The Blizzard Fitting

Readers, today I'm hunkered down in the middle of a huge nor'easter. Thankfully I still have power and heat. With nothing more than shoveling and snowblowing facing me, it's a good day to try on and evaluate the Spring jacket muslin. So here goes....

All things considered, not too shabby. Goodness knows, I've started out with much worse fitting muslins. I've pinned in a set of shoulder pads in order to get a more accurate representation of how the finished jacket will fit at the shoulders. The fit there is actually quite good.

The big problem is that the entire neck opening is too wide. I'm thinking that each side needs to be brought in towards the center at least 1/2" . That would eliminate most of the gap between the shirt collar and the edge of the jacket. I plan on just tapering the additional material down to the position of the top button. This will preserve the stance of the jacket.

Also, as warned by my reader Mrs. C, the jacket has a tendency to gape away from my chest. I'm hoping that with lots of basting, careful sewing and twill tape sewn along the edge, I can prevent that problem in my finished garment.

Also, as predicted, the sleeves are too long. Here I've turned them back an inch. This will allow about 1/2" of cuff to show. My plan is to shorten the pattern 1/2" above and below the elbow in order to preserve the overall shape of the sleeve.

Here's a view of the back. Again, it's not that horrible. However, the neck is dipping too low in the back. I'm hoping that I can just tack on another 1/2" without making it look freakish from behind. This kind of alteration is totally new territory for me. Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

Readers, I'm not a tall guy. My feeling is that the body of the jacket is too long, especially now that the sleeves are shorter. It's kind of a top heavy look, yes? Too much jacket...too little leg. I think I'd be happier, and the jacket would have a "younger" look if it were about an inch shorter. And who knows, it may make me look taller!

So here it is with the bottom turned up an inch. Much better proportion IMO. I'm going to do some rip-out and redrafting of the neck opening before going any further. It won't look very pretty, but I want to be sure that what I think will be an easy fix, will actually work.


Finally, I'd like to pass along a tip to any of you who, like me, have no access to good tailoring supplies. In the few years that I've been making my own clothes, I've found that working with good materials really increases my satisfaction with the final product. For this project I'll be using a "Jacket Packet" from B Black and Sons. www.bblackandsons.com Easy online ordering and they ship very quickly.

Here's what you get... a yard of striped sleeve lining, 2 yards of a nice weight acetate lining, a generous yard+ of pocketing, a quarter yard of both under collar felt and French canvas.

But there's more! 2 padded haircanvas chest fronts (your choice of heavy or light weight), sleeve heads, shoulder pads and a set of buttons. It all comes neatly packaged for $52.50. For me, this is a lot less than the gas and tolls to drive to NYC.

Now I just need to turn all this stuff into a jacket before March 23rd.

Trying to be productive

I live in New England, and I shouldn't complain, but damn it's been miserably cold lately. So it's been a good time to stay in and work on a project.

The kilt is temporarily on hold. As suggested by one of my readers, Craig Thomas, I purchased the book The Art of Kiltmaking by Barbara Tewksbury and Elsi Stuehmeyer. I have so much invested in fabric that it seemed foolish not to have the ultimate kiltmaking guide, which it most certainly is. I'll use the Folkwear pattern to make the jacket and vest sometime down the road.

Before I even consider starting the kilt project it's clear that I need a really GOOD set of measurements taken. A kilt sits higher than most men wear their pants and should come just to the top of the knee cap. Nothing's worse than a grown man in what looks like a naughty catholic schoolgirl in a plaid mini-skirt! Good measurements are crucial to the whole endeavor and hopefully they can be taken within the next week. While I'm at it, I'm also hoping my measuring buddy, who is recovering from the flu, will be willing to take a full set of measurements as outlined in Lori Knowles book The Practical Guide to Patternmaking for Fashion Designers -- Menswear. One of my sewing goals this year is to draft both upper and lower slopers. At some point I'd like to be drafting my own patterns. Hey, a guy has to have a dream, right?

So, while the kilt is somewhat dead in the water, I've decided to work on a muslin for a spring jacket.

This is my inspiration, which is from Brioni's spring 2013 collection. I thought lapel-less jackets were ridiculous until I saw this. Is is the color? the tailored shorts? the beard? The hat? Who knows, I'm totally loving the look. It's casual and age appropriate for me. It also looks pretty easy to make. The only details are patch pockets and some top stitching.

In order to replicate this look I'm going to be riffing off this vintage Bill Blass pattern, which shows up on eBay and Etsy frequently. Mine looks like it has never been taken out of the envelope. Maybe the initial purchaser took one look at the 12 pages of instructions and went running!

Menswear is relatively static, sort of a "theme and variations" world. Features get added or subtracted from season to season, but underneath it all there are just a few basic designs. This three piece suit strikes me as a great basic pattern.

The lapel width is reasonable and there are darts in the front to add shaping. It also features a double back vent and sleeve vents.

A pretty classic silhoutte that could easily be worn today. My plan is to chop off the lapels at the roll line and "voila!", Bill Blass 1980's? turns into Brioni 2013. So, on to the muslin.

I'm using a set of lightweight canvas tab top curtains that I picked up at Goodwill for $6. The construction is very straight forward. So far I'm finding that there's a lot to like about this pattern. The front darts add some nice shaping, which is further enhanced by the shaped side seams. This coat should nip in at the waist just like the Brioni.

There's just the right amount of easing at the shoulder seam. This helps shape the upper back and shoulder area of the jacket.

The amount of easing at the sleeve cap is reasonable. Sometimes there's just too much fabric. Not so here. With shoulder pads and sleeve heads the dimples should press out nicely.

I lopped off the lapels so that the roll line will become the finished edge of the jacket. The front facing was cut to match and I fashioned a back neck facing. As I work along I'm anticipating that the sleeves will be too long and that I'll want to shorten the body of the jacket. Next time I'll model the muslin and we'll see if I'm right.

It feels good to be working on a project again!

A winter's project -- The Kilt

Happy New Year, readers. I know it's been awhile since I've posted on here, but small things HAVE been taking place. Unfortunately, none of them involve any actual sewing.

Today I'm letting the cat out of the bag and announcing that my winter's project will be making an authentic Scottish kilt. So where to begin?

Several months ago I ordered Folkwear's #152, Scottish kilts. The pattern includes a history of kilts, and the tissue to make a man's Prince Charlie jacket, or coatee for those perfectionists among us. There are also instructions for knitting argyle socks (No Way!) and a sheet outlining the process for making a kilt. There is no physical pattern for a kilt. It's essentially a rectangle of fabric pleated to fit the wearer's measurements.

Emboldened and armed with this pattern I went in search of my tartan.

My search ultimately brought me here.... to the incredible Scotland by the Yard in beautiful Quechee, Vermont!

This store is a shopper's paradise for all things Scottish and Irish.

Need a wool scarf in your tartan? I'll take one of each!

Or maybe you need a new sporran to hold your wallet and cell phone? Check out the skunk fur one at the top center. LOVE!!!

Once I stopped drooling over everything in the store I got down to ordering my tartan fabric. Georgia, the owner, pulled out a massive swatchbook of tartans and quickly thumbed to my family's dress tartan. This woman really knows her tartans and is a wonderful resource. She showed me the different weights available and I settled on an 11 oz fabric. It's the same weight as the ready made kilts sold in her shop, and it seemed acceptable to me.

The typical kilt takes 8 yards. Because the fabric is 60" wide only 4 yards is required. The length of tartan is cut down the middle to make 2 long strips. The two selvedges become the bottom hem of the kilt. I ordered 5 yards because I'd also like to have a matching fly, which is a large tartan sash worn over the shoulder, trailing down the back of the jacket. Hey, I'm only going this way once. Right?

4 weeks later I received a phone call that my fabric had arrived, and back to Vermont I went.

Here is Georgia, of Scotland by the Yard, presenting me with my dress tartan. 100% wool, the real deal from Strathmore Woollen Co., Forfar, Scotland. All you tartan aficionados will be able to figure out my last name now! Have fun with that.

The color here is really off because of a fluorescent light, but here I am with my 88 year old mom. She lives in a retirement community in NH and doesn't get out much. This was such a great field trip for her, she was like a kid in candy store.

Come to think of it, so was I!

Give me Liberty..... Um, well, faux Liberty

Today, readers, we'll be traveling to merry old England and visiting the flagship store of Liberty of London. If I'm ever lucky enough to visit London, this is sure to be on the itinerary. Truly, this is a Mecca for the fabric obsessed. If you follow this blog, chances are that you fall into this category too.

Let's go inside, shall we?

Oh, my! This is what I would call a shopping experience. We're a long way from Kansas, and a long long way from Target. Apparently this installation was created for London Fashion Week. Spectacular. However, all this Tudor splendor comes at price.

I have been wanting a "little flowers" shirt for almost a year now. This is a very basic point collar men's shirt, with questionable matching at the front placket. Nice. It sells for £125 ( around $200 ). Pretty, yes......within my budget? Not on your life! I can't even justify the $80+ that the fabric alone would cost to make this shirt.

But all is not lost.

I was lucky to find this shirting on sale at Denver Fabrics. It's an Italian cotton, 36" wide, very finely woven with crisp printing. I ordered 3.5 yards at a $4.45 per yard. Score!

If I had not taken this picture I would never have noticed the subtle diagonal nature of this print. So much for just randomly cutting it out. I attempted to match the fronts and placket to preserve the diagonal effect. I've since read that the diagonal quality of the print is a hallmark of Liberty. Who knew? Certainly not me.

Here's a close up. These are all colors that work well for me.

Is it Liberty, or an imposter?

This is perhaps the best shirt I've ever made. I'm getting used to working with lighter weight fabrics. I've also given up my resistance to fusible interfacings. This shirt was interfaced with Pro-woven "shirt crisp" from FashionSewingSupply.com. I can't recommend it highly enough! It really gives the feel of a store bought shirt.

The matching isn't perfect, but good enough to preserve the flow of the pattern.

Final tally, not that it's that important...

Fabric $15.60, Buttons $5.25 = an "almost Liberty shirt" for $20.85

Clothes that I really love to wear .... Priceless!

I'm thinking I'll wear this for Thanksgiving this year. Speaking of which, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and joyful sewing!

Tuxedo Finale x 2

I haven't posted a completed project in ages.  So to make up for that I'm posting not one, but TWO completed tuxedo shirts.  

So with all due respect, Tennessee and Chumley .....  on with the show! 

First up is the VERY long overdue linen tuxedo shirt.  I was working on this shirt when disaster struck this summer.  One of my co-workers was about to move into a new house that had been under construction for at least a year.  My plan was to wear this shirt to the open house she was planning.  I would have worn it like this.  Untucked with a pair of dark wash jeans.  As things turned out I ended up on my porch, swilling Ensure and sweating up a storm.  

I lost 17 lbs. unintentionally over the summer.  Not being able to eat for a month will do that.  As a result this shirt is a little loose, but I'm sure I'll grow into it.  

Here it is tucked in.  The plastron extends about 2" below the waistband of my jeans.  

This shirt has a single French cuff, which is a lot less bulky than the double variety.  It seems less fussy and more appropriate for a casual shirt.   I'm wearing it with a pair of cameo cufflinks that were purchased from The Open Sesame on Etsy.  I like the contrast of formal elements and relaxed wrinkled ease.  Hmm.  Maybe I'll get to wear it next summer.  

This shirt, on the other hand, is ready to wear now.  I can totally see myself wearing this to the staff holiday party next month.  The pleating is very subtle on this shirt.  The light is just catching the edge of the pleats in this photo.  

In this shot the pleats are completely invisible.  I've learned since starting this project that my pleating is technically called "military pleating" or "pleating to the stripe".  It contributes to the more dominant horizontal stripes of the plastron.  It also makes the red in the tartan more prominent.  Note to self:  start making more red clothes.  

Here the light is showing the pleats to greater effect. 

Am I done with tuxedo shirts?  Hell no!  I'm totally seeing view D of this pattern in my future.  The "Venetian blind shirt".  

As always, I wish you happy sewing, and thank you for all the support that I receive as a result of this crazy blog.  Cheers! 

Tartan tuxedo update

Things have moved ahead nicely on the tuxedo shirt.  

I did tons of matching on the fronts of the shirt, but there are parts of a man's shirt where matching is impractical if not completely out of the question.  The center back box pleat makes matching the yoke impossible, so it's better to cut it on the bias.  I did, however, center the plaid on the fold while cutting it out.  The collar is also centered and lines up nicely with the box pleat.  Silly? Obsessive? Maybe, but making my own shirts has made me care about such details.  

The sleeve placket is another place where it's just easier to "un-match".  I use the template from Coffin's book on shirtmaking.  It makes something that looks complicated surprisingly easy.  I think it also adds a little pizzaz.  

The collar is always the biggest bugaboo for me.  I had such good luck with a collar stay slot on the linen tux shirt that I tried it again.  The point collar shape made the placement awkward, and I totally forgot to allow for the 1/4" topstitching.  The end result -- the stay doesn't go very deeply into the slot.  Still, it works, so it's not a total failure.  Just another "live and learn" sewing experience.  

The basting has been removed from the pleats, and I'm totally loving them.  They were worth every minute of pressing, basting and slip-stitching.  

All that remains is buttonholes and buttons.  

The highs and lows of ordering fabric online

Perhaps you live in the boonies like me.  Don't get me wrong, I love where I live, but I'm at a real disadvantage when it comes to buying fabric.  Basically I have two choices ; Wal-mart (ick) and JoAnn's (gag), both of which are about a 16 mile drive.  Sorry, but it's just not worth the trip.  

Luckily I get to NYC a few times a year for some fabric shopping,  but even that can be discouraging and exhausting.  I usually have something very specific in mind which can be like looking for a needle in the proverbial fabric haystack.  

I've turned to the internet for fabric from time to time, usually with pretty good results.  Still it's pretty much a crap shoot.  Not being able to actually touch the fabric, coupled with being dependent on the accuracy of a photograph, really puts one at a disadvantage.  But I'm a sucker for free shipping, so here are a few things that arrived yesterday.  Postage free!  

I've been wanting a "little flowers" shirt for awhile.  I saw some gorgeous French fabrics during my one and only visit to Elliot Berman Textiles in NYC, but the $18 / Yd price scared me away.  Of course I was reminded that Liberty is $35+ / yd. but it still seemed too extravagant.  This is an Italian shirting that is every bit as nice in my opinion. 

This is as close to a Liberty of London shirt as I'm ever going to come.  I love the colors.  Coral, gold, brown, gray, green.  It's incredibly fine with a beautiful lustre to it.  

Of course there's no Hello Kitty hidden in the design.  But that's what you get at $35 / Yd vs. $4.45 / yd!  

Next up is this raw silk plaid patchwork.  I'll call this a partial disappointment.  I appreciate all the labor that goes into making a fabric like this, but it looks like it got dragged across the sweatshop floor before being rolled onto the bolt.  There are stray threads caught in the seams everywhere!  I will be pulling and clipping threads for hours.  In spite of all the flaws, I still think this will make a fun Spring jacket.  It's just going to be more work than I planned on. 

Oy!  What a mess. 

Lastly, this just belongs in the "What was I thinking" category.  This was sold as a corduroy.  It's ribbed, but there is hardly any pile to it.  Its saving grace is that it was very inexpensive.  My plan was to make my first pair of trousers with this, and I think I still will.  I fully expect that they won't fit, so I'll wad them up and throw the whole mess out.  

Please don't laugh!  Yes, I really did buy this.  

So there we have it ... the good, the bad and the ugly of buying fabrics online.