Turning inward

It's a cold, cold day here. 14 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. So it's a good day to turn inward.

Speaking of turning in, it's high time I upgraded my sleepwear. For someone who makes almost all her own clothes, my PJs are shameful. Ripped t shirts purchased at the thrift store, old knit pants, and so on. So...

First up is this kimono constructed from an old favorite, folkwear pattern 112, Japanese Field Clothing. I've used the kimono pattern many times now, and the pants a few times. I like the clever pants construction that makes use of strictly rectangular fabric pieces. But I love the kimono pattern with its graceful simplicity.

The kimono is also made from rectangles - two sleeve rectangles, one front/back rectangle, and one long skinny rectangle for the front band/collar. There is almost no waste in cutting this out. The exception is the keyhole cut made to create a neckline.

I had barely enough of this wonderful linen piece to construct a size L men's kimono. In fact, you can see above where I had to piece the long skinny front band. I also had to use a  light weight cotton fabric to face the sleeve hems and the main body hem.

I enjoy hand-finishing the raw edges of the seams, mostly while watching the news that is almost never enjoyable.

This linen was left over from a larger piece I purchased from a local designer who was cleaning out her stash several years ago. I made and wear a shirt out of it, also from a folkwear pattern, the Egyptian shirt. That too, is a very cool pattern. If you like making simple ethnic clothing, then folkwear is a great place to shop.

Another pattern from folkwear useful for PJs is what they call the Mexican dress. It is similar to those Mexican dresses many of us purchased for a song across the border in Texas during the 70's. I still have one of mine and this pattern is not exactly right. Someday I may redraft it to match mine.

This one is made from the cotton I used to face the kimono. It's a very light weight cotton with a dobby weave that I purchased from Vogue fabrics at a sewing expo. It is not a particularly fine piece of cloth but is soft and good for PJs.

The sleeves seem much larger in this pattern than they are in my old dress, but that's fine for my old wings, I think. They do kind-of stick out when I wear this so that I look like I might take flight.

The sleeves are quite lovely other than that. The underarm seam involves a Y seam that comes together perfectly.

It definitely needs some embroidery to look like the old-style Mexican dresses.

I also just completed a PJ set made with 2 Sewing Workshop patterns - the Eureka for the top and the Hudson for the pants. These are made from a super soft cotton knit that I purchased from the Martha Pullen booth at Expo.

It is sad that I did not purchase enough to make full length pants.

I hope you are finding time to create every day!

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Favorite Pattern Hack - the Neckline

Over time I keep coming back to a neckline that has great appeal for me. This one is particularly good for hot summer days when I to minimize the fabric enclosing me.

Fabric: As Mama always said, it's all about the fabric. That is no less true for this piece. It is a silk dupioni purchased at Gail K here in Atlanta. I washed it before cutting into it in order to knock back the sheen just a bit. It is a fairly weak fabric with no give at all, but easy to wear and easy to sew. I love, love, love the coppery milk chocolate color of it.

Base pattern: One of my all time favorite patterns for summer is the Mix It Top from the Sewing Workshop. The pattern envelope contains 3 very different shirts, but the Top is the best, IMO. It's loose but has bust darts and good fit through the shoulders. I only altered the neckline finish.

As you can see, the original has a key-hole opening in the front and a smallish mandarin collar. I replaced it with a reversed facing, an idea I first encountered in the Egyptian shirt pattern from Folkwear:

I have made this one many times!

I attached the facing to the wrong side, flipped it to the right side and hand-stitched it in place. It creates a bib effect.

Initially I thought I'd like 3/4 length sleeves. Unfortunately I did not measure properly and the sleeve was too tight, so I had to return to the sleeves from the Mix It pattern.

In order to make the facing, I placed pattern tissue over the original and drew in the lines:

I also lengthened the pattern 1 inch. I think I am influenced by all the tunics I see everywhere. Shorter tops are beginning to look outdated to me.

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MMM Day 24

Today I'm wearing a topper from Folkwear and pants from the Sewing Workshop:

Top:

This shirt is a fun piece to make with its reversed neckline facing that creates a V-neck and an ethnic look. Called the Egyptian shirt, it is designed and sold by Folkwear. It also has clever pockets in the side panels. I've made the longer version, but of course this is shirt length or perhaps tunic length.

The fabric is a light-weight linen with a beautiful geometric weave. I purchased it from Marie DeGeorge in one of her sometimes annual purge of her design studio.

Pants:

Having worn these all day long, I decided to cut out a new pair. They are so easy to wear (and make). These are the Quincy pants from the Sewing Workshop. They are pull-on pants with an elastic waist and narrowed legs. The pattern shows a button and loop on the side of each leg. I omitted that.

The fabric used in today's Quincy pants is a mystery. It is one of those pieces that marinated in my stash long enough for me to forget its source. It feels like a brushed silk, but it might be rayon. I should do a burn test to see if I can tell. They are lovely to wear.

So that's it for MMM Day 24!

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Postmortem on a Travel Wardrobe

For the first time in recent memory, I spent time planning my wardrobe for travel. And it was fun!

pocket purses that are large enough to hold glasses, phone (for pix), passport and credit card

I made sure that every top had multiple pants to match and the reverse. I also kept checking weather.com, right up until we boarded the plane. I was in denial. I so wanted it to feel like crisp fall weather.

Part of my deception stems from my first trip to Europe in my twenties. I was living in Austin TX where it is hot, hot, hot in June. We went to Germany and it was cold (to me). I layered clothes that should never have been layered. I have traveled overseas quite a bit since that first trip but the idea that Europe was cold stayed with me.

As it happens, the geography and weather in Europe varies. Duh. What is a trip overseas if it is not an opportunity to learn a little geography? I now know that my current home town and Seville Spain are at approximately the same latitude. And we've had a very hot humid summer. In fact it still feels like summer here in the middle of September.

So here is what I wore a lot, rinsing the pieces out over night.

I also wore a pair of white canvas pants a lot but they are still in my laundry.
L to R:
Sewing Workshop MixIt Top in cotton print
Sewing Workshop Urban pants in cotton cross weave (black and white)
Sewing Workshop MixIt top in white shirting
Sewing Workshop Eureka top in cotton pique

Here is what I wore some.

L to R:
Sewing Workshop Ivy tunic in organic cotton knit
Folkwear Egyptian shirt in linen (plus Gaudi scarf, a fun souvenir of the trip)
Sewing Workshop Helix knit pants (2) - one in red, one in black
Sewing Workshop tunic in rough black cotton
Grainline Studio Lark tee in rayon stripe

Here is what I could have left at home.

L to R:
Sewing Workshop tunic in china silk
Sewing Workshop Plaza pants in 4-ply silk
Sewing Workshop Now shirt in cross dyed silk
Sewing Workshop Hudson top in cotton Ikat
Cutting Line Designs Hearts A Flutter shell in 4-ply silk

And here is what I wanted to wear and never did.

Sewing Workshop Soho coat shortened to a jacket.

A raincoat only works if it is (a) raining and (b) cool. It did rain one day but there was no way I was wearing a coat. An umbrella was the only thing that made sense.

My shoe choices worked just great:

Gray Vionic flip-flops, the most comfortable and supportive shoe ever.
Black leather Vionic ballet slippers - great for dinners and other evening activities
Sketchers in cream lace with add'l orthodics - the best for cobble stone streets and standing in museums 

And I was ever so glad that I packed some talc - great for stinky shoes and other spots!

Lesson learned - the weather won't be ideal but it should not get in the way, either. I had a great time!

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A Shirt with No Name

One of the fun things about going to a workshop with Linda Lee or Louise Cutting is that you often get a peek into what's cooking in the kitchen. During Sew Kansas last month, we got to see samples of 3 different tops for future patterns. One of these was this shirt:

I understand that this one might become an e-pattern, as it is pretty simple. It would probably be ideal for that as it has just a few pieces and the fitting is minimal. I really like that they used a cross-dyed linen for the main fabric and a coordinating solid for the little inserts at the side. Towards the end of the workshop, I was allowed to trace it onto pattern tissue.

This shirt or tunic has dropped shoulders, bateau neckline, wide 3/4 length sleeves, and narrow side panels instead of side seams. And it runs big, as you can see in my picture above. I understand that I was trying out the size Medium.

Let's call it the Marseille.

Yesterday I sewed my own version of the Marseille, out of a rough cotton fabric.

I made a few changes and one of those was intentional. Since making the Egyptian shirt from Folkwear recently, I've wanted to try that exposed shaped facing again. So I created a similar external facing for the Marseille pattern, roughly following the shape of the Folkwear shirt.

I forgot that the hem was uneven, so I evened it up. Darn! That would have been cute. So now I need to make another.

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Egyptian Shirt - one more picture, by request!

Here is the Egyptian shirt on me. See previous post for the details. Thanks for the kind comments.

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Revisiting the Egyptian Shirt

Folkwear pattern #104 Egyptian shirt

This is one of those folkwear patterns that is mostly composed of rectangles. It is fun to make something like that from time to time especially with a fabric that has a distinctive weave. 

The fabric is a yummy linen I purchased from a local custom clothier who was cleaning out the stash in her studio a few years ago. It is very soft, not at all stiff like some linens. I don't know how to describe the weave, but perhaps you can tell from the pictures. It would be too sheer to use in this fashion if not for the geometric shapes in the weave. It is still a little sheer, but the front facing distracts. And I think it works on this BIG garment.

The facing on this is shaped for traditional applique and then lots of embroidery. One day I'll have to try that! The first two times I made this (years ago), I reversed the facing, stitching it to the outside. This time I wanted to focus on the weave of the semi-sheer fabric and so placed the facing on the inside. Also the facing is made from plain cotton batiste so that the linen weave is undisturbed.

The instructions are to press the edges of the facing 1/4 inch before attaching. Then you are to attach the facing, trim, clip, flip, press and top-stitch in place. I think they missed a step. I prefer to stitch 1/4 inch from the edge and then press inside. I think it would be very difficult to get a pretty curve otherwise. Other that this change, I constructed the facing in the same way.

I tried a few experiments with this. The first one was to add some white pearl cotton stitching to the front bib area, similar to that on the pattern. It was easy to take out, luckily.

Before

After

I also tried a few closures before settling on these loops made from bias tubes. Now I'm wondering if the buttons are not quite white enough. 

Seams were/are a little worrisome with this fabric. I am hoping it does not fray with use and washing. I might consider dry-cleaning or hand-washing. I used a combination of faux flat felled seams and French seams, so everything is tidy inside and out. I hope it stays that way!

These side seam pockets are easy to construct.

Looking back over these pictures, I'm realizing that my favorite aspect of the pattern may be the shape of the front facing. That would be easy to adapt to other more fitted garments.

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