Kim Hargreves' Page Cardigan

Sewing is going s l o w l y.  But, with long evenings and Rowan Big Wool, the knitting is flying along.  Knitting with 10 mm needles is very satisfying.

This is my first attempt at anything other than the simplest pattern.  It went pretty well.  At least with knitting, when you mess up you can just rip it out (aka frogging) and try again.  Nothing is really permanent, though the yarn does become a bit fuzzy by the third go!

I even found a belt that was an exact match, on sale!

I did block the pieces before sewing them together using an iron as per the instructions.  Initially, the hem looked nice and straight.   After a few wearings it is a bit wave-y again.  I suppose I could give it another go, but I am not really bothered.  Even the picture in the pattern book shows a less than absolutely straight hem.

See, even their example for the book has a slight wave to the hem.

There are fans down the sleeves.

Fan detail down the back.

This pattern is called "Page" and is from Kim Hargreaves' book Cherished.  It's pretty; it's warm; it was fun to knit; the instructions were good.  My only caution would be that my shoulder's look really wide in this cardigan.  This is very unusual for me since my shoulders are narrower than my hips!  Normally, I want to accentuate my shoulders in order to make my figure appear more balanced.  This cardigan surprised me, when I saw myself in a full length mirror.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wants to down play the size of their upper body.

StyleArc Cassie Pant

I'm in desperate need of trousers beyond jeans.  I've gained a little weight and didn't relish facing up to it by sewing pants.  Necessity has finally over-ridden vanity.

I decided to give the StyleArc Cassie Pants a go.  Style Arc rates them as "medium" difficulty.  I would rate them as "easy."  These are more glorified leggings than trousers.  I would never wear a short top or anything tucked into them.  For me, they are perfect paired with tunics and long shirts and sweaters.

Here's how I'll wear them.

I chose a stretch, polyester twill with a flocked flower pattern.  I got the fabric from Fabric.com and it was inexpensive.   The flocking all melted off in the dryer!  I think the dark black and the tone on tone print obscures the patchwork and topstitching.

Gulp, here is the back view.

These weren't a perfect success, but the pattern is promising enough that I want another go.

Next time I will
1. Use a lighter coloured fabric to show off all the patchwork
2. Use heavier fabric to hide the lumps and bumps since the fabric will be lighter
3. Raise the waist in the back 2 inches
4. Use a less stretchy fabric because I didn't like the bagginess through the thighs (Now there is a phrase I don't utter often, lol!)

Both Robin and Shams have made these pants.  Their versions turned out really well.



I hope to show you a second effort soon!

What comes after Hello Kitty?

My eight year old doesn't like her bag with fairies on it anymore, too embarrassing. She is mortified by her Hello Kitty slippers which were so cool just 9 months ago.  She'll be nine in March.  She is becoming a tween-ager much sooner than I imagined.  I don't know if it is the times we live in, the place we live, or just my kid.

While holding the line on nail polish at school, pierced ears, bikinis and training bras, (A bra?! Seriously?!  "But mom, everyone else has one!") I have to give way a little on the stuff that is only a matter of taste. Maybe the other stuff is just a matter of taste too. What looks like premature sexualisation and growing up too soon to me, probably looks very different to her. Parenthood looked so darned easy before I had the kids.

But back to the sewing!

She needed a new dance bag. She wanted something fashionable; no sweet motifs; no folky quilting cotton.

I think I have come up with something that will be just the ticket.

I downloaded this embroidery motif from Urban Threads. Then, I decorated it with hotfix Swarovski Crystals.  Ideally, she would have liked it to say, "Dancing Queen." However, I don't have any embroidery software, so we have to settle what I can find for sale. On the plus side, this is a more general sentiment that I may have a chance of using again.

Plenty of bling. I have a LOT of Swarovski Crystals left over from her Irish Dancing days.  Might as well use 'em up!

Hopefully large enough for all her gear plus lunch, but not so large it overwhelms her frame.

As long as we are going Essex-fantastic here, why not a leopard lining?

I think she'll be quite pleased when she comes home from school and sees it.

Bras

Bra making is hot topic within the online sewing community right now.  Caroline, Sigrid, and Melissa have been egging everyone on. Finally Cloth Habit came up with a Sew Along.  I wasn't even a tiny bit tempted.

Just in case you might want to make a bra!

You see, I am a scant 34B, when I am svelte, and a 36B, when I am enjoying myself properly! I can happily pop into Marks and Spencers or John Lewis and buy a comfortable bra that does the job for about a tenner. This completely satisfies me. I am not really a frilly undies sort of gal. Poor, poor dear husband. So, not sharing in the all consuming quest for a bra that is comfortable, fits properly, gives adequate support, etc. I was going to give the whole thing a miss and deal with my issues. Trouser fitting anyone?

However, fate seems to have grabbed my by the scruff of the neck. You see, I signed up for a lingerie making course at Morley College. There was a specific bra making course, but I avoided that one. I was thinking some yummy feeling, truly luxurious silk camisoles for winter would be just the right thing for me. Ooops, we are spending the first 5 to 6 weeks making a bra!

In about a month, expect a post about something that looks suspiciously like a training bra. After measuring myself as per the textbook, it seems that I am actually an A. Well, an AA. Sigh.

Let's Trash a $1000 Suit out of Curiosity

Warning!

1. Lot's of photos; an insane amount of photos.

2. Crass talk about money.  This suit will strike some people as expensive and others as cheap.  If I am coy, and I don't give you the objective facts, I don't know how you are supposed to judge whether you consider it's construction fair value for money or not.  

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Actually, both sets of trousers had worn out, and the jacket was looking a little threadbare too, so it's not quite as decadent as my title suggests.  My husband works in a conservative environment and has a quirky body shape.  He is 6'2" tall, athletic, but with narrow shoulders as a matter of bone structure.  His shoulder points are high, like a swimmer's.  Off the peg suits make him look like a scarecrow.  So, he buys his suits custom made.  The set up is this, order takers come to London, measure up the clients, take notes on fabric choices, and then have the suits made in the Far East. This means that a suit out of good, Italian milled wool is about £650, or $1000 USD.  An extra pair of trousers is about another £150.  A sensible buy since trousers wear out before jackets, always.

Yikes!

Then again, it's not so bad when you consider that my husband only owns three suits at a time, sometimes only two.  He keeps a suit for about 6 years.  Imagine if a female work wardrobe consisted of three suits, eight shirts, ten ties, and two pairs of brogues!  And you literally wore all this stuff until it fell apart!  You could then buy clothes that were twice as expensive without batting an eyelash.

Maybe you actually could do that.  Maybe no one else would really notice.  I doubt the men in the office would notice; women might, though.  Would they judge?  I would.  I'd think you were clever!

But, I digress.  Let's have a look at it.  Remember, this is a decent suit, but certainly not top quality. A Saville Row suit would start at £2000.  Alas, I don't have access to one of those.

It looks horrible on my dress form.  My dress form is a chubby pear, like me.  Luckily, my dear husband is not a chubby pear!  Sorry about the shadow.  You get the basic idea though.

You get three double welt pockets in the front.  Two with flaps.  Note how the edge of the pocket flap has been hand picked-stitched down very carefully.  This is not meant to stand out at all.

The button holes are all done by hand.  Also, notice that the edge is hand picked-stitched all the way down the front.

Two out of four button holes on the sleeve vent actually work.  The top two are fakes.  Sneaky!

You get a breast pocket for your silk hanky.  My husband would be mortified to sport around with a silk hanky.  Wrong generation.  You can see the pick-stitching on the edge of the lapel.

Single vent in the back.

Those are the basics.  Let's look a little closer.

The back of the collar is felt/flannel fabric and there is machine stitching in concentric circles and triangles.  The edge of the collar is hand-stitched down too.

One more view of the same thing.  The top collar piece is one piece.  The bottom collar piece is one piece.  (The line down the middle is a line of stitching, not a join of two pieces of fabric.)  The bottom collar piece is NOT cut on the bias.

Now this is interesting.  I always struggle to get notched collars looking sharp.  They just let the edge of the collar hang off and then tucked it under, stitching it tight to the underside of the collar.  The edge is left raw!  The look from the front is perfect, and this must be so much easier than what we all try to do.

Now for the lining.

You get three inside pockets.  All double welts.  Two with little tab button closures.

I don't know what these little things under the arm holes are.  I am totally ignorant.  They are sewn down firmly.  Maybe to add strength?  Absorb sweat?

There are little buttons on the inside opposite from the main buttons to add strength.  You can see that, where the lining meets the facing, it has been machine sewn.

But there is a load of hand-stitching on this lining.  This is the sleeve cap and where the shoulders meet.

More hand sewing where the bottom of the lining meets the hem turn up.  There is about a centimetre of folded lining fabric at the bottom for ease.  There was no ease pleat in the centre back of the lining, though.

Hand stitching was also used to "make stuff work."  Like here, where the back corner of the collar slots into the lapel.

No back stay.

It's a two piece sleeve with no canvas.  Just a bit of fusible interfacing around the sleeve vent and sleeve hem.

The lining was tacked down to seam allowances where possible.  In this case the centre back seam allowance.

 Let's look at the "guts!"

I've tucked the sleeve out of the way and cut away all the pocket bags, so you could see behind them.  You can see that the front of the suit has a knitted, fusible interfacing on all three pieces of the body.  Then there is a layer of canvas from shoulder to breast area.  Then a layer of fiber-y stuff that is machine pad-stitched down.  Finally, the shoulder pads go on top of that.

The shoulder pads are made out of three layers.  Two thin, graduated layers of  wadding type material, with a thin layer of foam glued in the middle.

Close up of the machine "pad stitching."

This is what the sleeve heads consist of: two layers of canvas.  That's it.  They come well down the sides of the arm hole.

There are two thin strips of soft canvas hand-stitched where the lapel roll line is.  This same soft canvas in strips, lines the outer edges of the the lapel.

Now the home stretch, if you are still with me!

There is canvas inside the collar.  It is machine stitched to the flannel, under-collar.  There is also a soft canvas strip, machine sewn to where the collar roll line would be.

Just another angle of the collar.

Phew!  That's all folks!

My thoughts?  Well, Sherri's RTW sew along had more bells and whistles in some ways than this jacket.  Though I must say that this jacket looked fine on my dear husband and was worn for years.  The magic of it is the fit.  He looked tall, strong and elegant in it.  There may be better constructed RTW, but the fit wouldn't flatter.

Anybody have a decent RTW suit they are willing to pull apart?

Anybody have a Saville Row suit that they want to dissect, he-he?