Deer & Doe and Sewaholic

I have a whole outfit to show you today!  Now that my class has finished, some stress is gone and I was able to get some sewing in.

I tried out the Deer & Doe Plantain tee and I took another crack at the Sewaholic Thurlows.

Let's talk about the Plantain first:
I traced a size 38 for the shoulders, 40 for the bust, and 44 for the hips

Adjustments:
1/2" square shoulder (normal for me)
Raised neckline by an inch

I placed these pieces over my favorite tee pattern (Ottobre 05/2013 #1) and the back looked like a great fit, the front looked a bit wider than my other one but I wanted to test it in it's true form before messing with it, so I left it as is.

I must say that the fit is awesome for only doing those 2 little alterations!  The back fits excellent and there is no neck gaping (for once!)  The hips fit great in the back and there isn't an issue with the swayback because there is enough ease to go over my rear.  The front is a bit large and drapey for what I"m used to, but that is the design of the tee. This fabric is very light and the stripes waving in the drapey front drive my ocd nuts! I think I'd be in love with it if it was a solid ;-)

I sewed the shirt with my serger and used my cover stitch for the hems.

Fabric: Designer Yarn Dye Rayon Jersey Knit Stripe Blue; 85% Rayon, 10% Polyester, 5% Lycra. It is very soft and a tad thin.  I purchased it from fabric.com in May 2014 for $3.98/yard.  The top used about 1.5 yards so the top only cost me $5.97

Verdict: I really like this top!  I will most likely make the front piece a tiny bit more narrow next time but otherwise it's great! (and it's free so win-win). I can't wait to try it in long sleeve with those cute patches!!!

Ok. Now for the Sewaholic Thurlows. . .
There are so many nice things to say about these so I'll get the one bad thing out of the way - they don't fit. They are just a tiny smidge to tight.  OMG. I can't win! lol.  My first pair was too big and this pair too small.  Over-fitting, that's all.  The crotch feels a bit snug and I have whiskers in the front.

On to the good:
I still love the all the details in these.  This time the steps took a tiny bit less than 6 hours and it was easier going.  I followed Lladybird's sew a long again for these.
I love how these fit and look.  I know they are too tight but man they look so RTW!  I also love how they fit my rear and I only have a tiny, tiny bit of gaping in the back.

Alterations:
I took 1/4" out of each side in the back, but then only sewed with 1/4" SA so it was a wash there.
Because of the bagginess in the front last time, I took out a 1" dart at the top, tapering to 0 at the bottom of the shorts - from each side, so 2" total out of the front. I adjusted the waistband to fit this as well so 2" out.

I sewed these up mostly with my vintage Kenmore that I got from goodwill. OMG I am falling more and more in love with this machine.  This is the first project I've sewn on it.  The flexibility to start, stop, and reverse at my whim was awesome.  The machine sewed over many thick seams without one flinch.  I got to use the buttonhole attachment - that really blew my mind and was so fun.  Ah! I love it.

Fabric: It came labeled as Jade Green Floral Twill but the selvage tells me it is "Valori Wells Sole' Home Dec Fabric, Agapantha in Aqua." It was cheap so I don't mind and it sewed beautifully. I picked it up from FashionFabricsClub.com in May 2014 for $5.45/yard.  We will say I used 2 yards, only because I don't remember and that is what the pattern calls for.  So $10.90 total.

Verdict: I really had a blast sewing these shorts up and I was able to practice some pretty hard techniques in the process (I'm looking at you double welts!).  I'm sad they are too tight - I mean, I can't even sit down in them! lol. However, this fabric has ZERO stretch so I'll take that into account. Anyway I'll have at the pattern again sometime after I've had a break from it.
Next time I will need to address my large front thighs and look at a large rear adjustment.  the shorts are pulling toward the front right now at the side seams (because of the thighs). Eh, it was worth all the effort as I enjoyed myself.

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 7/8 yards
Fabric Out: 5 5/8 yards
Fabric In: 0 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 35.75 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 133 yards
Fabric in 2014: 141.25 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Thurlow Reveal

I've wanted this pattern for a long time.  I was very excited to get started on it and get to the completed shorts.  I was still hopeful when I made the muslin that these would be the best shorts ever!  Well, they are finished.  And too big.  The waistband is like 2.5 inches too big.  I still like them a lot.  I have plans to remake them in a much smaller waist size.

Fabric: 1.5 yards of 54" wide, brown  (taupe) flannel twill.  Bought the end of May for $6 from fashionfabricsclub.com; Dreamy, soft and lightweight.  I feel like I'm wearing nothing when these shorts are on!  Though I'm not sure the lightness works for these shorts - there is too much draping and not enough stiffness; it wrinkles easily too.  Love the fabric though.

Time to sew: 6 hours; but I broke it up over 5 days because it was too much straight through time for my body to handle.

Instructions: short and to the point.  I didn't follow them but instead went with the amazing sew-along posts by Lauren over at Lladybird.com.  If you are sewing these Thurlows, you want to follow her posts.  Wow!  They are step-by-step with excellent pictures.  She made sewing these a breeze and not one time was I lost or head-scratching, even with the welt pockets.

Adjustments:
I have a 29" waist and 42" hip.  I sewed a size 10 but took off 1/4" on each side of front and back pants, to take 1" off the waist total.
I found that I kept having bagginess under the rear end and I just couldn't live with it.  So I finally found a bit of info in the Threads Fitting for Every Figure book. See below picture.

This is what I did to get rid of that poofy part. It was something about full hip, thinner leg... I didn't' read about any of the info, just did the adjustment according to the picture :D

IN THE FOLLOWING PICS I'M HOLDING THE WAISTBAND TIGHT EITHER FRONT OR BACK SO THEY STAY UP ON ME :-)

Notes:

• The pattern doesn't state what weight of interfacing to use (I guess it's up to our discretion?)
• I find it easier to understitch seams, then trim and grade them - personal preference. 
• Step #15 I don't like to sew the side, square corner of the waistband until after I attach it to the pants.  I feel this gives me more of a straight line up from the zipper to the waistband end. (not the triangle waistband piece, the square one)
• Step #18 I wish it would have told me to sew the inside button onto the lining of the waistband before sewing the lining down onto the waistband.  I dislike hand sewing!
• Step #21 doesn't tell you how much to press up and hem for the shorts.  I just folded 1/4" up and then 1", for a 1" hem.  
• The cuffs didn't look right on me so I didn't' turn them up. 

Oh, and I had such a hard time tracing this pattern because it was a very light dashed line.  So I put my pattern piece on top of my tracing paper, then used a sharpie to outline the pattern and wa-lah! It showed up underneath.  The ink bled through the pattern paper -didn't ruin it - and transferred the lines to my tracing paper. * I would strongly suggest putting an extra layer under the tracing paper (I used some freezer paper) because my table didn't appreciate the black marks that bled through the pattern paper and tracing paper onto the table. *

So expect to see this pop up again sometime on the blog.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Advice Needed

I have been tackling lots of things this week.  I traced and cut muslins for FIVE patterns! five!  (so proud of myself and of my back for holding up!).  I am in the process of re-arranging my sewing room (and K's room), cleaning up the attic, and purging unneeded things around our house.

The first muslin I wanted to tackle was my Thurlow shorts.  I've got them where I'm mostly pleased, but have an issue in the back that I can't seem to fix.  Please help!

(oh, and excuse the striped underwear)

Front view. Looks good - I have one leg higher than the other to test what I like better 

(the right, my left is the winner)

Side view - I know my seam line is tilting toward the front - sigh. I am sure this is due to my protruding upper thighs. But this is something I can live with

Back view I'm happy with - and impressed I got this clear of a picture while twisting!

Herein lies the problem.  Under my butt cheek there is a poof of fabric. See the following pictures

Most of my shorts come in like this to hug the cheek better...

But these fall flat, straight off my butt.  How do I get them to taper in more? I tried a dart on the back leg - no luck.  I tried taking in the side seams more - no luck.  

One last front view

 
Any advice on how to get rid of that excess fabric without messing up the rest of the short bottoms?  Or am I just being too picky here? Help!  and Thanks in advance :D


~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~