, stretching, trimming and swearing for results, that in the long run, really aren't worth it.  Personally, I've never been bothered by the amount of fabric in the seam where my shirt cuffs meet the placket.  If you have, then by all means pick up this book.  

You will read plenty of glowing reviews on Amazon for Classic Tailoring Techniques by Roberto Cabrera.  There is nothing flashy about this book.  There are very few photos.  The model appears to be a fifteen year old prep school student from the '70's.  Bizarre.  There are, however, page after page of clear line drawings moving step by step through the construction process.  This makes tackling something new much easier for me.  No getting around it, there is a lot of very technical information here.  But it seems to lack the fanatical tone of the Shirtmaking book.  My experience with the shirt process has altered my approach to the jacket.  There are just some features / techniques that really don't matter to me.  For example I don't intend to handstitch the front facing with barely visible stitches done in silk finishing thread.  This is $8.50 / yd linen, not $250 / yard imported Italian cashmere.  Do I need to drive myself crazy making a Barcelona inside chest pocket, or will a simple welt pocket a la Edna Bishop do the job?  

Books are a great resource, but following them slavishly has proven to take much of the joy out of my projects.  I'm sure I'm not alone on this one.  

Muslin #1

I'm following my usual procedures and transferring my pattern pieces to Swedish tracing paper.  If you've never used it, I highly recommend it.  Armed with a roll of scotch tape and some scraps one can adjust and alter with abandon!  I'm also using the book Classic Tailoring Techniques by Roberto Cabrera.  The book deserves an entire post of its own, so I won't go into many details here.  

So here's Muslin #1.  This is a very simple pattern, almost too simple.  I was drawn to the simple pockets and the lack of flaps and welts.  But I miss other details like sleeve vents and a center back vent, so I plan on adding them with the help of Mr. Cabrera.    I've folded in the seam allowances on the lapels and collar, and also pressed along the roll line of the lapel.  This helps me visualize the final product. I've also added a back center vent which the pattern lacks.  The Cabrera book made this very simple. 

 

My initial take is that the buttons are set too high.  By lowering them I can drop the roll line which would be more flattering for my body.  I knew that the lapel would be narrow, but I'd also like to feel confident wearing this coat for several years.  Cabrera suggests 3.25 inches as a "safe" lapel width.  I'm going to increase the lapel width from 2.5 to 2.75.  Narrow, but not crazy looking, I hope. 

It's not evident in the photos but the neck opening is too wide / loose.  The collar pulls away from my shirt collar rather than resting up against it.  This is an easy fix.  The collar is removed and a tuck is made at the center back seam to make the neckline more closely hug the body.  The back seamline is then tapered from the neckline down to the mid back.  The undercollar will need to be adjusted to fit the smaller neck opening.  Let the alterations begin.  

Muslin #1 is already being pulled apart.  It didn't last long!  

Avoiding a wedding faux pas

My lovely niece Shelley is getting married this June.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be in the gardens at the beautiful Clay Hill Farm in York (or is it Oqunquit?) Maine.  It's been my plan to make a sport coat for the event.  I found an interesting 1980's pattern on Etsy that caught my eye and was in my size.  I love when that happens.  There are no overly complicated pockets, and I'm drawn to its narrower lapels. 

 I was in NYC after Christmas and hit the garment district on a mission.  It was a weekday so Steinlauf & Stoller was open.  This store is invaluable for anyone wanting to sew menswear.  The salesman was extremely helpful.  He patiently explained the differences  between wool canvas, hair canvas and french canvas.  He also set me up with some pocketing material, shoulder pads and sleeve heads.  So with a bag full of coat "guts" I went on the search for my jacket fabric.  

I crisscrossed from W 35th to W 40th finding absolutely NOTHING that said "early summer wedding".  My preconceived dream fabric was a silk/wool tweed in a chamois yellow.  No such luck, nothing even close. As the afternoon waned and darkness fell I ended up at A & K Fabrics on W39th about 3 minutes before closing time.  In the very back of the store I found a bolt of aqua linen/poly blend.   Sold.  

I was feeling victorious for about 2 weeks.  Then I found out that the colors of my niece's wedding are aqua and chartreuse.  As you can see in the photo my coat fabric coordinates very nicely with the invitations.  Hmmm is it appropriate for the gay uncle to show up matching the tablecloths and bridesmaid's dresses?  I think that's a big wedding NO.  So back to NYC I go.  

I met up with Peter (always the gracious host) and my Jersey boy/bear Joey.  I made a beeline to Gray Line Linen, which in retrospect is where I should have gone from the beginning.  This store has everything linen, from fabric to make your own dishtowels to upholstery fabric.  I quickly decided on a terra cotta linen in their Warsa range.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  It's currently at the dry cleaners being pre-shrunk and pressed.  A new sewing adventure begins.  And a huge wedding faux pas narrowly avoided!  

Sewing in English!

I'm no longer a virgin.  I've actually forayed into the world of patterns and instructions that I can actually read.  I decided to participate in Peter's (of Male Pattern Boldness fame) shirt sew-along. His selected shirt, the Negroni by Colette, really wasn't my style, so I found a vintage 50's dress shirt pattern on Etsy.  Butterick 2124.  It features both a buttondown and tab collar, long or short sleeves and a guy smoking a pipe!  What more could a Daddy want?  I picked up some shirting at Denver Fabrics.  They have a huge selection at great prices, but absolutely the WORST pictures on their website.  If you're trying to match a color, or have something very specific in mind I wouldn't recommend it.  For this project, however, my fabric came quickly and was pretty much what I anticipated.  In fact, the quality of the fabric ended up being better than any shirt that I own, most of which come from either Goodwill or the clearance racks at Kohl's.  

I won't go into all the gory details of my shirtmaking experience, it's pretty well documented in the Flickr group that Peter set up for the project.  I ended up working my way through 2 fitting muslins.  Men must have been built differently back in the 50's.  My pattern was made for a barrel chested brute with the arms of a gorilla and a skinny neck.  I shortened the sleeves by over 1 inch, took almost 5 inches out of the circumference and did a sloped shoulder adjustment.  With the help of David Page Coffin's book Shirtmaking I was able to draft a French cuff.  Now I have a way to wear the amazing steampunk cufflinks that my daughter gave me for Christmas.  Perhaps the best part of the shirtmaking exercise, however,  is that I now have a "Go To" shirt pattern the next time some fabulous fabric comes along just screaming my name.  

Resurrecting the blog!

Wow!  It's been such a long time.  The attic did get insulated, the stairwell was wallpapered, the ceilings in the pantry and the bathroom were repaired and the snowblower got a work out. Perhaps the best "repair project" was getting my Singer 301 back in operation.  It's a long story, but years ago I foolishly tried to unjam the bobbin by tapping it with a tack hammer and ended up breaking the hook assembly.  There are rumors circulating that I threw the machine down a set of stairs in a fit of frustration.  Not true.  I packed the machine in a plastic bin and sent it to the attic.  I rediscovered it while doing the insulating project and figured it was time to get it repaired.  I'm not sure what I would have done without eBay.  I was able to find a salvaged hook assembly, a new bobbin case, new "rubber tires" for the bobbin winding gizm0 and a set of 4 button hole cams in sizes that I didn't have. ( A 5/8 keyhole, yes! )

My fingers did the walking through the Yellow Pages and I found Mr. Klaus Heimann in Damariscotta, Maine.  He answers his phone "sewing machines fixed."  He lives in an apartment filled with books, vintage sewing machines and cat hair.  Warning, Don't let the cat out!  He loved my 301 and did a great job getting it put back together.  He even rewired the foot pedal.  While I was at it I also brought him my Bernette 4 thread serger which hadn't been fully operational for years.  Now it does a safety chain stitch and trims and overcasts the edge in one operation.  I don't use it often, but it's nice to know that it's available.  I guess it's time to sew something.  Stay tuned.